[Partner 2025] Zastava Arms Showcases New Sniper Rifle In .338LM

Recently, Serbian company Zastava Arms presented an entire array of new firearms at the Partner 2025 exhibition in Belgrade: the light machine gun chambered in 6.5 Grendel and the M24 modular rifle chambered in 5.56x45. That alone would have been newsworthy, but there was more.

In the same display, the company showcased a new semi-automatic sniper rifle chambered in 338 Lapua Magnum. This is an entirely new design which doesn’t have a designation yet.

While Zastava manufactured 50 caliber bolt action sniper rifles, namely “Black Arrow” and “Black Spear”, for decades, and recently added to their product line a bolt-action rifle M07M in 338 LM, they never demonstrated semi-automatic rifles in those calibers.

The new rifle has a conventional layout and adheres to modern trends in firearm design. Magazine capacity is 10 rounds, and the weight is 7.1 kg (15.6 pounds). It is a couple of pounds heavier compared to other semi-auto rifles in the same caliber, like “Bad News” Gen 2 from Noreen Firearms and FD338 from F&D Defense. However, the Serbian rifle has a slightly longer barrel - 27 inches (690 mm).

The ergonomics are close to AR-10/AR-15 with an ambidextrous safety lever and magazine release. The charging handle can be installed on both the left and the right side; the stock is folding and adjustable. There is a Picatinny rail on top of the receiver, and the handguard has a quadrail.

The effective range mentioned in the factory specs is 1500 meters, which is very humble. With this ammo and barrel length, I have little doubt the rifle will be effective at longer distances.

After all, the record for the longest confirmed sniper kill from 2009 to 2012 was held by a British sniper, Craig Harrison, who managed to shoot two Taliban machine gunners from a distance of 2,475 meters (2,707 yards) with a 338 Lapua Magnum.

This new sniper rifle is another proof that Serbia has a lot to offer when it comes to small arms development and production. While most other European countries stick to conventional calibers, the Serbian defence industry is now offering weapons in calibers that can potentially provide overmatch capability.