Zastava M70

rchmontreal said:
Check out Ellwood Epps, a site sponsor. They currently have over +20 Zastava LK M70's in stock, many different calibers, polymer and walnut stocks (https://ellwoodepps.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=desc&order=relevance&p=1&q=zastava). $595 - $795 depending on stock or caliber.

I purchased the last 8 x 57mm two weeks ago. Lovely rifle with nice bluing and a great piece of wood to match. Haven't taken it to the range yet, but hope to soon.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. :) Much appreciated. As I've posted in past,:d I have a pair of full wood M-70's, one in ".366 Wagner" and another in 7x57. I haven't seen any other full wood model available lately. Again, thanks for the info:).
 
I cannot believe that there are guns under $700 with this level of quality. I would buy one, send it off to a smith for a simple tuning, and if the Smith says 'ok', keep it as a lifetime shooter. Again, one of those 8x57's are calling my name, but my locker is full, and I am spending $$ on some refinishing projects.
 
rchmontreal said:
Check out Ellwood Epps, a site sponsor. They currently have over +20 Zastava LK M70's in stock, many different calibers, polymer and walnut stocks (https://ellwoodepps.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=desc&order=relevance&p=1&q=zastava). $595 - $795 depending on stock or caliber.

I purchased the last 8 x 57mm two weeks ago. Lovely rifle with nice bluing and a great piece of wood to match. Haven't taken it to the range yet, but hope to soon.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

I would recommend a bedding job on the rifle. I got mine done and the groups tightened up by half. I've had good experience with the 8x57's made by Zastava.
 
Does anyone have suggestions on what kind of things I can do to improve on this rifle, either aesthetically or functionally??
I'd assume that the trigger can be lightened up a bit, and a little lapping compound will smooth out the action.
Because it's a .458 Win Mag , What about things like a muzzle break? or getting a second barrel lug (is it really needed?) to handle recoil? What else can I do?
 
Bed the action and use it. It will smoothen-up with use. The triggers are pretty decent and are adjustable. You don't need to do anything else.
 
KFD76 said:
Does anyone have suggestions on what kind of things I can do to improve on this rifle, either aesthetically or functionally??
I'd assume that the trigger can be lightened up a bit, and a little lapping compound will smooth out the action.
Because it's a .458 Win Mag , What about things like a muzzle break? or getting a second barrel lug (is it really needed?) to handle recoil? What else can I do?
Click to expand...

Speaking of the wood stock model here, the inletting is generally pretty rough and can be made smoother, the length of pull is also quite excessive and can be adjusted (cut down) to your liking while considering another recoil pad. The one from factory is a hockey puck.

The finish on the wood stock is rather poor and the stock can be refinished with an oil rub finish to improve appearance.

The bolt needs to be completely taken apart and cleaned. There is lots of what seems to be dry oil and polishing paste in the bolt body...
 
I completely disassembled the rifle once I returned home. It was quite clean with no wood debris present under the action. There was a quantity of grease on the firing pin/spring/cocking piece, plus preserving oil on all blued parts and barrel.

The barrel was completely free floating in the stock. I will certainly consider glass bedding the action in the future. The bolt action was pretty smooth, but spent an evening cycling the action to improve it. Feeds, extracts and ejects perfectly with dummy rounds. Must say I am very pleased with the value for money.

Considering mounting a scope, looking at Warne steel 2 piece scope bases and rings.

Now I want to find out how it groups "as is"...
 
My beef with Zastava, the one I have has the base holes drilled off center, which apparently is common. I had to use Millett windage adjustable rings to realign the scope. Action is solid though. A bit rough but solid. I had a 308 M70 once with incorrect mag follower, apparently from 7.62x39 installed in 308 action. There was no spacer so it was difficult to align rounds in the mag and it led to frequent problems with feeding. A M48 yugo mauser mag follower solved the problem.
 
rchmontreal said:
I completely disassembled the rifle once I returned home. It was quite clean with no wood debris present under the action. There was a quantity of grease on the firing pin/spring/cocking piece, plus preserving oil on all blued parts and barrel.

The barrel was completely free floating in the stock. I will certainly consider glass bedding the action in the future. The bolt action was pretty smooth, but spent an evening cycling the action to improve it. Feeds, extracts and ejects perfectly with dummy rounds. Must say I am very pleased with the value for money.

Considering mounting a scope, looking at Warne steel 2 piece scope bases and rings.

Now I want to find out how it groups "as is"...
Click to expand...

My findings and assessment, as in post #2, closely match yours:). The smoothness of the action has improved with repeated cycling. Bang for the buck,:d no complaints and basically the only modification I made was to shorten up the length of pull, which was excessive. Both of the ones I purchased are full length wood models and as such, I thought accuracy/group sizes might be a little compromised. My first reload test results showed my 'accuracy/group concerns' to be groundless:d. If you want, PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you a scan of the first couple of load test targets.
 
Other issues one may encounter is the front sight is fitted too lose in the dovetail and falls off after initial firing. Fixed that with a brass shim after I found it. The action screws have an Allen head and are imo very soft. Furthermore the key dimensions can be different. One Allen key will fit the front screw but not the back screw or vise versa. So best double check before rounding out the heads. I fixed that with a quality set of slotted 98 Voere action screws.

If you get a M70 free of issues you hit jackpot. I've not seen one yet.

I think a used 98 Parker Hale in very good condition (can be found for under $500,-) is a better deal/rifle.
 
Last edited:
If Zastava is producing rifles for the Serbian market primarily, the length of pull would fit your average male quite comfortably. Average height for men is 5' 11" and most I have met are well over 6' tall!

Personally I am comfortable with LOP (5' 10"). I always carried an FN FAL with a long butt.
 
rchmontreal said:
If Zastava is producing rifles for the Serbian market primarily, the length of pull would fit your average male quite comfortably. Average height for men is 5' 11" and most I have met are well over 6' tall!

Personally I am comfortable with LOP (5' 10"). I always carried an FN FAL with a long butt.
Click to expand...

trust me 6' is small for that part of the wrold lol.
 
LOP comfort, imo, depends on stock style and sighting options. Have no problem with iron sights on the hogback but putting a scope on it is another story.
 
rchmontreal said:
If Zastava is producing rifles for the Serbian market primarily, the length of pull would fit your average male quite comfortably. Average height for men is 5' 11" and most I have met are well over 6' tall!

Personally I am comfortable with LOP (5' 10"). I always carried an FN FAL with a long butt.
Click to expand...

I'm 6'. I can't recall what the original length of pull was, but it was:eek: excessive for me. A local site member and friend who does a fair amount of gunsmithing, shortened the pull of my two full wood Zastavas to a comfortable 13 1/2". With that correction;), all is now good:d.
 
Johnn Peterson said:
I'm 6'. I can't recall what the original length of pull was, but it was:eek: excessive for me. A local site member and friend who does a fair amount of gunsmithing, shortened the pull of my two full wood Zastavas to a comfortable 13 1/2". With that correction;), all is now good:d.
Click to expand...

Same for me. LOP is stratospheric on those. With only a t-shirt on it's good but with 3 or 4 layers of clothing in winter it didn't work fo me and i'm 6 foot 2.
 
Depends where you go, in some places 6' 2" isn't far of the average height for a man.

rchmontreal said:
If Zastava is producing rifles for the Serbian market primarily, the length of pull would fit your average male quite comfortably. Average height for men is 5' 11" and most I have met are well over 6' tall!

Personally I am comfortable with LOP (5' 10"). I always carried an FN FAL with a long butt.
Click to expand...
 
riversrest said:
Other issues one may encounter is the front sight is fitted too lose in the dovetail and falls off after initial firing. Fixed that with a brass shim after I found it. The action screws have an Allen head and are imo very soft. Furthermore the key dimensions can be different. One Allen key will fit the front screw but not the back screw or vise versa. So best double check before rounding out the heads. I fixed that with a quality set of slotted 98 Voere action screws.

If you get a M70 free of issues you hit jackpot. I've not seen one yet.

I think a used 98 Parker Hale in very good condition (can be found for under $500,-) is a better deal/rifle.
Click to expand...

While older, this is the same action, a Mark X Mauser.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom