The greatest advantages of the AK are macroeconomic in nature the ease of producing large numbers of them cheaply without the need for specialized manufacturing facilities and the ease of outfitting and training an army of underfed Eastern European conscripts the first time off the beet farm. AKs are about as perfect of a skirmishing weapon as exists now, especially with select fire capabilities. ARs are better suited to more precise work and AKs are better for getting a lot of lead out there fast, wherever “there” is.

Realistically, ARs and AKs are different tools for different purposes. Similarly an AK guy might get a cheapo AR as a toy but would never consider it for… whatever it is AK guys do – waste steel cased, corrosive ammo on public land? AR guys and AK guys are every bit as tribal as Ford and Chevy guys used to be a generation ago. An AR guy might get an AK as a toy but he’d probably never consider it for his primary arm for hunting or target shooting, like his AR. They get to a certain point where they define desirable characteristics in an assault rifle by their preferred format AR guys wants accuracy and AK guys are looking for reliability and simplicity. I doubt you’ll ever be able to make an AK that makes an AR guy happy, or an AR that makes an AK guy happy. I’ll put it this way: I’ve owned Romanian AKs, American AK’s and even a few Russians- I’ve since sold or traded all of them. They’ve certainly proven that over the decades but the Zastava M70 ZPAP is a fantastic and relatively modular rifle at an attainable price point (street price around $1000). They’ve taken a giant first step towards making an older, less ergonomic platform accessible to folks like me, who have grown accustomed to being able to customize their rifle in every way possible.ĪK’s are effective rifles. I’m an AR-guy through and through but Zastava has done something special with the ZPAP.

Running and gunning with the ZPAP was enjoyable but the added weight was certainly noticeable. The ZPAP is certainly heavier than a standard AR-15 but that’s true of the platform and not necessarily unique to the ZPAP. The recoil is there but it’s not overbearing. The recoil on the ZPAP is comparable to any other AK I’ve shot. The bolt cycling feels like a cozy locomotive engine tapping into your shoulder and it’s certainly an addicting feeling. The rifle reminds you that you’re shooting with every trigger pull. One of my favorite things about shooting an AK is the recoil impulse. Neither of these magazines have last round bolt hold open followers so your mileage may vary. I used MagPul Polymer magazines and South Korean surplus steel magazines with no issues. In addition, the ZPAP includes a safety notch for holding the charging handle open. Zastava has introduced modern features to the ZPAP including QD mounts on the stock, MLOK slots on the hand-guard, and a Picatinny rail running on top of the hand-guard.

This has changed in recent decades but there is so much variance around the AK platform, standardizing accessories can be hard to find for your particular rifle. Standard AK’s often come with little more furniture than a wood handguard and stock. Speaking of modern rifles, a common complaint is that AK-47’s lack the customization options the AR-15 has. I still believe the AR-15 is the most practical and ergonomic of modern rifles but the ZPAP held its own. Reloads and manipulating the safety took some getting used to but that’s a function of the AK platform, not the ZPAP.

Most of what I do consists of Run & Gun courses of fire at my local Gun Club and low-light shooting. I spent the rest of my time with the ZPAP testing and modifying various drills I practice with an AR-15 to see what body mechanics needed to change to accommodate the AK platform’s ergonomics. Testing the effectiveness of the ZPAP at 277 Yards. While maybe not a precision round, 7.62×39 is plenty accurate for the majority of shooters. To test accuracy at distance, I went over to my local PRS facility and was able to ring steel silhouettes and 8″ gongs at 277 yards with no hiccups. The rifle has performed flawlessly without a single failure. I’ve had this rifle for 6 months and ran through 3,000 rounds of cheap Monarch, Tula, and corrosive steel cased 7.62×39 with only one cleaning so far.

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