#ZastavaArms

In  Part 1 of this article, I talked about the first prototypes of Yugoslav AKs, in  Part 2 we dived into the history of M70 rifles with milled receivers, Part 3 was dedicated to the most common Zastava M70, Part 4 went over rifles that Zastava developed during the collapse of Yugoslavia. In this final chapter, I will talk about modern Serbian AKs that I’ve seen over the years.

In  Part 1 of this article, I talked about the first prototypes of Yugoslav AKs, in  Part 2 we dived into the history of M70 rifles with milled receivers, Part 3 was dedicated to the most common Zastava M70s and this chapter will go over Zastava AKs developed during the collapse of Yugoslavia.

In Part 1 of this article, I talked about the first prototypes of Yugo AKs, in Part 2 we dived into the history of M70 rifles with milled receivers. In this article, we’ll take a look at the stamped receiver M70B1 rifles.

In part 1 of this article, I wrote about the early history of Zastava AKs: M64 and M64A. Right now, the only place where you can find a real M64 is the Zastava Arms Museum in Serbia. In this article we’ll talk about the first mass-produced Zastava AKs, the M70.

At least 33 countries produced AK rifles, but none of them had an origin history as strange as Yugoslavian AKs. Some say that Zastava is the best license-produced Kalashnikovs ever, but the truth is – Yugo AKs were not “license-produced”. Those guns had their own unique path that we will explore in this series of articles.

We all know Zastava Arms as a firearms manufacturer, Serbia’s premier maker of Kalashnikov-pattern rifles and more. In addition to their dozens of famed AK models, Zastava also produces quite a few other weapons, from handguns to bolt-action rifles and even a couple of anti-aircraft artillery pieces for their many national military customers. They have been in the weapons manufacturing business for more than 170 years, with their foundry’s first cannon barrels having been cast in Serbia’s fourth-largest city of Kragujevac (Крагујевац) all the way back in 1853. Now for SHOT Show this year, they’re partnering with Miona Badžević Anđelković, a Serbian entrepreneur, competitive shooter, fashionista, media personality, extreme sportswoman, humanitarian, and more. Zastava’s SHOT Show presentation will feature some of Miona’s exquisite fashion handiwork from her “LET HER” brand, in the form of dresses made of leather and brass shell casings. Check out the recent social media announcement about their collaboration with Miona to bring these incredible creations to Las Vegas later this month, copied below.

Photo Of The Day – Today we are off to a pretty sandy and warm place, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Mohamed Naguib Military Base. These images are from the exercise Bright Star 23, and all we’re missing are some Pyramids in the background. There are some pretty interesting sniper rifles in this POTD.

The Zastava Arms ZPAP M70 AK rifle is probably the most popular Serbian AK available to us here in the US market. Capable of functioning in virtually any environment and coming from a company that has made literal millions of AK rifles, the M70 is often the first choice for many looking to get into the AK game. Today Zastava has announced two new additions to their AK lineup including a new pistol as well as a new Zastava M70 Extended M-LOK handguard model.