Zastava M1899
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 740 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.90 kg
- Introduced
- 1899
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Zastava M1899 is a Serbian bolt-action service rifle chambered in 7x57mm Mauser, built on the small-ring 1893/95-pattern Mauser action with a flush five-round staggered internal magazine loaded by stripper clip. Adopted by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1899 to replace its obsolete M1880 Mauser-Koka rifles, the original order of roughly 90,000 was manufactured under contract by DWM (Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken) in Germany, with delivery completed by the end of 1900. It served as Serbia's principal infantry rifle through the Balkan Wars and the opening campaigns of the First World War.
Ian McCollum has likened the well-armed but outnumbered Serbs of 1914, fielding their modern 7x57mm M1899 Mausers against Austria-Hungary, to the Boers of the South African War - a small nation whose soldiers were dangerously good shots with first-rate Mauser rifles.
Although branded as a Serbian (later Zastava/Kragujevac arsenal) pattern, the 90,000 original M1899 rifles were built by DWM because Mauser's own Oberndorf plant was at capacity; the 7x57mm chambering was chosen partly for faster delivery. An additional order followed in 1906, and the improved M1899/07 and Gewehr-98-based Model 1910 succeeded it. Empty weight and length figures vary slightly between sources.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Zastava Arms
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- Serbia
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1899 to 1910
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 740 mm
- Overall length
- 1235 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.90 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 5
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 700 m/s
- Effective range
- 500 m
- Maximum range
- 2000 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Small ring receiver
Flush staggered internal magazine
Stripper clip loading
Tangent leaf rear sight
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,612 rifles | 3.90 kg | 3.50 kg | Heavier than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,557 rifles | 1235 mm | 1080 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,659 rifles | 740 mm | 584 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,611 rifles | 5 | 5 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Zastava M1899
How much does the Zastava M1899 weigh?
The Zastava M1899 weighs 3.90 kg (8.60 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Zastava M1899?
The Zastava M1899 is chambered in 7x57mm Mauser.
How many rounds does the Zastava M1899 hold?
The Zastava M1899 holds 5 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Zastava M1899?
The Zastava M1899 is 1235 mm (48.6 in) long overall, with a 740 mm (29.1 in) barrel.
Who makes the Zastava M1899?
The Zastava M1899 is made by Zastava Arms (Serbia). It was designed by Paul Mauser.
When was the Zastava M1899 introduced?
The Zastava M1899 was introduced in 1899 and discontinued in 1910.
How does the Zastava M1899 operate?
The Zastava M1899 uses a bolt action.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Kingdom of Serbia
- 1899
- Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
- Serbia
Provenance
Confidence in this record
63%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/zastava-m1899' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "zastava-m1899", "name": "Zastava M1899", "manufacturer": { "id": "zastava", "name": "Zastava Arms", "countryCode": "RS", "foundedYear": 1853, "website": "https://www.zastava-arms.rs", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:48", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:48", "version": "1280b11f95e216b0481865c8371fa30b9f7a5b33a8167e7b5ba6166da29d4149" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "RS", "year_introduced": 1899, "barrel_length_mm": 740, "weight_empty_g": 3900, "action_type": "bolt_action"}