Zastava LK M70 worth the money?

[FlowHamed18]

Hi

Has anyone gathered experience with Zastava rifles or actions manufactured within the last 10 years?

There is a quite new M70 LK version in .375 H&H for under 850$ available...

Is Zastava worth a try (in general - I know that I have to look at the action itself carefully in person) - in the worst case just to use the action for a custom .375 H&H?

Thanks in advance

 

[cajunchefray]

Hi

Has anyone gathered experience with Zastava rifles or actions manufactured within the last 10 years?

There is a quite new M70 LK version in .375 H&H for under 850$ available...

Is Zastava worth a try (in general - I know that I have to look at the action itself carefully in person) - in the worst case just to use the action for a custom .375 H&H?

Thanks in advance

I have heard good things about them, most recently from my gunsmith, showed me last year a LH 9.3x62 Zastava he was fine tuning for another customer. He slimmed and refinished the stock, and smoothed the action. It was recent production, nice. I would buy one., if I got the action polished and smoothed by a gunsmith that knows Mauser. A diamond in the rough.

It was really nice and he thought made with quality steel. He is very experienced with quality guns, a custom gunmaker, getting up in age and experience. He has hunted Africa for decades.

The Interarms Whitworth Mauser 98 actions from the 1970s and 1980s were made at Zastava, stocked and finished in the UK, as I understand on FN pattern machinery.
My Whitworth, Zastava.458 is solid, a keeper.

Zastava may have retooled, I don’t know but others here probably have better current information.

For $850, I would buy it in a heartbeat, spend a few hundred with a competent Mauser gunsmith tuning it, and never look back.

 

[leslie hetrick]

i have one in 8mm-8x57 with double set triggers and i like it and never put a scope on it and only use the open sights it came on it.

 

[DieJager]

I've got on older one. Great accuracy and his value for the money. No brainer to buy

 

[Rob404]

I have a Zastava in 7mm08 the stock was a little rough so I sanded it down and found some nice wood so I refinished it and gave it a few coats of Tru Oil and it came out great.
I,m not nuts about Zastava triggers but they are great shooting rifles
I also own a Whitworth/Zastava in 375HH and enjoy giving it some range time on occasion.

 

[mark-hunter]

Has anyone gathered experience with Zastava rifles or actions manufactured within the last 10 years?

I have seen and shot many of them. Favorite rifle on Balkans.

New ones could face a bit of lack of fit and finish, on occasion can have feeding problems, or somtimes could have a misaligned drilled and tapped screw holes, or the barrel is not necessarily always floated, due to bad inletting, or.... you can get it all perfect. But those are usual bugs, on some of new builts, and not always, but I have seen it.

Factory has worn out machinery and underpaid workforce that results in occasional quality slips as above mentioned. Some of the new ones are good ones, and some are a bit problematic, as per above.

Export samples for USA could be better then those for local market. (At least, that is local myth with local hunters at Balkans, this had never been proven)

Ali those issues are small things, nothing that an average gunsmith cannot fix. Especially if you are already taking a gunsmith service in preliminary planning.

I think the reason to buy Zastava M70 is not because it is cheap, but because it is one of the last budget built mausers 98 that can be easily debugged to reliable working condition (or even better).

This rifle is also made of wood and steel. (no plastic)
This is a quality that I dont know with other modern factory rifles. This quality appeals to all rifle conservatives like me.
You can rebarrel to 375, but check first if they have 375 already available.

If it means something, when I was buying 375 for Africa, Zastava was one of the few on my short list of options.

 

[GuttormG]

Zastava may have retooled

Zastava has stopped production of M70s, to expensive to produce.

 

[John Wasmuth]

I’d buy it hands down. Well manufactured M98 Mauser, dependable and tough. A little rough around the edges but won’t fail you.

 

[mark-hunter]

Zastava has stopped production of M70s, to expensive to produce.

Its not as simple as that.
The production has allegedly stopped, but certainly even if true, it will resume.
Because its goverment factory, supplying firearms to their army..

When they resume production for civilian market, they have nothing else, no other bolt action model but again, M70. And there is no development program to make cheaper substitute at the moment. Management thinks of survival, not about development of commercial models.

Zastava USA: Its not about rifle, it is about factory

Its not about rifle, it is about factory. Zastava is known to produce and export CRF rifles, modem Zastava M70 in all commercial calibers, and two tropical calibers 375 H&H and 458 win mag. Zastava USA web site is listing 458 win mag, While european web site lists 375 HH and 458 win mag. For...

www.africahunting.com

 

[FlowHamed18]

Thank you very much for your answers!

I am going to have a detailled look at the rifle/action next week.

Will keep you informed ;-)