I have a few rifles built on left hand M70 bolt actions. All the rifles I had up until recently were bought at the same time, and dated "02" on the receiver. All these actions are stamped as per below:


However I recently bought a used LH Zastava as a donor action for a build for my son. First Zastava I have looked at since my 2002 era ones. I see they are now marked as below:


I dont see any sign of a date on this action. Did they stop stamping the date, or just move it to a different location on the action?

Should also add that I assume they restarted the serial nos too. My Yugo actions have serial nos 400XXX, whereas the Serbia stamped action has a serial no of 11XXX.

i have imported several different iterations of Zastava M70s. All have different markings.. For US import they must have maker’s name, country of origin and model. Also name and address of importer and serial number on the action. If the maker doesn’t mark them the importer must. Most importers have the maker put on all that stuff. But all of the M70s are the same overall dimensions. They are modified to accommodate the 375 H&H cartridge and are so marked on the bottom of the action under the front receiver ring. Most other actions are marked in the same location as to caliber group, e.g. 8X57. I’ve never seen a date on an action. Maybe that’s another country’s requirement.

Thanks for the post and pictures Bwana_500. I just read that 2003 was the name change from Yugoslavia to Serbia. Those early markings are much more appealing.

Thanks for the comments guys. Seems good info on the Zastazas is limited. I have some guesses and some input which makes sense. But it would be nice to have some definitive answers. I might have to see if I have any luck trying to ask the factory.

Regarding the date, I saw on another forum that the earlier Zastava M70s included a 4 digit date code, but from the late 1980s they went to a 2 digit date code. Mine seem consistent with that, since I believe they were early 2000s era manufacture. Actually a 4 digit code would be better, since it would be more identifiable as a date code, rather than being confused as to whether its some other random code.

I was hoping to find a web site or some authoritative source maintained by a Zastava enthusiast, but unfortunately they just dont seem to evoke enough passion for someone to go to that length.

I have a "Yugoslavia" 8x57 and it has the date code 0576.

Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain and Italy use/require date codes. So I am not surprised they followed suit.

Since the left hand versions are a relatively new offering, it is conceivable that they use a different dating system. All the right hand models I've had or seen use a 4 digit date code.

quote:

Actually a 4 digit code would be better, since it would be more identifiable as a date code, rather than being confused as to whether its some other random code.

I have an even more revolutionary idea: USE THE DAMNED DATE! Why do we need "codes" at all? These corporate "secret handshakes" are just STUPID. "09-2010". There's a date code for you, you bean-counting lackeys!

quote:

Originally posted by cdsx:

quote:

Actually a 4 digit code would be better, since it would be more identifiable as a date code, rather than being confused as to whether its some other random code.

I have an even more revolutionary idea: USE THE DAMNED DATE! Why do we need "codes" at all? These corporate "secret handshakes" are just STUPID. "09-2010". There's a date code for you, you bean-counting lackeys!

Zastava actually does just that. Month and year, simple.

quote:

Originally posted by z1r:
Zastava actually does just that. Month and year, simple.

Proper thing. Don't know if that could benefit Bwana_500 or not; his may have been marked under a different system, possibly.