M92 PAP Review: Zastava AK47 Pistol

Zastava M92 PAP Review: 8 years, 10,000 rounds

Running the Krink, Krinkov, Suchka (Similar to AK74u): PAP M92

TLDR:
This is a delightfully crude beast spits huge fireballs and can put lead on target 250 yards away. Short and nimble, it’s a great “truck gun” that’s a lot more accurate than you’d think. But, the big muzzle flash means it’s not my top choice for home defense in enclosed spaces at night.

Zastava M92 PAP Specifications

Firearm Type:

Short barreled AK pattern firearm/carbine. This firearm is imported into the United States in semi-automatic pistol configuration, without a stock. Military versions outside the US come with an underfolder stock and are select fire (semi-auto and full auto). This carbine is similar to the AK74u, suchka and Draco Pistol.

Cartridge:

7.62x39mm Soviet. Similar versions of this firearm are available in 5.45x39mm and 5.56x45mm NATO.

Capacity/Magazine:

The M92 ships with a 30 round magazine where allowed by law. This firearm accepts all standard AK47 detachable “rock-in” box magazines and drums. While the normal magazine holds 30 rounds, magazines range in capacity from 10 rounds all the way up to 75 round drums.

Weight:

In pistol configuration without a stock, the M92 weighs 7.06 pounds (3.20 kilograms). With an Ace brand folding stock and an Aimpoint Micro T1 reflex site, the rifle weighs about 8.25 pounds (3.74 kilograms).

Action Type:

AK-pattern firearms cycle using a long-stroke, gas operated piston and the breach locks using a rotating bolt.

Barrel:

The PAP M92 features a 10 inch, hammer forged barrel.

Manufacturer, Country of Origin:

Zastava Arms, Serbia.

Basically, the m92 pap is a Serbian-made “Yugo Pattern” short barreled AK “pistol” that you can just put a brace on or sign your life away to the ATF and make into an SBR. Is it bad ass? Yes, it’s bad ass. As delivered in pistol configuration with no brace, it’s more of a fun range toy than a serious piece of kit. Kind of like a pistol-grip shotgun. Fun, iconic and bad ass looking in movies. But the M92 is best paired with a pistol brace or folding stock. Most of this review assumes that the owner will make it a Short Barreled Rifle (SBR) or just mount a commonly available pistol brace. Dear ATF, I have a stamp for this so please don’t shoot my dog. Given that pistol braces are now common, I’d recommend just getting a brace instead of registering an SBR with the ATF because it’s simpler, cheaper and there’s less government over-reach involved.

Pop culture, video games and movies have a lot of myths about Aks, short barreled rifles and specifically short barreled Aks. People say that Aks are inaccurate: false. Aks including this SBR are 2 to 3 MOA depending on ammo. People say short barreled rifles have extremely limited range: false. I can hit silhouettes out to about 250-300 yds with this rifle using a dust cover mounted aimpoint micro.

I’ve owned this rifle for about 7-8 years so far and I’ve put at least 10,000 rounds through it. For several years this rifle was in my primary rotation. Almost a decade later and I still love it and would not consider selling/trading it off.

Is the M92PAP Reliable? Yes

AKs are super reliable and the zastava m92 is no exception. For shooting stuff and requiring minimal maintenance, it’s excellent. That said, it does not have United States tolerances because it is riveted together in a basement using sticks, rocks and quenched in the tears of sweatshop workers. The design of the AK entails big gaps in the dust cover can allow big pieces of gravel to get in the gun. When gravel gets in, it malfunctions. Rack, swap out the mag, get back to work but expect it to be crunchy with gravel until you really clean it out.

The shorter length is great for portability and ingress/egress from vehicles. In pistol configuration, you may have better luck legally carrying it concealed in a backpack or vehicle depending on your state laws. In many states, you can legally conceal a loaded pistol, but not a rifle. You’re probably not going to carry this directly on your person in most cases. But, if you have a quick access locking mechanism to stow it in a vehicle, you might have it secured in your vehicle to deal with active shooter threats or without rule of law scenarios.

Why Get an AK47?

The AK is reliable, simple and offers alternative an ballistic profile very similar to 300 blackout. The slower, heavier bullet punches through barriers better than 5.56 nato. Also, it makes sense to train on alternative gun platforms. For the PAP m92, the velocity is reduced by about 200fps, so expect about a 200fps drop in velocity compared to a 16” ak. Even with the 200fps drop in velocity, I can still easily hit a humanoid target at 250 yards with this short barreled ak47 variant.

Suppose an AR15, SCAR, Tavor or whatever else is your primary rifle, why consider owning an AK? Well, depending on how a situation develops, you might not have the luxury of using your own gun in an emergency. It could be that you are forced to use a battlefield pickup. Or, you may be given a loaner gun from a friend. Ammo availability is unreliable and you may need an alternative cartridge to train with during various ammo shortages. In fall of 2021, Russian ammo is hard to find, but over the years there have been numerous ammo shortages where American cartridges were sold out and Russian ammo was cheap. If you own several firearms, having a few Aks as a backup can make sense. Throughout most of the last 20 years, it has been easier/cheaper to stockpile bulk commie ammo than standard nato offerings.

Interestingly, you can make subsonic AK ammo but do so at your own risk, may be unstable, may malfunction, may tumble and ruin your can with a baffle strike, ak threaded barrel may be off center and create a baffle strike that way too. I started with 300blackout subsonic recipes using CFE-BLK reloading powder.

Some other details, PAP M92 Review

The m92pap is made in Serbia and imported as a “pistol.” Because it’s imported as a pistol, it doesn’t fall under 922r laws, so it comes into the country with all factory parts. In contrast, Zastava AK rifles like the m70PAP are required to be sold in the US with 10 out of 20 parts made in the United States. AK rifles that have mixed US and imported parts have more risk of issues than firearms made at all one factory. In this way, AK pistols may have a reliability advantage over rifles sold in the US with US parts installed post-production. It is likely that the lack of American parts in this AK positively affected the results of this PAP M92 review.

M92 PAP Problems: What’s the Catch?

The short barrel of the AK means it has a lot of muzzle flash that can distract and disorient some shooters and it tends to recoil more than standard length aks. Muzzle flash is especially relevant in enclosed spaces. The m92 is also ridiculously over-gassed. The big bang muzzle flash would be a big downside if you’re using it as a home defense gun or in enclosed spaces. Firing the krink in a stairwell in an urban combat scenario without ear protection would probably lead to permanent hearing loss.

AK variants’ simple design means they don’t have the same ergonomics as more modern designs. It’s harder to mount accessories like optics and weapon lights. The AK does not have a last round bolt hold open. So, when the gun runs out it goes click instead of bang. The reloading procedure of the AK is a bit more involved than an AR15 due to the former’s rock-in type magazines. Lastly, unlike mil-spec AR15s, Aks made in different countries and factories don’t always interchange parts. The m92 pap bolt and foreend is different than other aks, so you may have a harder time getting spare parts in the zombie apocalypse.

But, don’t let the above issues completely dissuade you because with training and adaptation most of these problems can be mitigated or overcome. First off, training with the AK a lot to get really good at reloads and other weapons manipulations gets you a long way. Are you going to lose a half second here or there? Yes, but you can still effectively run and gun with an ak with some practice.

As for the muzzle flash and recoil, I tried a few muzzle devices on the m92 and here’s what I found. The manticore arms night brake lowers the recoil and flash signature a lot, but it makes the gun even louder than it is already. So, the night brake was a no-go for me personally. As a reference, I don’t usually like compensators on any of my 3gun rifles because I think they are too noisy and I find the extra noise more distracting than a bit of recoil. Your opinion may be different.

The device that I do like is the Russian-style booster muzzle device because it pushes the muzzle blast forward and away from the shooter.

As for solving the recoil and overgassing there are a few options. For awhile, I ran a mercury recoil reducer on the stock of the rifle and that helped balance the gun better. You can also get an adjustable gas piston from KNS Precision to cut down on the ridiculous amount of overgassing. For me, I took a simpler route that I don’t recommend because it’s a one-way trip. Personally I ended up notching the edge of my stock gas piston such that it bleeds off some of the gas pressure. But, don’t notch it too much because if you lose to much pressure the gun won’t cycle and you’ll have a ruined piston.

In summary, the PAP M92 absolutely rules. It’s a short, handy platform that shoots huge fireballs while being able to make hits out to 250 yards. It’s small, it’s nimble, it’s easy to use as a truck gun and it’s also just plain cool.
Krinks have been used by villains in James Bond movies and video games, so it’s a neat piece of gun culture for the collector and casual shooter as well as serious kit for those who are into home defense and disaster preparedness.

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M92 PAP AK47 internal parts peening