Hello all in the AK forums. I've spent the last couple weeks going all over YouTube and the internet looking at various Zpap M85 threads on multiple forums and YouTube videos. I also want to say I'm a very long time lurker of the AK forums here on arfcom and don't post much because there's way more qualified people posting in here and I like to learn from them.

So mid December I picked up a Zpap M85 from my not so local dealer and immediately bought multiple kinds of mags for it. I will he testing 1 new type of mag per month from here on out to see everything compatible (tapco galil and OG galil mags next)

Here's my experience with each mag loaded and fired through two times each.

The factory steel mag works flawlessly when clean. Did not test it dirty.

FB Radom mags from Atlantic arms - flawlessly clean, flawlessly stuffed with snow/dirt combo

AC unity - Flawless clean and dirty again. For sub $15/ piece these rock! The BHO feature did not work but I didn't buy them for that, so null and void point to me.

Gripes about 90% of posts i see online about them - people review them before actually seeing if they work. I do not care if they look pretty and fit nicely, I care if they feed, which they do.

Accuracy - my sights need adjusting to the right slightly. We were shooting at 8 and 10 inch gongs from anywhere between 20-90 yards today. Had no problem hitting stuff, Accuracy is much better than the ATI Galeo I had early -mid 2020.

Here's some pictures. I will be modding this gun when parts show up as well.

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The mags I used.

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They didn't stay very dirty, probably because the snow washed the dirt off fairly well

Placeholder since 505 error killed the rest of my post

- alright arfcom seems to be working again for me, let's continue shall we

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Here is said M85.

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Dirtier bolt carrier

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In the 10s of thousands of rounds I've ever shot, I've never once seen the carbon turn blue like it did. Thought this was pretty cool

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Obviously with under 400 rounds I wouldn't expect to see any deformation or abnormalities with anything, and it all looks like factory new still

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A lot of the dirt that was in there, tried cleaning it with some Q tips,  but then remembered it was an AK, so I hosed her down in the sink and she's good again

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Gas block is chrome lined (looks like) and stayed relatively clean

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Just waiting on the ultimak rail to come in now.

Also should note. After filling her up with all sorts of crap from the ground. The closest I've come to a malfunction is the action slowing down significantly more than what it was when she was clean.  No surprise there. Otherwise zero malfunctions of any kind with mixed brass cased ammo.

Great post.
Have always wanted one of these. Then they stopped bringing them in, to then instead bring in the AR mag model, it never look right to me. Wanting to pick one of these up if PSA doesnt end up coming out with their version of the AKs-74u. Really hoping they bring out the full sized rifle version  that has been rumored.

Glad to see the AC magazines worked. That was a big hang up for me personally. I was hoping they would work as they are easy to get.  What mods do you plan on adding to this gun? Any plans on suppressing it?

I had my M85 at the range yesterday with factory and Galil surplus magazines. It ran like a top with the factory mags, with the Galil mag it fed out of the magazine but the front of the mag was too low and it slammed the round into the front trunion instead of into the chamber.

I’d had some AC Unity mags on order for a couple of weeks. I was at the range yesterday so of course they arrived today. They are very solid feeling and lock up well. I probably won’t get to test them for a while though.

I’m planning on suppressing it as soon as OSS mounts are available (that will be soon apparently). It was pretty gassy with the muzzle booster that came from the factory. Maybe the OSS can will be an improvement in that area.

It seems as of late, most people who suppress AKs are moving towards OSS cans. What model do you have and how do you like it?

I have the HX-QD versions of the standard 7.62 and the 5.56k. I like them quite a bit. I’ll probably use the 7.62 version on the ZPAP85. OSS told me via email last week that the 26mm mounts were at the heat treater and will be available soon. I’m eagerly awaiting them.

Galil mags are supposed to work if you modify the tab in front with a welder

I'll be going suppressed at some point but for right now I'm going to put a fake suppressor on it for asthetics/flash suppression/ as a placeholder

Other mods will be an ultimak rail, flashlight,  different brace than my buddies SBA3 that he expects back at some point. Otherwise for the mag tests and such I do want to keep it mostly stock for the rest of the people on the internet who read this thread now and years into the future

My ZPAP M85 is back at Zastava. It was shooting about 12" left at 50. By the time I drifted the front sight it looked horrible and hard to make out the post from the ears. I suspect that the front sight is canted. Or maybe the rear sight/cover although it looks centered and locks up tight.

Zastavaa CS seemed very good. They asked for a bunch of pictures and then sent me a shipping label.

Otherwise the gun fired 100% with the OEM mag and some Circle 10 mags that I lightly modified. My Galil mags will lock in but it's so loose. Even hand cycling caused jams with the Galil mags. It's a hoot to shoot with a big deep boooom and flash.

Accuracy using the crooked open sights and an Aimpoint H1 mounted on the rail was 2.25-2.50" at 50 using bulk FMJ (Fed XM193 and S. African from '83). The trigger is a trypical full-auto type AK trigger with the gritty single stage that goes on for ever then boom. It takes a lot of effort to hit anything between the sights and the trigger. Shooting at 100 from the bench had it bump firing often (my fault). Best group at 100 using known good ammo (GECO 55 gr 223) gave me a decent 2.75".

Also mine has the SB3 brace attached at it is very solid. They even staked the castle ring.

I'm totally spoiled by years of good AR's with G-triggers and magnified optics. So far my PAP is a very cool noise maker and I will withhold judgement until it gets back from Zastava.

OP keep us informed on how you gun is doing.

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Here she is now. All the bolt ons are there now.

With the ammo situation and the current political climate i probably will keep it to around 60 rounds a month (2 mags, of different manufacturers each month as addressed above), or maybe it will get some real life combat experience if certain individuals keep fucking around and finding out. Hopefully not the latter

Cool thread OP.  Looking forward to updates.

I have a Zastava M85PV & Galil mags work great in it with zero mods to them .

I finally got a chance to try some AC Unity mags in my ZPAP M85 yesterday. It ran 100% and even locked the bolt back consistently. I'm very impressed by them and ordered a few more. Quality and function seem on par with the PMAGs that I have used in my AR.

I'm sure they are not as durable as the all steel OEM mags due to the plastic feedlips but for 1/3 the price they work great.

ITCHY-FINGER

What was the diagnosis from Zastava on your gun?

Zastava's "gunsmith" test fired the gun, saw that it was hitting POA/POI and sent it back with a the test target and a note saying there was no issue. Well no shit, I had to drift the front sight drum all the way to one side to get it zero'ed and THAT was why I sent it in. I sent them numerous pictures of the front sight before they authorized a shipping label. Apparently, as long as the front sight can be moved far enough to be zero'ed, it is acceptable. I have mounted an Aimpoint on the top rail which will be used for 100% of my aiming and shooting so I'll try to forget the front sight.

It's a shame too because I really like the gun. It's a lot of fun to shoot and has been 100% trouble free accept for that "cosmetic" issue. And now that I have discovered AC Unity mags (thanks to this forum) it's a viable setup.

My groups at 100 yards have been pretty good, not much different from an AR pistol using the same optics. ADI (Australian Outback) 69gr Sierra load gave me a best 2.20" 5 shot group for the day. Most cheap FMJ loads are printing 3.5-5MOA and I think the limiting factor is the 4MOA dot on my old H1 and my 50+ year old eyes not seeing a round dot anymore. Ejection is stout mostly at 1:30-2:00 to about 20'. Big fireballs with some loads but no fireball with others.

Today I tested a Bulgy Circle 10 (clear plastic) 20 round mag which worked 100% in my ZPAP M85. (I would much prefer the black mags due to the steel feedlips but here we are...)

It even locked in no problem without any need for modification. It was tight but still easily removable without beating on it.

I've been looking for a shorter mag that I can use for bench accuracy shooting and this works great.

So February is coming up soon

What mags would you guys like to see run next?

I refuse to give a dime to pro mag.

I'm thinking of picking up a circle 10 and a galil mag.

My vote is for Circle 10 and see if you have the same experience as the poster above you, as well as myself. Pretty sure they're going to work for you too.

Yes please. Play with some Circle 10 mags and Galil. My steel Galil mags fit so loose and sloppy in my M85 that I didnt even bother test firing. But my Galil mags are so "salty" they may have seen action and I wonder if they are actually S. African mags.

Black Circle 10 30 rounders needed some filing on the rear locking lugs, fit nice and tight, but function 100%. As stated above, the one clear (translucent) plastic Circle 10 20 rounder I tried locked it and function 100% without any need for fitting. I was so happy a ordered a few more.

Bought a single circle 10 (black not translucent)

A PUFGUN 5.56 AK/Vepr mag

Two pack of the new Zastava brand poly 5.56 mags

And a galil magazine.  

How this test will go due to the ammo shortage.... each mag gets 60 rounds through it, any failures documented,  and if they don't fail I report that it was good to go for X rounds, as I've done.

Now we wait until things are at my door


Also I did notice Promag makes a box drum for 5.56 AKs. I may take my promag statement back from earlier if I hear some good reviews

Just an update on the Clear/Translucent Circle 10 20 round mags...

About 30% work in my ZPAP M85 without need for modification. Another 30% will snap in with some difficulty but are way too tight-needs some filing. And the rest will not lock in and require some fitting and filing to the locking lugs. This is basically my exact experience with the black Circle 10 30 rounders.

The 20 rounders function 100% after fitting and make the M85 pistol balance very well and feel sleek. Just my .2 cents.

Edit: I will add that fitting Circle 10 mags to the Yugo M85 requires some filing on a small section of the left feedlip not just the locking lug. This is the area of the left feedlip where there is a cutout on all AK mags that allows the mag to fit under the ejector. Put a little oil on the bottom of the ejector (that is visible from looking into the empty mag-well) and then when you insert the mag, the part of the ejector that touches the top of the feedlip will have a little spot of oil on the left feedlip. That will be the area that needs a little bit of filing. I used a very small round file for this.  

Will not be shooting this month because it's heckin cold out. But I will be doing a fitment test and a 2 round hand feed test. This will not replace the actual shooting test. It's just a high of -3° where I live right now and I can put shooting off for a minute.

Here we go- Circle 10 is tight. Had to file my locking lug just like the poster above.  With that being said it fed 2 rounds by hand just fine.

Galil- fits nicely. Much like the factory steel mag. Feeds fine when mag is pushed towards front of gun, jams when mag is pushed towards shooter. I will weld the feed lip and modify tonight at work

Pufgun fits nicely. Unfortunately they only feed reliably from the left side. The right side jams up on the trunnion/bullet guide area

*the more I look into the pufgun mags, fit them, and work them, the better they seem to work. The front right corner of the mag seems to be getting a little worn/torn away and it's feeding better now, have higher hopes for this *


New Zastava poly bois... im going to start this one off with the plus... they feed no matter what by hand. I did 10 rounds for this mag. The bolt hold open works. Now the down part. I now know what screwing a hooker must feel like. These mags are the sloppiest ones in the magwell so far. From the bottom of the mag, you have like a 1/2 inch front to back play, and 1+ inches of left to right play. No matter where it was though, the mag seemed to feed just fine.

That's too bad about the new Zastava poly mags.  Hope welding up the Galil mag works (pics would be awesome too) for you.  After working 100% in two different types of rifles during live fire, and two other different types hand cycling, I ended up grabbing a couple dozen of the AC Unity mags.  I have "go-to" factory mags for all the different rifles, but for the price I don't think the AC Unity mags can be beat.  I'll probably keep grabbing a couple each time I place an order with RTG Parts.

Welded .106" of material to the factory galil front locking tab today actually.

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Obviously not the prettiest weld but she fits so nicely. And loading by hand with 5 rounds on the charging handle everything worked perfectly.  And she fits in the magwell with zero play whatsoever and goes in and out with ease. This may be my route to go in the future due to 1. Galil mags being 35 rounds, 2. Galil mags are $20 for steel, and 3. Because it's cool knowing you did your own work to make something work

Very cool!  Thanks for the pics.  Looking forward to your live fire review.

Well its March

So mag reviews.

Century .223 conversation ak74 bakelite mag works with 14 rounds or less due to mag angle

Pufgun mag had a couple hiccups, will test again in April

Zastava loose mags definitely fed flawlessly

Circle 10 mag worked fine

Galil modified mag worked wonderfully and will be my go to mag in the future due to the extra 5 round capacity, price, and fitment

I've had the same results with my modified AK74 bakelites except it would work with 20 rounds.

Are the Zastava "loose" mags you tried the OEM steel mags? Yes they do seem to have the most play (except for unmodified Galil mags) but I too have had 100% function and they are built like a tank, identical to mil.surp AK47 mags.

My range mags are the Circle 10 translucent 20 rounders. They work 100% and allow a good sandbag rest without mono-poding like the 30 rounders.

I have never heard of the "Pufgun" mag. Is that a nickname?

I still like the AC-Unity mags for range use so give it a try. *never mind, I see your OP*

I have one OEM steel mag but want more. It works 100%

The Zastava polymer ones worked 100% too

Pufgun is the brand name. They're Russian.  I think I bought mine from Atlantic but they're probably elsewhere on the internet too.