CZ 557 Carbine 270 Rifle

Benjamin David | January 23, 2017

I recently acquired a CZ 557 Carbine Rifle chambered in 270. I was looking for an accurate medium and big game rifle chambered in .270. Specifically, I wanted an accurate, durable rifle with a quality carbine length barrel, fixed sights, a good trigger, smooth bolt operation, and good furniture.

I found all of that with the CZ 557 carbine. The 557 action is a departure from the Mauser style controlled feed used in CZ 550 model rifles. The action of the 557 is a push feed bolt design with dual locking lugs, a plunger-type ejector and short extractor, housed in a steel receiver machined from a single billet of steel. It also features a trigger that breaks very cleanly. The oil finished walnut is attractive, the checkering clean, and the fit to the nicely blued receiver is great. The magazine is a fixed 4+1 with a hinged floor plate, and the barrel is cold hammer forged with a 1:10 twist. CZ does some interesting stuff to create both accurate and durable barrels from the factory. Its worth checking out the CZ site and reading up on it, but not the point of this post.

The front sight is a fiber optic sight, protected by a shroud designed to let light in, but 19mm CZ style dovetails on the receiver do allow the rifle to be scoped.

The CZ 557 is a discontinued model as of 2016, so I felt like I would regret not buying one in a year or two when stock was all gone. Its a classic looking rifle with some modern changes for CZ. Besides using a push feed action versus a controlled feed, CZ has done away with the set trigger from other models in favor of a light and crisp trigger that breaks cleanly with about 3.5 lbs of force, from the factory. It may actually be the best factory mass produced and shipped trigger on the market.

I decided on the CZ 557 chambered in 270 because a range of modern and affordable ammo exists for it, compared to say 7mm 08, and its a relatively fast and flat shooter, with a lot of energy.

The gun shoulders nicely and recoil is very manageable with both 130gr and 150gr ammo. Fast target acquisition is made possible with the fixed sights, and a smooth bolt operation males quick follow up shots easy.

Sure you can get a budget Savage or Ruger American, or both for the street price of a CZ 557, but both of those guns feel like what you paid for them, and use a lot of plastic, whereas the CZ feels like a much more expensive gun with much nicer furniture.

I bought the 557 for $620, but the current street price is just over $700. At that price, its still an exceptional gun. I’ll replace a few of the above photos with better ones as soon as I can. In tho photos above I included a group of 3 150gr shots taken at about 55 yards from a knee in the snow, off of a wobbly bipod. The rifle is more accurate than my group would suggest, but given the conditions, poor rest, and and it being some of the first few shots taken with the gun, I think it shows the quality and shootablity of the gun, unscoped, in marginal conditions.

Written By Benjamin David

Benjamin is an avid outdoorsman with a wide range of experience hunting, fishing, climbing, and backacking. He brings his knowledge and experience, to Sportsman's Magazine, and is a major content contributor. Leave Ben a comment or question.