Thread: Zastava M85 Accuracy

I got a Zastava M85 in .223 a while ago and finally got scope, rings, ammo and time to get it all together and sighted in. I used PPU 55 grain ammo and got a 1" 4 shot group at 100 yards (there was a 5th shot but I messed that one so lets not talk about that ) . I'm pretty dang happy with this as this is the first group that good that I have shot ever (I'm pretty new to shooting and have modest gear)

Just wondering if I can expect better out of it? should I bother investing in other brands of ammo and shooting more groups to see if there's another ammo it prefers, or should I just buy a case of ppu and get some practice in and go hunting? If you have a M85 in .223 what does yours shoot best and how tight is the group?

Well that sounds pretty good to me, most factory rifles will shoot around the 1" mark with factory ammo. You could try a few other brands to see if it is consistent with other brands and you may find an even better load. Best of all would be hand load as you can tailor the loads to your rifle. If all else fails you are good to go as it is. For hunting that is more than adequate and not to bad for targets as well.

Seeing as you are new I have a few suggestions.

1" at 100 is more than accurate enough for most hunting. I would still suggest more time on the rifle first though. Fire a couple more packets through with 4 or 5 shot groups and see if the first group was a good representation of you and your rifles performance. If using it on goats etc a 2 inch group at 100 is about a 4 inch group at 200 so you are well within accuracy to hunt humanely. If you find the group opens up with more rounds then it may mean the combination of you and the rifle is not quite as accurate as that. For a guide find a 5 inch circle and practise hitting it at 200m. If you can hit a 5" circle at that range consistently then your accuracy will be well within the kill zone on a goat.

It wont hurt to try different brands and more importantly a few different bullet weights. I cannot remember the twist rate of the Zastava, but if it is 1:7 or near then you may find heavier projectiles like 62 or 69 gr will perform better, but if it is 1:10 or 1:12 then it will prefer lighter bullet weights like 50 or 45gr.


In saying that 55gr and you shooting 1" at 100 is actually a pretty good result as most newer shooters struggle to get that consistency without a lot more practise. But more practise will help and its fun too....

the zastava is an underated rifle as above you could experiment with different brands but it sounds like it shoots well

A mate's son has the same rifle, it shoots well with Hornady ammo.
Looks nice to has a very good bit of wood on it.

same rifle in my cabinet. ppu/highland would be its LEAST favourite...but thats cause it gets fed reloads and has since new. 100 rounds of factory to break in barrel and roll me owns ever since....it will handle the 64grn federal load but mine only eats 50-55grn loads
24.5grns of AR2206h behind a speer pill and its sub moa easy peasy
25.1 behind a 50 grn ttsx and its deer medicine.
if you ever find some norinco yellow box fmj BUY ALL YOU CAN FIND.... that stuff is magic in the .223 ,very hot load that tumbles on impact more often than not.
mine wears a gunworks suppressor and it has made a really nice rifle even more user friendly as with thier short barrels they can be hard on ears. speaking of barrels keep a good cleaning system,they will rust if you dont.

Yeah practice sounds like a good idea. I might make up a gong and try some 200yard shooting. I do intend to get into reloading, mostly to keep the cost reasonable, and the idea of fine tuning the load is interesting.
Re: cleaning, I usually just use a bore snake. Should I be using a more thorough cleaning regimen? I have heard you can do more damage than good a lot of the time with a cleaning rod unless you have guides and all that kind of jazz.

just keep it oiled,and dry rag through it before taking out to use. your boresnake is ok but make sure to pull it straight....if you rub edge of crown as you pull it through you will stuff crown in no time.
the hornady 50 pack ammo would be well worth a go as Ive never heard a bad report on it.
200 yards is rabbit/wallaby/goat range but anything bigger eg deer try to keep it under 150....under hundy better still.

got one as well. its a cool little rifle

tried hornady training, PPU and Sellier and Bellot, all grouped within the inch. S&B shot better marginally, but with PPU at $1 per round i just use that. For deer i have a barnes 55gr TTSX hand load that shoots to same POI

I have one, and it is my favourite little rifle. Mine loves the Hornady training ammo, 55gn soft point. It was pretty bad before I got a suppressor on it, but once quietened down consistently gives me 13mm-15mm 3 shot groups at 100m.