I’m a big fan of .357 Magnum revolvers. My very first handgun was a Smith & Wesson 686 in .357 Magnum.
I’ve always had a few .357 revolvers in the collection ever since. With that said, I’m always open to getting another one, especially if it’s a good deal.
The Zastava M83 revolvers from AIM Surplus fall into that category, so I had to check one out.
From Serbia, With Love
I know Serbia isn’t the first place to pop into your head when you think of .357 revolvers, but that’s exactly where these are from. Made by Zastava in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, the M83 was marketed towards military and police contracts.
Centerfire Systems actually has a great breakdown on the history of these. It’s one of the few places that has a lot of background information on these. I recommend checking it out (after reading our TTAG coverage, of course) and giving it a read. You’ll note that mine is stamped M83/92. The 92 is the year of manufacture.
M83 Features
While the M83 looks like a mix of a K-frame Smith & Wesson with some Colt Python mixed in, it’s actually based on the West German RG-38S revolver.
Despite its Eastern European origins, it boasts a classic look and feel, featuring a blued steel finish and checkered wood grips.
The hammer and trigger are a contrasting silver color. That appears to be a coating rather than being stainless. The trigger is serrated, and the hammer is checkered.
The barrel features a heavy profile and a vent rib. The frame is essentially K frame sized and quite solid. These came in 2-inch and 4-inch barrel versions. My gun is a 4-inch model.
The M83 is a double-action design with a swing-out 6-shot cylinder.
Overall, the construction is very good, with some nice attention to detail. For instance, the chambers on the cylinder are recessed.
Single-action trigger pull weight was a fairly decent 6 pounds. The double action goes off my Lyman trigger scale, which maxes out at 12 pounds.
My Smiths barely creep into the 12-pound range, and the M83 is a good bit heavier still in double-action. It uses a coil mainspring and has a transfer bar safety.
Sights are typical fixed revolver sights for the period. A dovetailed front sight and a square notch rear in the revolver’s top strap.
The M83 also features a grooved top strap and rib to reduce sight glare. They’re durable and functional, but nothing fancy, just like the fixed sight Smiths and Rugers from the time period.
Police Surplus Models
These revolvers are surplus, having been issued to police units in the former Yugoslavia. With that in mind, expect some wear and tear on them. That being the case, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice my M83 was.
It isn’t mint, but it is in very good condition. There a couple of minor scuffs on the metal and grips but nothing significant. I’d classify them as character.
I’m not sure what holsters these were issued with, but I tried my M83 in a variety of K and L frame holsters.
It worked with most of them, as long as they were designed to take a K or L frame with a heavy or full underlug barrel. I had a couple of holsters designed for skinny-barreled Model 10s that were too tight for the M83.
AIM has had 4-inch and 2-inch versions of the M83, in blued and stainless finishes. Price on my 4 inch M83 model was a very reasonable $329.95.
Range Time
The M83 was a solid performer at the range. Timing was correct on the cylinder, and the mainspring certainly had enough power for positive ignition.
The ergonomics for single-action shooting were good. The hammer was easy to cock with either the thumb of the firing hand or the offhand thumb when shooting with a two-handed grip. That’s good, because you really needed a single action for accurate shooting. The double action is quite heavy, as noted.
I could keep my rounds in the 8- or 9-ring, double-action out to about 15 yards, but no pretty groups were coming out of it.
For accuracy testing, all shooting was done offhand, single action at 15 yards. The ammunition used was PPU .38 Special 158-grain SWHP, PPU .357 158-grain JHP, and CCI Blazer .357 158-grain JHP, which I picked up from AIM.
I also had some Steinel .357 125gr XTP’s, Speer .38 +P 125gr Gold Dot HP, and Winchester Silvertip .38 110gr HP from my ammo locker. For reloading, I used HKS speed loaders for the S&W Model 10, which seemed to work pretty well.
The Gold Dot and Silver Tip .38’s both grouped on average around 1.25 inches. The PPU .38’s opened up to around 2 inches. For .357 loads, Steinel was the champ with 1.75-inch groups, whereas both the PPU and Blazer .357s grouped in the 2.75-inch range.
Recoil with .38 loads, even the +P’s were pretty pleasant out of an all steel 4-inch revolver. The .357’s were stout. The wood grips were comfortable enough with .38’s, and I wouldn’t say punishing with .357’s.
Still, they were definitely no Pachmayer grip, nor as hand-filling as something like the S&W target stocks.
M83 Round Up
For a company not known for wheelguns, coming from a country also not known for wheelguns, Zastava did a pretty darn nice job on the M83’s.
They’re an attractive piece, featuring classic styling and a solid build. The vent rib, recessed chambers, and grooved top strap are all nice features that put these European revolvers a step above a basic police service pistol in my opinion.
AIM has gotten a few batches of the M83’s over the past year. While I was working on this article, they had another batch hit their website. Although I see all models are currently sold out. It’s worth keeping an eye out for any future imports, though. For the sub $350 price tag you get a heck of a revolver.
The heavy double-action trigger pull is really the only downside I see to the M83. I’m hoping enough have hit the country that Wolff Gunsprings might consider making a lighter spring kit for them.
While you’re watching AIM for more M83, you may as well see what else they have in stock too. They always have a selection of police or military trade-in rifles, pistols, or shotguns, and they’re usually very fairly priced.
Where To Buy
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