They look cool and are very pricey... I thought maybe just to have something totally different. But for this price I would have to see one in person and talk to someone who has one.

i cant afford one.  so im no help to you.

is that a bottle opener on the pistol grip?

please tell me it is.

now there is a party pleaser.

-Spaceman

hellifiknow, looks like it could be, if it were just on the bottom...

All I know about ZM Weapons is that I saw a guy shoot one at the range  a few months ago he was shooting allday with no malfunctions that I saw and was turning in some very nice offhand groups at the 50 and 100 yard line with, also the ZM uses a different type of Operating system than a standard Ar-15 I think the operating system is based on the SKS but I could be mixing it up with another rifle...also has to have a different bolt system or it couldnt use a folding stock.... or I dont think it could.  Anyway I havent been interested enough in one yet to buy one.

                               Jonathan

[img]www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid43/p5f2252cf3bf329890a6cd5007a16fb98/fce91855.jpg[/img]
Instead of the buffer in the rear, the spring is located in the upper receiver, surrounding the op-rod.   I'll post some pics of the internals.

Christ, delete this before I have to go get one of those beuties.

A warning: 8-10 month backlog.

A friend of mine bought one when they first came out. It has digested thousands of rounds with no malfunctions. It is a great system but pricey.

What's the extra screw on the side of the lower?

I think that that screw has something to do with the autosear. The bolt carrier is shortened, and so wont trip the sear in its normal place.

Someone once posted a while back on these, & claimed that the guide rod that the recoil springs ride on gets hot w/ extended or FA use, to the point that the springs may get re-tempered from the heat. Can anyone authoritatively verify/deny this?

About the only negative I know of for sure is that they weigh more than the std. AR. They also don't have any capacity for rails along the length of the forarm, but that's more of a personal preference.

The ZM optional tele-folding stock has got to be one of the trickest pieces I've seen. Too bad it isn't made from of lighter polymer material, a la the SIG55x series, to cut down on weight.

I ordered one in September.  Only 6 months to go!!!! I have to just stop thinking about it.

Hey Duffy, definately post more pics!!!

Here are some old pics...I really need to get a digital camera

[img]http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292485375&p=4258831037&idx=31[/img]
[img]http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292076279&p=4260826681&idx=10[/img]
[img]http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292485375&p=4265267469&idx=29[/img]

Here are some old pics...I really need to get a digital camera

[img]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid13/pac23274a4cbe2fba765282361c47b650/fdd89abd.jpg.orig.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid17/p42867d7e3c9297f24a850eacf9ad363e/fdf70e39.jpg.orig.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid3/p5df798d0ddd2cd42978f6aa16b0ecaa7/fe3ad10d.jpg.orig.jpg[/img]

I like the #40 sight, the other sight, well#$@&%ZX. The weapon is interesting for commercial range accurate target shooting, but has no cooling ability due to the closed hanguards, and very much too heavy to hump very far for only a 5.56 rd.
Good Shootin, Jack

Yes you do Bear! [:d]  How have you been?
Thanks to Bear Hunter, I was able to grab this ZM from a fellow board member without wait, and here are its internals:
[img]www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid46/p44ebf3a4019d6487df63f5e7ecf3a787/fccd23db.jpg[/img]
[img]www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid46/pb3d94051c8aa31b70e54ef1ee32a4cce/fccd23d9.jpg[/img]

The added weight comes from the upper itself (more machined and solid metal than a standard upper) but mostly the folding stock.  It's made of heavy steel where aluminum or even synthetic could suffice without sacraficing strength and durability.  I put an Ace made stock on it and noticed the weight reduction at once.
I posted this observation in another thread but here it is again, regarding rails: ZM offers a full length ARMS rail, that and the tri-mount would accomodate many applications.  Certainly not as versatile as RAS or SIR, but for a small volume production item it's just too expensive to do a small run on RAS type rails, Alan said he might do it but considering the overwhelming number of ZM owners [;)], I don't think it'd be any time soon.
Of the kit, the only interchangable internal part is the bolt.  The charger, while looking similar to a standard AR15 item, is proprietary.  As to the spring overheating, it's in roughly the same position as a FAL, except the return spring in the FAL goes around the piston, the spring in the ZM surrounds the gas tube/op-rod.  I've seen my AR15 gas tube glow red after a few mags of rapdi fire, it probably gets hotter than the spring in the FAL.

That was David Crane trying to sell his alternative system.

Do you mean the Paratrooper/folding stock version of the FAL?  I know with the regular fixed stock version the 'buffer' & spring is in the stock (much like the AR-15).

Forest, I was refering to the spring in the gas tube for the piston.  I should have been more specific, there is a return spring in the butt for fixed stock FAL, and through the bolt carrier in the Para FAL.