Quotulatiousness

October 2, 2026

Explaining the Yugoslav / Zastava M70 Series of Rifles

Filed under: Europe, History, Military, Weapons — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Forgotten Weapons
Published 30 May 2026

Yugoslavia never received a technical data package or license for the AK; they reverse engineered the system themselves in the 1960s. In the process, they created a version of the AK noted for its ruggedness. In addition, they added a number of features to facilitate rifle grenade usage. Over the course of many iterations the rifle remained designated the M70, leading to a lot of confusion about what models are what. Today we are going through the whole series of changes.

M70 – Original milled receiver, with bolt hold-open, fixed stock, and screwed-in barrel
M70A – Underfolder version of the M70

M70B – Milled receiver, pinned-in barrel, standard magazines, fixed stock
M70AB – Underfolder version of M70B

M70B1 – Stamped receiver (1.5mm), bulged trunnion, fixed stock
M70AB1 – Stamped receiver (0.9mm), flat trunnion, underfolder
M70AB2 – Stamped receiver (1.5mm), bulged trunnion, underfolder

Thanks to Zastava USA for making this video possible!

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