Review: Zastava M83 Revolver .357 Magnum

**DrillNFill** · May 10th, 2014, 02:02 PM

I picked this revolver up about 2 months ago from Cabelas, they have been advertising these in their circulars for a while now but theres very little written about it on the internet that I could find. So i figured I'd write down my experiences so far.
I got it for less that $300 on sale. All the papers are pretty much useless as theyre all written in a slavic language, they all still are stamped "Yugoslavia" so they were made some time ago, but do not appear to have been fired at all.
The revolver is quite heavy, more so than my full size steel 1911. Lockup is tight, and trigger pull is VERY heavy.
rounds2.jpg
I tried both .38 special from American Eagle as well as .357 Magnum loads from Remington. Recoil was very manageable with both loads, likely due to the revolver's heft. Pleasant to shoot, however the sights are tiny and, combined with the very heavy trigger pull, accuracy suffered, at least for me.
rounds4.jpg
i noticed no difference in accuracy between the two loads. for the price, i think its a fun gun for the range, but as far as staking my life on it, I'd opt for something more tried and true.
rounds3.jpg

**GrumpyBear** · May 10th, 2014, 05:07 PM

Thanks for the review.

I have seen them advertized at a semi local shop and was
curious.

Might make a good truck gun ?

**raxar** · May 10th, 2014, 05:25 PM

I got one a while ago, accuracy for me was great, but its the kind of thing you have to learn how to shoot well first. Cabela's has them for around $275 now, so provided you don't mind the trigger and that they will probably rust in a humid environment I say go for it as a truck gun.

**DrillNFill** · September 11th, 2017, 02:22 PM

Sorry for the Necrothread revival, but I was wondering if anyone could give some advice about what holster would be a good fit for this revolver. I still have it but have never carried it, and I'm thinking of doing so for going out in the woods hunting as a carry piece since its .357 Mag, rather than the .45 I usually take.

ZASTAVA1.JPG

Anyone care to take a guesstimate of what size S&W revolver frame this equates to? "K" frame? I'm not sure.
Not sure either if I want it on my hip or maybe one of those chest rigs?

and FYI, its trigger has gotten considerably better than when I first got it, I followed some advice and put 2 drops of oil on the inside of the hammer arm, and worked the action a little. Seems smoother now, at least to my dumb ass.

**knight0334** · September 11th, 2017, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by DrillNFill

Sorry for the Necrothread revival, but I was wondering if anyone could give some advice about what holster would be a good fit for this revolver. I still have it but have never carried it, and I'm thinking of doing so for going out in the woods hunting as a carry piece since its .357 Mag, rather than the .45 I usually take.

ZASTAVA1.JPG

Anyone care to take a guesstimate of what size S&W revolver frame this equates to? "K" frame? I'm not sure.
Not sure either if I want it on my hip or maybe one of those chest rigs?

and FYI, its trigger has gotten considerably better than when I first got it, I followed some advice and put 2 drops of oil on the inside of the hammer arm, and worked the action a little. Seems smoother now, at least to my dumb ass.

I'd say K/L frame for general size when looking for a holster. It definitely isn't a J or N frame size.

**john9001** · September 11th, 2017, 05:38 PM

looks like a nice gun.

**Ecclectic Collector** · September 11th, 2017, 05:39 PM

It should fit an Uncle Mike's (#5 I think?) Anyway any holster for a S&W L frame with full underlug or Ruger GP100 ought to be close enough with a nylon holster for you to use for woods carry.