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Zastava M70 .32 ACP Range Report

Dobbinsky

Dobbinsky

Professional
Okay, Captain O, you can stop harassing me now! :)
After decosmoing it, I took the M70 out and put 50 rounds through it at 25 feet, sitting, no bench rest. The slide didn't fall completely forward on my first slide release, which was expected on a surplus, unfired weapon which prolly has a touch of cosmo remaining anyway. Also had one failure to eject stovepipe on the first round, also not unexpected. The remaining 49 went smooth as silk. I was hitting about 4" to the left, then with a tap of the brass punch on the rear sight, got me a good-to-go group. Probably as good as an expensive single action pistol of the type and size.
I must say, I love this gun! Feels great in the hand, looks great, solid, all steel, accurate, no slide bite, and nominal recoil. If the Colt Mustang was made in a .32, I believe I'd feel just as comfortable with the M70 for carry.
With that said, the company who sells these still has them in stock. A NOS M70 for $225.00? I'm buying another.
 

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I knew you would! I love the "Little Bee". You can already tell how this will function with "spicy" (+p) loads. Many sell the 7.65mm Browning short. This is a big mistake. Load this pistol with CIP (European) loads and you can handily eclipse, or surpass, the 9mm Browning (.380 ACP) from penetration alone.

If you begin handloading the "little .32", you'll discover that you can drive a 73-grain FMJ to 1050 fps. 178.75 foot-pounds of energy is undeserving of a sneer. It can penetrate 24 inches of 10% gelatin. This nearly guarantees 13 inches of penetration in a human chest (that included the sternum.) Works for me!

John Moses Browning was no one's fool. His genius lives, no, thrives, to this day.
 
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Captain O said:
I knew you would! I love the "Little Bee". You can already tell how this will function with "spicy" (+p) loads. Many sell the 7.65mm Browning short. This is a big mistake. Load this pistol with CIP (European) loads and you can handily eclipse, or surpass, the 9mm Browning (.380 ACP) from penetration alone.

John Moses Browning was no one's fool. His genius lives, no, thrives, to this day!
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Yep, I used the European .32 made in Serbia (PPU Ammo). I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of this weapon!
 
A flurry of hot .32 FMJ ammunition tends to stop a nasty confrontation with a miscreant. The hotter loads will do the job. The control provided by the steel-frame pistol makes it both accurate and formidable.
 
mikep said:
Nice shooting. That is cool pistol. I didn’t know that was one of Browning’s designs. Enjoy!
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The Tokarev is a variant of the Colt M1903. Its simplicity is pure genius. You can instantly replace the barrel/bushing without compromising the pistol's accuracy. If you align the rear sight with a laser collimator (with today's technology) that is a snap. You can arrange for teacup-sized freehand groups with ease.

Zastava is still making these pistols. They are dead-nuts reliable and wonderfully accurate. This alone makes these affordable unsung gems worth owning. Unfortunately, Americans are hung up on the "if it isn't a .380, it won't work" nonsense.

I happen to know better.

p.s. If you really want a single-action variant of the Colt M1903 at a bargain-basement price this is the pistol you want. I recommend this pistol for anyone that wants a lighter-recoiling, accurate, affordable and serviceable .32 ACP.
 
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Captain O said:
The Tokarev is a variant of the Colt M1903. Its simplicity is pure genius. You can instantly replace the barrel/bushing without compromising the pistol's accuracy. If you align the rear sight with a laser collimator (with today's technology) that is a snap. You can arrange for teacup-sized freehand groups with ease.

Zastava is still making these pistols. They are dead-nuts reliable and wonderfully accurate. This alone makes these affordable unsung gems worth owning. Unfortunately, Americans are hung up on the "if it isn't a .380, it won't work" nonsense.

I happen to know better.

p.s. If you really want a single-action variant of the Colt M1903 at a bargain-basement price this is the pistol you want. I recommend this pistol for anyone that wants a lighter-recoiling, accurate, affordable and serviceable .32 ACP.
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After seeing how this round blew through thick plywood and buried itself into the wood behind it, I have no doubt it's going to put down an attacker when hit center-mass.
 
mikep said:
I thought it was ugly.
Going to keep these on my radar.
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May I ask what they want for it for buy it now? If you're looking for one that's probably unfired in cosmo for a great price, these are still in stock.
www.classicfirearms.com

Zastava M70 Semi Auto Pistol, 7.65/.32 ACP - 1-8rd Mag - Good to Very Good Surplus Condition

The M70 pistol was produced by the Yugoslavian (now Serbian) arms manufacturer Crvena Zastava, as a sidearm for police and certain military officers. This pistol is based on the military type M57 pistol. For many years these pistols were used by Yugoslavian police and military. The M70 pistol...
www.classicfirearms.com www.classicfirearms.com
 
Dobbinsky said:
May I ask what they want for it for buy it now? If you're looking for one that's probably unfired in cosmo for a great price, these are still in stock.
www.classicfirearms.com

Zastava M70 Semi Auto Pistol, 7.65/.32 ACP - 1-8rd Mag - Good to Very Good Surplus Condition

The M70 pistol was produced by the Yugoslavian (now Serbian) arms manufacturer Crvena Zastava, as a sidearm for police and certain military officers. This pistol is based on the military type M57 pistol. For many years these pistols were used by Yugoslavian police and military. The M70 pistol...
www.classicfirearms.com www.classicfirearms.com
Click to expand...
DING, DING, DING! WE HAVE A WINNER!
 
The Zastava M70, formerly designated CZ M70 (Serbo-Croatian: Crvena Zastava Model 1970, Црвена Застава Модел 1970) is a semi-automatic pistol produced by Zastava Arms<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zastava_M70_(pistol)#cite_note-1"><span><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></span></a> as a sidearm for Yugoslav police and certain military officers. The pistol was loosely based on the Zastava M57, but is scaled down to accept the smaller and less powerful 7,65mm Browning (.32 ACP) or 9mm Kratak (.380 ACP).

Design details​

The M70 is a simple-blowback operated, single-action, pistol. This model differs most significantly from the locked-breech M57 by employing simple blowback, as this method is suitable for less powerful ammunition. Other differences from the parent M57 are found in the safety mechanisms, with both a manual safety lever and a magazine disconnect being present. The manual safety lever is located on the left side of the frame, above the grip panel, and flips forward to fire and back to engage the safety.

Owing to its Tokarev design lineage, the pistol is easy to dissemble and the hammer assembly is removable as one piece. The sights are fixed, with the rear sight being drift-adjustable for windage.

Users​

For many years these pistols were used by Yugoslavian police<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zastava_M70_(pistol)#cite_note-2"><span><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></span></a> and military. Today many of these pistols are sold worldwide as surplus and are popular among civilians in Serbia, sometimes referred as "Pčelica" (little bee).
 
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