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Zastava M83 Revolver

21K views 27 replies 19 participants last post by  Qwiks draw 
#1 ·
I just found out today that the Zastava factory in Serbia (ex Yugoslavia) makes .357-Magnum revolvers. This is the same factory that makes my AK-47 M92 pistol. Who knew?

Cabela's has them on sale this week for $280. That seems like a decent price, but I'm not planning to get one. Looks interesting, tho.

Anybody heard of these? Any comments?

Firearm Gun Revolver Trigger Ranged weapon


Zastava M83 Revolvers : Cabela's
 
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#2 ·
That's a new one to me; looks interesting, though! First revolver I've seen that has a triggerguard hook that you see on many semiautos and almost no one ever uses.
 
#8 ·
That's a new one to me; looks interesting, though! First revolver I've seen that has a triggerguard hook that you see on many semiautos and almost no one ever uses.
Personally, I do not want my finger that close to the barrel/cylinder gap.
 
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#4 ·
I was not aware of it at all. Not sure if I would want to buy a new imported magnum revolver without knowing more about the construction. It may very well be a fine piece, but I will wait and see what the market does with it for now.
 
#5 ·
It seems the interwebs has yet to form an opinion. I can't find any professional reviews; most of what I find are threads like this on various forums. Seems that if they are new, they were produced many years ago and never sold. The rear sight in indeed as flat as it looks in the photo above. And if anyone else says to themselves "boy, that rear cylinder gap is almost invisible!", it's a shrouded cylinder. There's a ring of steel around the protruding case rims.
 
#11 ·
Interesting video. Thanks. The pivot point for the trigger seems to be in the wrong place. I had an old Davis .38-Special Derringer that had a HORRENDOUS trigger--until I realized that the trigger didn't pull BACK, but down and back. When I figured that out, the pull wasn't so bad. (Horrible gun, in any case--I never did find out where I was hitting with it, the bore was so far off.)

I wonder if that's why people report that the trigger pull is heavy. It looks like it doesn't pull back, but downward.

I'm almost curious enough to get one of these. Almost, but not quite.
 
#12 ·
GGot good clean looks. Never heard of it let us know how it turns out
jhp
 
#13 ·
I just found out today that the Zastava factory in Serbia (ex Yugoslavia) makes .357-Magnum revolvers. This is the same factory that makes my AK-47 M92 pistol. Who knew?

Cabela's has them on sale this week for $280. That seems like a decent price, but I'm not planning to get one. Looks interesting, tho.

Anybody heard of these? Any comments?


Zastava M83 Revolvers : Cabela's
The first time I saw this I went looking. They weren't on Zastava's website, which makes me think this may be an old product, possibly surplus, that's only now getting imported.
 
#15 ·
I've been wondering when someone here would start asking about those. I actually got to handle one of those at Cabela's once. It had nice bluing on it, and the grips did fit my hands well enough, but it did have a heavy trigger pull in both double and single action. It was the same as the surplus m82 I started out on so it wasn't too bad for me. It didn't seem flimsy at all, just unusual. I place it in the interesting category right next to the Czechpoint revolvers. It seems they've been sitting in storage for a while and are just now getting imported. My key area of concern on them is the strange screws they use to hold the sideplate on and lack of parts. If a regular gunsmiths screw can fit, they would most likely benefit from a cleaning, and then a possible change of springs if any would fit(they use coil springs I think).

Interestingly, it seems they might have made a version of it chambered in 9mm luger. It would be great to see some of those imported.
 
#16 ·
I thought of the Alfa Proj, aka Czechpoint, when I saw this. I czech'ed out (sorry, can't resist the pun) the Alfa Proj but Czechpoint wouldn't return my emails and the import and service of their revolver line seems like a very low priority. Reed's Ammo in OK handles Czechpoints, too, but they are never in stock. I inquired about parts with them and they said no problem, they are available. The Zastava seems to be an altogether different gun and perhaps not up to Alfa Proj (Czechpoint) quality. I've handled neither the Czechpoint nor this Zastava so it's hard to judge, but I finally decided a Rossi 971 would be the better deal as parts and service are likely more available.
 
#19 ·
The company has an interesting history and an interesting catalog of military and civilian firearms.
 
#23 ·
#27 ·
Interesting thread. Seems Cabelas is offering a pretty neat sales price on a revolver which has been discontinued from a Czech/Serbian mfr. Price looks good. Might be worth a look and only out ~ $250 or so if you end up not liking it. Might make a nice campground or tackle box gun - esp if you run it with 38 spl (or 38 spl +P).
 
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