Zastava ?? Are they worthwhile?

Canadiankeeper said:
I hear you, always had an inkling to pick one up.

My buddy picked one up in 22 WMR and it has been nothing but problems. Could be a one off but hey. Some of those problems where his fault. The biggest one, was not his fault.

Scope mounting, bolt clearance issues ect. His fault.
The local gun store got their smith to GRIND DOWN THE MOUNTS... LMAO RIGHT?! Yah, I told him thats a mistake and we went out together and picked up new scope mounts and made sure everything cleared.

The rifle showed up with multiple stripped screws. Brand new. He was basically left to hang. Told him to go to LGS and ask for a replacement. They wouldnt but they orderd him the parts... (again not something I would have settled for but hey)

So after all said and done getting proper hard ware and mounts. Its all set up. Never seems to hold a zero. I think it is his optic but him being a weekend hunter type does not believe me. lol

When I took it to the range, at 50 yards I would be able to cover the groups with a Loonie. Give it back to him, head out hunting and its 3 inches right at 50 yards... He swears he didn't touch anything lol.
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I've seen a bit of a change of POI from one person to another with the same rifle just because of the way they hold it and look through the scope differently, but never that far off. Makes me think maybe he's pulling more sideways on the trigger instead of straight back, or maybe has a very consistence flinch that moves it over?
 
They got back to me already.
Most impressive service tradex.
Just so anyone that cares knows they said that unfortunately they do not make the stainless model anymore.
 
0357 said:
Slamfire where did you find a stainless one?
Is it as non glare/shiney as it looks in the picture?
I don't recall noticing any for sale.
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I got a stainless 7x64 from Gagnon's for $499 when they were clearing them out. It's actually quite smooth out of the box compared to my 7x57 blued/walnut M70.
7x64 is a fantastic cartridge.

Just looked and they have a stainless 270 & 308.
There is also a banned/unmentionable dealer that has a good selection of Sabatti stainless for $675 with free shipping.
 
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Canadiankeeper said:
I hear you, always had an inkling to pick one up.

My buddy picked one up in 22 WMR and it has been nothing but problems. Could be a one off but hey. Some of those problems where his fault. The biggest one, was not his fault.

Scope mounting, bolt clearance issues ect. His fault.
The local gun store got their smith to GRIND DOWN THE MOUNTS... LMAO RIGHT?! Yah, I told him thats a mistake and we went out together and picked up new scope mounts and made sure everything cleared.

The rifle showed up with multiple stripped screws. Brand new. He was basically left to hang. Told him to go to LGS and ask for a replacement. They wouldnt but they orderd him the parts... (again not something I would have settled for but hey)

So after all said and done getting proper hard ware and mounts. Its all set up. Never seems to hold a zero. I think it is his optic but him being a weekend hunter type does not believe me. lol

When I took it to the range, at 50 yards I would be able to cover the groups with a Loonie. Give it back to him, head out hunting and its 3 inches right at 50 yards... He swears he didn't touch anything lol.
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Shouldn't have to put any mounts on a .22 dovetail receiver.
 
Excellent rifles for the money. Those I owned had very good and very adjustable triggers, very well-done polishing and bluing, all-steel bottom metal. I didn't find them any rougher to cycle than new-production CZ's, and as stated they smooth out nicely with use.

My only complaint was with the stocks; generally unattractive wood (with exceptions), indifferent application of finish, mediocre-to-poor checkering. If I were to buy another I would upgrade the stock, leave everything else alone and go hunting.
 
Epps' Zastavas are outrageously expensive...gosh...
Those stainless look like Ruger Hawkeyes matte stainless....they mark very easily.
 
dand883 said:
I've seen a bit of a change of POI from one person to another with the same rifle just because of the way they hold it and look through the scope differently, but never that far off. Makes me think maybe he's pulling more sideways on the trigger instead of straight back, or maybe has a very consistence flinch that moves it over?
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I made him shoot it at the range in bags. It was on. We are almost identical in body type.

Hitzy said:
Shouldn't have to put any mounts on a .22 dovetail receiver.
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Also advice from me that was ignored because it was not what the "gun store employee recommends" ...
 
I have one in 9.3x62 and I really like it. The only problem with it was I bought it with scope mounts and the screws they used to mount them were too long and bound the bolt if you lifted it all the way up. I replaced them with shorter screws and it's smooth now.
 
peterf said:
I have one in 9.3x62 and I really like it. The only problem with it was I bought it with scope mounts and the screws they used to mount them were too long and bound the bolt if you lifted it all the way up. I replaced them with shorter screws and it's smooth now.
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That's common, and in any case it's a scope mount issue and not related to the rifle at all. Always important to make sure that the screws do not project down into the bolt raceway when tightened, and to dress them down slightly to correct this slight problem if it exists. Also check if all the screws are the same length, and that the correct screws are going into the correct holes. :)

I also had one of these (blued) in 9.3x62 and it was a very good shooter. I was impressed because the Schnabel fore-end cap (it was a full-stock gun) was nicely free-floated, along with the entire length of the stock. If the wood grain, colour and finish had been better I'd probably still have it.
 
I recently bought one. It definitely is rough, more than the comments I read had me believe. I've cycled it several thousand times, did a hell of a lot of polishing, stoning some parts, and even correcting some dimensions to make it work smoothly. I'm going to slim the stock forend to below the level of the current checkering, go over the checkering of the grip, and modify some stock dimensions. I'm spoiled coming from a nice HVA 1900, but If I could have found what I was looking for at the gun show market I believe that would have been the way to go.

I'm planning on modifying the gun quite a bit, so this one will end up being right for me. I bought it because of certain attributes the action has over other stuff on the market. But I would definitely be unhappy with it if I expected it to be nice right out of the box. That said, it's better than a lot of the other new stuff I looked at that is asking for higher prices. Nothing new was really good until the sako level, and that costs a fortune.
 
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peterf said:
I have one in 9.3x62 and I really like it. The only problem with it was I bought it with scope mounts and the screws they used to mount them were too long and bound the bolt if you lifted it all the way up. I replaced them with shorter screws and it's smooth now.
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just a little file will save the day, i had the same issue with one mount screw on the 270 win not the others ... never thought it was a factory issue an john confirmed it.
 
northern skies said:
I recently bought one. It definitely is rough, more than the comments I read had me believe. I've cycled it several thousand times, did a hell of a lot of polishing, stoning some parts, and even correcting some dimensions to make it work smoothly. I'm going to slim the stock forend to below the level of the current checkering, go over the checkering of the grip, and modify some stock dimensions. I'm spoiled coming from a nice HVA 1900, but If I could have found what I was looking for at the gun show market I believe that would have been the way to go.

I'm planning on modifying the gun quite a bit, so this one will end up being right for me. I bought it because of certain attributes the action has over other stuff on the market. But I would definitely be unhappy with it if I expected it to be nice right out of the box. That said, it's better than a lot of the other new stuff I looked at that is asking for higher prices. Nothing new was really good until the sako level, and that costs a fortune.
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the birst batch that we got was really crude. that is the ones made for the us market. the actual ones are not to be compare. try to find a better gun for that price ...
 
medvedqc said:
the birst batch that we got was really crude. that is the ones made for the us market. the actual ones are not to be compare. try to find a better gun for that price ...
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Huh, I just got it from trade-ex in January. I could find much better stuff on the used market, just not in left handed.
 
northern skies said:
Huh, I just got it from trade-ex in January. I could find much better stuff on the used market, just not in left handed.
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I was going to say Howa/Vanguard for the same price are a better gun to the post above, but also the same issue....no lefties!
Plus some are stuck on CRF being superior or something, I'm not that fussy. They are one of few remaining "old school" manufactured rifles I can give them that... I remember CanAm making some suggestions to improve the M85 to Zastava and they would have none of it lol.
I can't argue that they are rough for '98's, compared to any of the Swede/Belgian/German/Spanish made commercial offerings, they are. The smoothest '98's I have are K98's the Dane's used to build 6.5x55 target rifles on. They cycle rounds like a push feed, sort of my personal benchmark for a '98's smoothness. HVA commercial offerings are a very close 2nd to these.
Even the 2 Zastava M70's I have are very different, the Stainless being acceptable, the blued is rough and gritty.
 
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