Remington 799 - Zastava Model 85 mini mauser

Ramjet

New member
Well bought one of these about 8 years ago in 223 and just shot it today for the first time . Well these guns are a little ruff to say the least . Accuracy is good with cheap federal 55 grain military style ammo and I expect it to improve when fully broken in .

The bolt is hard to close on a live round and harder to open on a fired round . Some lapping is going to be required . The trigger is creapy to say the least so some adjustments are required. Kind of reminds me of my first day out with my Stevens 200. I guess I have an affinity for projects. Any thoughts from fellow users.
 
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I bought a Mini-Mauser 223 back about 1990. I don't remember for certain, but I think Charles Daly was handling them then. Anyway, it shot reasonably well, and the finish was pretty decent, if I remember correctly. I used it for a truck gun on the farm, and killed some groundhogs and a deer with it. Sadly to say, someone stole it out of my pickup and I never recovered it. To this day, it's the only firearm I've ever had stolen.
 
I have a Zastava M85 in 223 as well and have put a lot of money into it. I must say though im not disappointed at all. It shot OK stock with Federal Fusion SPs but past 100 yds it really opened up. I decided i wanted a varmint rig so i had Douglas Barrels Inc put a 26" barrel on it. I believe its either a number 4 or 5 benchrest contour with a 1:9 twist. That 1:9 twist loves Nosler BT 55gr and Sierra 52gr BTHPs infront of H335. My best group with both the Sierras and the Noslers were .263" and .271" respectively. Fathest shot with it was before a new scope and a Cerakote job, at a groundhog at just under 400 yds with a Leupold Vx-1 3-9x40. It now wears a Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 MRad FFP and a Titanium and Tungsten Cerakote finish. Awesome varmint rig! Heres a list of parts and prices:
Zastava M85 MINI Mauser rifle-$100
Douglas 26" barrel 223 rem 1:9-$489
Leupold style rings and base-$60
Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 Mrad FFP bought on sale-$850
Cerakote Job-$200
Pelican 1750 bought on sale-$221
Spec OPS cheek rest-$60
Harris SBRM bipod-$100
Total:$2,080
When i figure out how to post pics ill post some in the field shots of it.
 
Wow that was a project ! I want to lap the bolt so it is not as difficult to open and close. I am also going to adjust the trigger and piller bed the stock. Mine is actually a Remington 799 and has a chunky laminated stock . I was giving some thought to reshaping it so the forearm and wrist are thinner. It also needs a rubber sholder pad . I will probably go with a 1/2" one .Boyds really doesn't offer any options for this gun but before I go to all that trouble I am going to give them a call.

i want to keep mine light weight for a calling gun so unless the current barrel won't shoot i am going to leave it alone.
 
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It was a project but well worth it. I forgot to add that it has the stock trigger just adjusted to be a lighter pull, and it was never bedded(on the to-do list). For a calling rifle it would be perfect especially if you can get her to shoot. I am on the lookout for a second to leave stock for a lighter field gun. I am partial to the mauser action because of the history and i love the design. They really are solid little rifles. I hope you get it working and shooting well.
 
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