Zastava Stainless Mauser-98

Rob

Rob

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I like these basic and affordable all-weather M-98 rifles, so I thought they deserved their own thread:

For a backup rifle I got this Zastava M-70 SS 30-06, with good open sights. Its amazing that you can buy a real Mauser-98 in stainless for so little money. A couple of decades back a guy would have given a lot to find a stainless M-98. Granted, Zastava Mausers need to be cleaned up a little, but with a minor bit of polishing and tuning they are as good as or better than rifles costing more than twice as much.

For optics it has an older model ("Made in Austria") 4X Swarovski in Warne QD rings.

I put it in a (NOS) Ram-Line stock intended for a Mark X/Charles Daly Mauser 98 that I got cheap. Perfect drop-in fit. (Interarms Mark X, Charles Daly and Zastava are all basically the same rifle.) I like the rifle better in this stock. In my experience these relatively cheap plastic stocks (Ram-Line, Butler-Creek, etc.) work just fine with M-98s.

Trigger is already very nice, but wish the safety locked down the bolt. However, since this is intended as a budget back-up rifle, there is no three-position safety or single set trigger planned for the future.

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In factory stock:

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Excellent rifles! I have a stainless synthetic LKM70 .308 (plus a number of blued walnut Zastava rifles). These rifles are equipped with decent adjustable triggers. I load it with Hornady 180gr bullets at 2600 fps MV and groups around 1" at 100 yards off the bench rest -

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Zastava LKM70 .308 Winchester with Leupold FX-II 6x36mm scope

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if you find one and or have one keep it, seems that remington is no more helping Zastavaa on the stainless side. it will be years before we will see them again if ever. got one 9.3x62 for my wife ...
 
Heres a 6.5x55 I fit and full length pillar bedded in a boyds walnut semi-inlet for a friend of mine. Havent heard how the accuracy is now, but it wasn't great with the old stock(4-5" groups @200)
 
double gun said:
Burn.....
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Laugh ...... I handled one in 308 at the range last year. I was a bit rough around the edges but I was impressed overall seeing a lot of potential with a bit of work.

One in 9.3x62 with a good fiberglass stock, 3 position safety and uprgraded sights would be very cool indeed.
 
sherlockbonez said:
No longer imported i think they were around 5-600.
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As per medvedqc specified, Zastava have lost the rights and support to use the proprietary Remington coating and machinig processes and won't likely produce any more SS rifles. They now are more concentrated in trying to acquire the CNC machinery to produce their M/98 versions but lack the founding, as the Remington / Zastava agreement was supposed to fulfill their need for modernization and the drop of this agreement in 2007 may well have nailed down any further development of the SS version of the M/98.
 
double gun said:
And would end up costing the same as what something better would have cost from the start - that required no extra work.
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This is ridiculous. Zastavas do not "require extra work"...cleaning them up a bit is at the discretion of the owner...(and most of the Mauser-98 guys I know enjoy doing it, and enjoy personalizing the rifle in the process).

- There is nothing wrong with the open sights as is. They look good and work fine.
- 3-position (Winchester Model 70-style) safeties are overpriced and over-rated (I myself prefer the original 3-way M-98 military safety)
- after-market synthetic stocks are way overpriced, especially now with the 75 cent dollar....and even the expensive ones can be of indifferent quality...just use the factory stock or get a cheap Butler Creek..they work fine with Mausers.

Appreciate the Zastava 98 for what it is: a basic Mauser-98 working rifle...as solid and reliable as a shovel or an axe. I do understand that if you are not a Mauser-98 guy then you might not get it.

But everyone to their own prejudices...for instance, I don't allow Remingtons in my gun safes and yet I have a place there for a couple of Zastavas, right next to my Mannlichers, Sakos, Kimbers, Heyms, Brnos, etc.
 
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I have a blued half stock M70 in 7x57, bluing is quite nicely done and reminiscent of the old HVA Mausers of the 40's-50's. My extractor was overcut out of the box, probably fit a magnum cartridge but not the 7x57....easy fix however as they are standard '98 extractors. Wood is quite nice, and while it's not Swede or German smooth, it's certainly not bad. Trigger mech is easily tuned to produce a light crisp trigger pull. I'd buy another one....like this one, not a SS or a full stock though, just my preference.

I do have a "franken Mauser" that sits in a Hogue stock, Shaw 9.3x62 26" barrel, DUV K98 receiver, rest of the pieces are all commercial FN98. Still debating on how to finish it....matte or polish blue, cerracote for corrosion.... haven't made up my mind yet.
 
I believe that Wildcat Composites a Canadian company makes a synthetic stock for the Mauser platform at a reasonable price. I would really like a couple of the Zastava SS rifles. I could also go for a couple of Winchester EW or Kimber Montanas as well.:)

Fuzzy
 
Remington marketed their 798 model, which are Zastava barreled actions in Remington laminate stocks, from 2006 to 2008. Beautifully blued. A functional working rifle. My .458 Win. Mag. and .350 Rem. Mag. -

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The Zastava M-70 appears to have the controlled fed extractor.

OP, have you ever tried to drop a round into the chamber and then close the bolt? If the bolt won't close, the rifle is out of action until the round can be poked out.

This is an issue a shooter has to know about before having a problem on a hunt.

Hopefully the rifle was made so that the extractor will jump over the case rim.
 
Yes, the Zastava extractor will close over the rim of a round that is just dropped into the chamber. But this is really Mauser 101. I think most guys who buy or create M-98 sporters already know this sort of thing...and if they don't, they can go to Mauser Central for a refresher course in all things Mauser: http://www.mausercentral.com/ The Mauser Bolt Actions shop manual by Jerry Kuhnhausen is a handy book as well, even if you are farming out most gunsmithing. At the least, it will make you a more informed customer.
 
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This is interesting information. Thanks. Can you provide a source where I might learn more?

Baribal said:
As per medvedqc specified, Zastava have lost the rights and support to use the proprietary Remington coating and machinig processes and won't likely produce any more SS rifles. They now are more concentrated in trying to acquire the CNC machinery to produce their M/98 versions but lack the founding, as the Remington / Zastava agreement was supposed to fulfill their need for modernization and the drop of this agreement in 2007 may well have nailed down any further development of the SS version of the M/98.
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Rob said:
This is interesting information. Thanks. Can you provide a source where I might learn more?
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Rob, I am not close to my stuff by now but there is a thread where I posted a lot of infos about the Zastava - Remington saga.

For me, the Mauser (especially the late '98 with a lot of side clearance in the inner ring ) usually close on a case head when the extractor blade is correctly shaped (right bevel). Most of the times one breaks a modern Mauser extractor is because of poorly fitted extractor blade or unbeveled case head..

I do prefer the Zastava old pre-Remington safety because it locks the bolt when on safe - but I personally much prefer a three position safety or something like a ZKK style.
 
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