Building a Hybrid Yugoslav M70B1 from a Stub with Screws

George Spafford is building a replica of the Yugo M70B rifle using a stub parts kit. A new installment will appear here every Friday

Install Trigger Guard

Trigger guard and selector stop plate riveted in place. Be sure to orient the stop plate with the tab on the operating side of the receiver. Trust me, it's easy not to pay attention and put it on backwards, then you have to demil and start over!

The next step was to assemble the various parts into the receiver. I like to start with the trigger guard group and use it as the basis to locate the front trunnion to have the correct magazine lock-up.

I use a 3x ATS brand air riveter with a rivet set I ground flat on one side to set the trigger guard rivets along with a piece of 1-inch square steel stock I set in the vise to serve as a bucking bar. There are a number of commercial jigs, such as the unit from AK-Builder, on the market, plus you could do the rivets by hand by using a bucking bar, hammer and a punch with a divot drilled into it. Regardless, I use this as the starting point, as it can't be moved on the receiver as the five mounting holes are all pre-drilled.

When mounting the trigger guard, be sure to have the selector stop on the right side of the receiver because it is easy to accidentally put it on the left/wrong side and be in for a surprise later. Also, if you want to use the strapped Yugo grip nut, it will need to be riveted in using the backstrap rivet and a new hole you would need to locate and drill. Since I used an AKM receiver, I simply used an AKM grip nut and screw thus avoided the extra work. Whether the strap or standard AKM grip nut is used, a M70 grip can still be mounted.