Shot Show 2024 Day 1 booth first look with Ronco of Zastava Arms USA — not a purchased T&E or range review. Specs, pricing, and availability below are as stated on the booth floor.
Squat Squad — how can we be SlavGuns without looking at some cool Slavic heritage and Slavic guns? At Shot Show 2024 Day 1 I sat down with fellow Slav Ronco of Zastava Arms to walk what’s new, what’s already on shelves, and what’s coming in the months after the show.
We don’t have a product-specific Zastava slav.li for this booth tour — I’m not inventing one. Gear I actually use: SlavGuns Amazon. Precision accessories: Anarchy Outdoors (code SlavGuns on Anarchy-manufactured only). Support the channel: join on YouTube.
Zastava M70 underfolder
Announced the year before, released before the new year, and already on shelves nationwide by the booth. Two details Ronco wanted viewers to catch:
- All Zastava ZAPs are now shipping with a standard bayonet lug — that was not the case before
- These underfolders have a raised side rail so the stock can still fold (a lot of underfolders skip the rail for that reason)
- A U.S.-made scope mount for that raised rail was a few weeks out at filming; designed so you can remove the dust cover without removing the mount
- Mount is a separate accessory; the rail comes with the rifle
- Booth availability: right now; MSRP talked as just under $1,200 — street price via local dealers
ZPAP M70 — still the bestseller, now with bayonet lug
The standard Zastava M70 pattern has been around in the U.S. for the last few years and, per booth talk, the best-selling AK in the country for the last three. What’s new for customers who already know the rifle: the bayonet lug a lot of people had been asking for.
- From now on Zastava is delivering them with the lug (not offering a no-lug version for restricted states from the booth pitch)
- Pitch: authenticity + military-grade semi-autos built on the same production lines / same people that build for military — and military rifles have the lug
- Ronco’s value angle: the lug also helps the rifle’s value down the road
Why Zastava vs other AK options
Ronco’s framing: other AK makers aren’t “competition,” they’re the AK family — and the U.S. AK market is growing. Why a lot of customers still pick Zastava:
- Factory history: recently celebrated 170 years in business
- Receivers about 50% thicker than a typical AKM — 1.5 mm bulged (RPK-style) receivers, historically built to launch rifle grenades and take that recoil
- That stiffer receiver is part of the accuracy / flex story on the booth
- If you want an RPK-style receiver today (with Russian AKs out of the picture), this is basically the choice on the floor
- Largest importer of these — convert, clear Serbian export, and land them in the U.S. is its own puzzle
Serbia export pause (booth clarification)
On the temporary Serbian export halt people had seen in the news: Ronco said it was tied to the situation in the southern part of Serbia / Kosovo. The ban itself expired after 30 days, but export permits now take longer because Serbian authorities want to make sure rifles don’t end up in the wrong places. Uncertain situation they can’t control — they post updates on social and answer emails / influencers directly when info changes.
M77 .308 — DMR package coming
Younger cousin of the Zastava M76, chambered in .308, already on the market for a while. What’s new for the year after the show:
- DMR package: flash hider, scope mount, and the scope itself
- Stock cutout to allow a cheek riser
- Likely ships with a 20-round mag, plus a 10-round included for the looks (M76 vibe a lot of people want)
- Price ballpark only (Ronco wouldn’t pin it): roughly $1,000–$2,000
Bottom line
Shot Show booth tour, not a range report: underfolder M70 with bayonet lug + raised side rail (MSRP just under $1,200), ZPAP/ZPAP M70 bestsellers now shipping with the lug, thicker RPK-style receivers as the heritage pitch, a Serbia export-permit reality check, and an M77 .308 DMR package on the horizon. Watch the video for the full walkaround with Ronco.
Keep squatting.
Traditionalist, modernist, or somewhere in between — which Zastava is right up your alley?
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