Zastava Bolt Actions

Brno2e

Well-Known Member
Hi, thinking about a new (well second hand) rifle and really like the look of a Zastava on a 98 action. Dont know much about them but love the 98 action and like things that are made out of real wood and proper metal.

Has anyone any experience of them and do they have good triggers?

Cheers, Martyn.
 
Hi, thinking about a new (well second hand) rifle and really like the look of a Zastava on a 98 action. Dont know much about them but love the 98 action and like things that are made out of real wood and proper metal.

Has anyone any experience of them and do they have good triggers?

Cheers, Martyn.
I had one in 30-06 and it as a rough cob. I am pretty tolerant but the tooling marks on the underside of the action even shocked me. Accuracy was only acceptable. This was quite a while back, though. Things might be different now.~Muir
 
Father has one
A .243 stutzen
I honestly can't remember last time i saw it out the cabinet , he likes it, I haven't fired it so can't comment on the trigger , also accurate enough from what I remember

Paul
 
I didn't think there was an importer for the UK. I believe very close to the original '98 specs though.

David.
 
They're pretty popular here - cheap but a good rifle. They've been making commercial 98s for years but under different names. I think whitworth, interarms, Remington 798 are some. The curren crop are reasonably well finished, maybe not quite as much as a 550 but ok. The wood is plain but ok, people are building nice customs out of them. They generally shoot well out off he box and function fine. Good as a work rifle or clean/slick it up a bit and maybe restock for a really nice one. I'd own one before any push feed...

just throwing it out there, but an online retailer here has stainless synthetics for $455. I think wood/blue is more like $700. There are no export restrictions here...
 
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Likely by the time your done getting it to shoot like you want it to, you will have spent as much money as a quality rifle would have cost. You can pay now, or you can pay later.
 
The current crop don't shoot any worse than most other factory rifles. People just want them to as they're cheap. You certainly don't have to sink a lot of money in to get them real good.
 
I've been told that they are made on the machines FN sold after stopping making the FN mauser. The man , now deceased, that told me that was very knowledgeable about the Liège gun trade.
Zastave probably doesn't finish them as good as FN did.

Would the action suit as a donor action ? Or is the action also of very low standard?
 
I've been told that they are made on the machines FN sold after stopping making the FN mauser. The man , now deceased, that told me that was very knowledgeable about the Liège gun trade.
Zastave probably doesn't finish them as good as FN did.

Would the action suit as a donor action ? Or is the action also of very low standard?
these gus are not very low standard at all, I don't see where this is coming from. If they were the same money I would still buy one over a tikka, howa, rem 700, PF winchester etc.. They are not quite as slick - but then nor are a lot of CRFs. They make a very good base for a custom - after all they are a true 98 made of good quality steel and if they are slicked, polished and dressed up would be right at home at the heart of a high end rifle.

The bashing of the current crop seems pure speculation here as there are not many around at the moment. I can vouch this is not true for the most part. Of course lemons crop up just like all the rest. They are no where near as bad as say lever action marlins a couple of years ago
 
Zastava's on Accuratereloading and other such forums seem to get reasonable reviews. Actions can form the basis of really quite nice rifles. They also come as left handed which is a bonus. Barrels shoot reasonably. If you wanted a traditional rifle but not eating to spend $3000 on a modern Mauser action from Prechtl, Mayfair etc then they would make a good starting point.
 
There was a UK importer in Yorkshire?? I think it was. Saw him and picked up a leaflet at one of the gun fairs/shows some years back.
 
I have no doubt that a used Zastava in good condition would get the job done. But compared to many rifles, they are, frankly, clunky and agricultural. My advice would be to find a good Tikka 595 instead.
 
I have no doubt that a used Zastava in good condition would get the job done. But compared to many rifles, they are, frankly, clunky and agricultural. My advice would be to find a good Tikka 595 instead.

So what you are saying is that a Mauser 98 action is clunky and agricultural??

I wonder have you informed the likes of Holland & Holland, Rigby and Westley Richards of this little bit of information? I am sure that once they stopped laughing they woud be happy to educate you to a more enlightened state same goes for FN and of course Mauser who have brought the 98 back into production due to the demand for it. A huge number of shooters and a large number of rifle builders consider the Mauser 98 to be superior for a hunting rifle than many of the later designs.
 
The minute H&H and the likes start using a Zastava worth a couple of hundred quid to base their rifles on, I'll let them know.
 
The minute H&H and the likes start using a Zastava worth a couple of hundred quid to base their rifles on, I'll let them know.

You are aware than Rigby has been using CZ-Brno ations for some years?

As to worth well what you are talking about is cost not actual worth. A Howa 1500 costs say £800 but that does not mean that is it's worth only it's cost. The same rifle in another country costs far less than here in the UK.

Zastava are an old established industrial concern and we do not see half of what they make. I would also say that the rifles mentioned are more than likely made to a price point dictated to by the importer who is paying as little as possible to maximise their profit. Just as Chinese made stuff gets slammed yet if the importers were to pay more the quality could be mush higher. The Chinese can and do make some excellent quality stuff the problem is greed and the must make 1000% profit operations by the get rich quick fraternity.

As an example I have a excellent pair of pocket binos that were made in China for Canon the Japanese company and for their size they are very good. We have had them now for around 20 years and are excellent for when the normal roof prisim 8x ones are too bulky like when cycling or dropping into the glove box of the car.... small sports car = small glove box and no door pockets ;).
 
Fill your cabinet with whatever rattly old military actions designed to function when full of mud you like. We all have different opinions and preferences.
My own opinion is that there are far nicer actions than those on the Zastava rifles which the person who started this thread asked about. And what your binoculars have to do with that is beyond me!
 
Fill your cabinet with whatever rattly old military actions designed to function when full of mud you like. We all have different opinions and preferences.
My own opinion is that there are far nicer actions than those on the Zastava rifles which the person who started this thread asked about. And what your binoculars have to do with that is beyond me!

Obviously reason is also beyond you :rolleyes: The point that you seem incapable of grasping is that large undustrial concerns like Zastava will make products to price points to suit particular customers which is this case is the importers. So despite being able to make very high quality items they will lower the quality to bring the price down to keep workers in work and factories busy. This is nothing new especially in the gun trade.

As a matter of interest I never owned a Zastava rifle but did own a Brno model ZKK rifle in .308 that many were rather scathing about and most of them had neve shot one let alone owned one. These people are followers ......................... like sheep they follow the flock seemingly unable to think for them selves. These same type of people were also scathing about Japanese cars abd otpics before they became mainstream and more expensive. The did the same about Korean motors and electronics and i have no doubt they will do the same about Chinese cars and mobile phones and once they start becoming more accepted the prices will rise and then they will be much more accepted as they cost more and the price becomes a bragging point .... eg My car cost £XYZ. it is history repeating itself.

The whole point of this is that as far as I am aware Zastava still use drop forgings in the 98 type actions and these are better than the cheaper options that you favour as drop forgings refine the grain flow and structure unlike castings. It is the finishing where they are cutting the corners to get the price point required. Some manufacturers do this by using drawn tubing instead others use castings.
 
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