CZ-USA 457 Varmint .17 HMR
Model: 02342
CZ-USA 457 Varmint .17 HMR
Model: 02342
Full Specifications
About This Firearm
The .17 HMR is the flat end of the rimfire world and it punishes a rifle that will not hold still, which is the case for buying a heavy one. This is 7.27 lbs of walnut and steel, a 20-inch heavy barrel with a 1:9 twist, and a five-round magazine. CZ's figure for the Varmint is 2 MOA, a floor rather than a promise.
There are no sights, and anything you mount hangs off CZ's 11 mm dovetail, milled into the receiver, so rings are either made for that dovetail or bolted to an adapter rail. The Varmint barrel has no thread in its specification either, so suppressing a cartridge that genuinely benefits from it starts with a gunsmith. The trigger adjusts between 1.8 and 3.4 lbs, which is as much range as this cartridge asks for.
A Ruger American Rimfire Target in .17 HMR has an MSRP of $509 and goes the other way entirely: 5.3 lbs, a 16.1-inch barrel threaded from the factory and a Picatinny rail already on top.
Best For
Strengths & Limitations
- Barrel and caliber changes are a user-level job, so a .17 HMR barrel today does not lock the action out of .22 WMR or .22 LR later.
- The bolt can be pulled with the safety engaged and a cocking indicator shows the striker state, so unloading does not involve touching the trigger.
- The American-pattern walnut stock wears a sealed Poly Coat finish, which is a wood stock you can take out in the damp without ceremony.
- Nothing is fitted for aiming, and the dovetail narrows ring choice to what is made for it or what an adapter can carry.
- A rifle this heavy with a 14.17-inch length of pull is a bench and a bipod proposition, not something to walk a hedgerow with all afternoon.
- The barrel is not specified with a muzzle thread, which is an awkward omission on a cartridge that suppresses well.
Ballistics Calculator
Calculate trajectory, drop, and energy for .17 HMR ammunition.
.17 HMR Ballistics →Where to Buy
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is the barrel threaded for a suppressor?
No thread is part of the Varmint specification, so plan on a gunsmith cutting one. The rival Ruger American Rimfire Target arrives threaded, which is the clearest difference between the two rifles.
What mounts fit the receiver?
An 11 mm dovetail is milled into the top of the receiver, so rings must be made for that dovetail. A dovetail-to-Picatinny rail is the usual route to modern rings and one-piece mounts.
Does CZ quote an accuracy figure?
Two MOA for the Varmint. Treat it as the minimum CZ will stand behind rather than what a good lot of ammunition does from a rested rifle on a still day.
Can the same rifle be switched to .22 WMR or .22 LR?
Yes. The action is built for owner-level barrel and caliber changes, and barrels and magazines share an interface with the previous generation of the rifle.
