For many years I have been partial to AKs chambered in 5.56×45. I like AK-pattern firearms because they tend to be durable and reliable. I like the 5.56×45 cartridge for its flat trajectory and for its wide availability in the United States.
The major problem with finding AKs chambered in 5.56×45 is that not very many manufacturers make them. In fact, the Zastava PAP M90 PS may be the only AK chambered in 5.56×45 that is both currently in production (in this case in Serbia), and currently being marketed in the United States. With that in mind, I asked Zastava if I could borrow one for testing and evaluation. They were kind enough to agree. The next day the rifle was delivered to my FFL.
My testing found the M90 to be a robust workhorse of a rifle. At the time of this writing, the M90 was available at a number of online vendors for about $1,200.
Opening the Box
The first thing I found upon opening the box was a small plastic bag with a number of Picatinny rails of various sizes. They were not referenced in the Owner’s Manual, but I eventually found a pdf with installation instructions at the Zastava Arms USA website ( https://zastavaarmsusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Hogue-1-1.pdf ).
The next item that I came across was a 30-round polymer magazine. The magazine appears reasonably sturdy, and upon disassembly the components appeared to be well-constructed and well-fitted together. I practiced loading and unloading the magazine, and it seemed to function well.
The third item that I came across in the box was the Owner’s Manual. The manual gave me the impression of being competently but not brilliantly translated from Serbian. I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly gives the English a Serbian accent, but the impression persists.
The Owner’s Manual was a well-spring of useful and interesting information. It informed me that Zastava Arms was founded in 1853. It broached the issue of 922r compliance (more on that below). It included an insert about the Halyard Mission to evacuate US airmen from Yugoslavia during World War II. It included the usual State by State warnings in alphabetical order (these were not useful, interesting, or translated from Serbian). It included helpful guidelines about responding to hangfire, evaluating causes of hangfire, and clearing squibs. The technical specifications made me aware that the rifle has a 16.75″ barrel, weighs 8 pounds, and includes a cleaning rod and a compensator on the barrel.
The Owner’s Manual also made me aware that the rifle has a bolt catch cut into the safety lever, which is a handy feature. It recommends cleaning the rifle before firing it for the first time, and an additional cleaning after each range session. It also recommends allowing the barrel to cool after 90 rounds of rapid fire, and estimates that the maximum effective range of the rifle is 300 meters.
The gas tube includes an adjustable gas flow regulator that can be set to three positions. This is a useful feature. AK pattern rifles have a reputation for being over-gassed, so it is nice to have the ability to turn things down a notch or two if so desired. It is good to remember, however, that in terms of reliable operation, it is better to have a rifle slightly over-gassed than slightly under-gassed.
An examination of the rifle itself reveals that it has a Magpul pistol grip with a storage compartment, a Hogue handguard, and a Magpul buttstock. The cleaning rod does not appear to be long enough to be of practical value (it is shorter than the barrel), and it appears to have been taken without modification from a stock of cleaning rods designed for AKs chambered in 7.62×39. Although the jag on the cleaning rod may fit down a 7.62 mm barrel, it is too large to fit down a 5.56 mm barrel.
922r Compliance
The term “922r” refers to a portion of Federal law governing the importation of rifles and shotguns. Some foreign-made rifles and shotguns are prohibited from importation to the United States because they have certain features that cause them to be deemed as “not particularly suitable for sporting purposes.” It is also prohibited to assemble similar rifles and shotguns in the United States with an excess number of specifically enumerated imported parts. These specifically enumerated parts include magazine bodies, magazine followers, and magazine floorplates.
The M90 is made with few enough imported parts that it is compliant with 922r as long as it is using a magazine with at least two American-made parts (body, follower, or floorplate).
If someone should happen to insert a magazine into the M90 made with less than two of the designated American-made parts, then that person is presumably in violation of federal law. This is terribly inconvenient, because many fine magazines that would be expected to fit the M90 were made in places like Bulgaria (Circle 10) and Germany (Weiger).
In the short run, it would be helpful if Zastava would manufacture the M90 with just two more American-made parts (perhaps the trigger and hammer or the bolt and bolt carrier). Then it would not be dependent upon magazine parts for 992r compliance.
In the long run, this arbitrary and capricious law should be repealed as unconstitutional. Our right to keep and bear arms is not for “sporting purposes”. It is so that citizens of the United States can own and be proficient in the use of military grade arms should they ever be called upon for militia service.
JWR Adds: I’ve never heard of a private party (non-Federal licensee) ever being prosecuted for a Section 922r violation. But it is conceivable.
A Steel Magazine
Zastava makes both polymer and steel magazines that fit the M90, so I requested a sample of one of their steel magazines to include in my testing. They were kind enough to agree to send me one. The magazine arrived a few days later.
The steel magazine arrived very oily. It is extremely sturdy, being made of quite heavy gauge metal. All other things being equal, I strongly prefer steel to polymer magazines, especially if I happen to accidentally drop a fully loaded magazine onto a hard service on a cold day.
After the ZPAP85 556 steel magazine arrived, I became concerned that it might not be 922r compliant for use in the M90. An inquiry to Zasatava confirmed that the floorplate and follower of the magazine are, in fact, manufactured in the United States, so that the magazine is 922r compliant in the M90.
At the time of this writing, polymer magazines cost $24.99 each or $229.90 for a pack of 10 at the Zastava website. The steel magazines cost $39.99 each.
First Cleaning
In harmony with the recommendations in the Owner’s Manual, and in order to become more familiar with the rifle, I field-stripped and cleaned the M90 prior to firing it for the first time.
This yielded some immediate practical benefits. For example, the safety lever was quite stiff when I first began to clean the rifle, but begin to move more easily as the cleaning process progressed.
The dust cover seemed to be made of a lighter gauge of sheet metal than the other AK dust covers that I have used. This has advantages (lighter to carry) and disadvantages (easier to dent).
The gas tube locking lever remained extremely difficult to move throughout the cleaning process, even with the help of tools. To some extent this is good, since the lever is unlikely to unlatch unintentionally.
I managed to take a pretty good gouge out of the second knuckle of my right index finger using the front sight. I put on a band-aid to protect the rifle from blood, which could cause corrosion.
The barrel was beautifully chromed and rifled. I did not expect to get much dirt out of it, but was surprised. The first patch (using kerosene as a solvent) came out black. It took a total of six patches to get the barrel decently clean. I then ran a seventh patch through the barrel to remove any excess kerosene.
Next, I used a kerosene rag to remove excess shipping oil from the receiver, the outside of the barrel, the dust cover, the recoil spring, the bolt carrier and bolt, the gas tube, and the magazines. I used a brass dental pick with the rag to get into small crevices.
The compensator is threaded on the end of the barrel, so it would be easy to replace with other compensators, flash-hiders, or appropriately threaded suppressors.
I found the symbol “Y2Y7″ crudely etched on the lip of the receiver under the dust cover, and on the end of the recoil spring assembly. I am not sure of the significance of this marking.
The junction between the bolt carrier and the gas piston was somewhat inelegantly machined. It jiggled, and showed tool marks.
The inside of the gas tube was horribly filthy, but quickly came clean.
After going over the rifle with a kerosene rag, I went over it again with a dry rag to remove any excess kerosene.
Finally, I put a light film of CLP on most parts of the rifle. I did not put any CLP inside the gas tube, since any lube inside the gas tube is instantly transformed into excess carbon when the rifle is fired.
Overall, my impression of the M90, based upon the cleaning, was that it is a workman’s tool rather than a work of art. I am very comfortable with that. I felt much more at home with the rifle after field stripping and reassembling it. It was also much more pleasant to handle the rifle with the excess shipping oil removed.
Range Testing
One gray afternoon in early February, I took the M90 to the range behind my barn for testing. The temperature was 27 degrees Fahrenheit, and light snow was falling.
The sliding door in my barn closest to the range was frozen shut, and it took a bit of work to free it so it could be opened. I set up some targets, put up a table to shoot from, put a Caldwell Lead Sled 3 on the table to steady the rifle, and inserted Axil GS Extreme earbuds in my ears. I wore insulated coveralls over my clothing so that I could kneel in the snow more comfortably.
The Lead Sled had trouble accommodating the M90 with a 30-round magazine inserted. I was able to make it work by removing the sandbag from the Lead Sled and tilting the rifle very slightly to the left. This was not ideal, since tilting the rifle may influence the point of impact.
At a distance of 50 yards, I started out by firing a single round of TulAmmo 55 gr FMJ in .223 Remington at the bottom center target. The round hit about 2.5 inches low and to the left.
Since the point of impact was good enough to be on paper, I fired four more rounds of the TulAmmo. There was a failure to feed the third round. I cleared the jam and continued to fire. The result was a surprisingly tight group for my aging eyes using iron sights from an AK pattern firearm, using cheap steel-cased ammo.
Over the course of the range session, I also fired TulAmmo 62 gr FMJ, 75 gr HP, 55 gr HP, and 62 gr HP. The 55 gr FMJ consistently gave me the best groups.
The import of TulAmmo and all other Russian ammo is currently banned by the Biden administration. This has caused the price of ammo in many calibers to rise significantly. But 5.56mm NATO is widely available.
I used an AK sight adjustment tool to dial the sights in successfully. If you own an AK pattern firearm, a good AK sight adjustment tool is a necessity.
The Owner’s Manual recommends using setting “2″ on the gas flow regulator for the first two to three hundred rounds fired while the rifle is being broken in. They do note, however, that position “3″ may work more effectively at low temperatures and with more lightly loaded ammunition. Since I was using somewhat light loads in below-freezing conditions, I needed to move the gas flow regulator to position 3 in order for the rifle to cycle reliably.
I tested both the polymer and the steel magazines, and found both to function well.
The bolt-catch-slot on the safety lever should be slightly wider toward the rear of the safety in order to allow the safety to successfully engage the bolt when the bolt is held fully to the rear. The bolt has to be allowed to more slightly forward of the fully open position in order for the bolt-catch-slot to engage it. If I owned this rifle, I would probably use a Dremel tool to slightly widen the back of the bolt-catch-slot.
Conclusions
I am very pleased with the Zastava PAP M90PS. It was surprisingly accurate for an AK pattern firearm, especially when firing ammunition that it favored. With the gas flow regulator set correctly, it cycled reliably.
By the way, if you are ever taking this rifle into a situation in which it is absolutely essential that it cycle reliably, I recommend that you set the gas flow regulator on “3″ unless you are using unusually hot rounds or are firing it suppressed.
If I did not already own an AK pattern rifle chambered in 5.56×45, I would definitely buy this one.
Disclaimers
Zastava was kind enough to provide me with a PAP M90PS for testing and evaluation. I tried not to let their kindness influence my evaluation of the product, and believe that I have succeeded in remaining objective. I had previously received a Caldwell Lead Sled 3 and Axil GS Extreme Ear Buds for testing and evaluation for past articles. I did not receive any other financial or other inducements to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.