Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Zastava 85 mini Mauser - opinions

What can you guys tell me about the Zastava mini Mauser rifles ? Mainly the model 85- in 7.62x39?
Problems?
Are they a little rough around the edges or a smooth operator ??

Look at CZs too. I think they sell one with the flush mag now in 7.62, if that's more your style.

Just want to know opinions on the Zastava.

I did not know this....Good info....Hb

I had one. It shot well enough. A little rough, but overall not bad.

The problem I had was the stock. It was way too thick. It felt like a 2x4 and made the little rifle way to slow. It needs to be much trimmer.

Otherwise, worth a try.

Something easily rectified with a good rasp, some files, and sandpaper. Such a problem to have.


My only experience with the Mini in 7.62x39 was converting it to 6.5 Grendel for a customer. It ended up as a very nice, light and trim rifle. Quite accurate as well.

I had a 7.62X39 barreled receiver about 20-25 years ago. Chambered it in 270X39 Ackley. A 270PPC you could call it. Very accurate deer rifle for a young person. A couple years ago I rechambered it in 220 "Russian" Beggs. and restocked it. Haven't taken it to the range yet. Mine is a smooth receiver.

Am I the only one that clicks on any thread I see Butch has replied to, in hopes of seeing pics?

Beautiful rifle!

Okay, but as you can see, that information was of interest to someone else. So just skip over it and move on.

My opinion on a Zastava, buy a CZ.

Based on my sample of one each M85 and Model 70, there are nice, solid steel rifles hiding under the roughness of the action and less than quality wood finishing.

As tdd4570 noted, the stocks are thick and long and the checkering appears to have been done by blind, drunken people with a particularly severe case of apathy, but the stock ergonomics are actually very good with proper cast and cant. Wood is hit or miss, you could get a plank or you could get some nicely figured walnut under the brown wash finish. Accuracy on the model 70 7x57 was very good and others reported similar fine accuracy. Exterior polishing on both rifles was very nice.

My Model 70 needed several hours with files and sandpaper to fix the ratchet teeth on the feed rails and other areas, but after doing so it operated fairly smoothly. IIRC the feed rails on the 85 weren't nearly as bad but it still would have needed some fine grit paper and elbow grease to get it operating smoothly. I didn't have the ambition to do that on the M85 so sold it unfired.

A note on Zastava in general. They can actually do a very good job on finishing rifles, it all depends on what the buyer wants. But they build to a price point, and the M85 and M70 are built to the lower end of that. So to summarize - good solid rifle, mostly likely will produce good to excellent accuracy, a well shaped stocked albeit somewhat long, very nice exterior metal polish and bluing, with little or no money spent on polishing up the interior or putting a quality finish and detailing on the wood.

That was my opinion 5-6 years ago and examinations of some Model 70's at Cabela's within the last two months verified that nothing seems to have changed since then.

Here are some pics and part of the description from my ad for the Model 85:

...The rifle weighs 6 1/4 pounds as pictured and has a 20" barrel, .550" at the muzzle, and the magazine holds 5 rounds. It is a trim little thing in a rather large stock... Outside polish is very nice, action interior can stand some polishing....















Few more pics to follow.

That's a .223 round for size comparison.

Jim, I bet it is a shooter. Didn't know the double set triggers were available.

The poor quality of the stock checkering makes me wonder about the QC of the entire package.

I was looking at the mannlicher stocked M85, but the dog barf grade checkering is a hurdle that I can't seem to overcome no matter how low the price is.

Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel.

I have three of the Charles Daly mini Mauser actions that I bought in the white. Not the current Zastavas I know, but made by the same company and it is the same action. I barreled onn to 6mmx222, and another to 17 Remington. The third is waiting for me to make up my mind on what it wants to be. I am way more impressed with the actions and metal work on the Zastavas than I am the wood. I had one of the M70's in 7x57 in a lefty and found the metal work to be quite good while the stock was a piece of firewood. The triggers on my Dalys are easily adjusted.

As far as CZ goes I suppose they make a decent gun but they can kiss my ever expanding backside after this from their website. Apparently left handedness is an affliction.

"CZ fans afflicted with wrong-handedness have long asked for a centerfire offering in the medium game chamberings. Finally we have the answer in the form of the 557 Left-Hand and Left-Hand Short Action."

Almost like they think they have a cure to a disease. Arrogant pr#$%s.

What good are opinions if you don't express them?

If you haven't seen the "checkering" on the current Zastava rifle stocks in person, you can't really appreciate how bad it really is.

The M85 is a push feed action not like the M70 CRF, for whatever it's worth.
Once you take a rasp and perform liposuction on the stock you will have to rechecker anyways and refinish
Bottom line, if you are willing to spend some time and money, the rifle has potential. Otherwise, look for a used one that someone else did all the work and it's ready to work.

the little rifle has been imported by at least two different wholesalers. the ones pictured I believe are from K-var. they were also imported by KBI. the KBI stocks were much "better" shaped if you consider a high gloss, skip line checkered stock of decent wood better. When KBI imported them, actions in the white were available as were barreled actions. I read that Interarms also imported them to but I never saw the small one from them.
it is strange that CZ isn't more left hand friendly. The woman who is the CEO is left handed. saw her hunting in Africa on one of the Saturday morning blasting shows.

I believe that Interarms was the first company to import the mini-Mausers, but only 223. Those rifle had a much nicer finish to them, both wood and metal, than the current versions. I bought one in 2004, intending to restock it with a B&C synthetic stock and rebarrel it in 6.8 SPC. When I lost interest, I sold the rifle in 2008.

Remington imported them for a short time, a year or two, as their Model 799 and cataloged them in 22 Hornet, 222, 223, 22-250, and 7.62x39 with a laminated stock.

The Zastava site list the current rifles as being chambered in 22 Hornet, 222, 222 MAG, 223, 22-250, and 7.62x39.

Considering how scarce 222 MAG brass is, I wonder how many or few of those will be sold.