[Commissar Gribb]

Went to the gun store today and traded my ruger blackhawk and intratec AB 10 in toward a CETME. ended up paying a little less than 200 in cash since both the other guns were used.

Anyhow! Here's a pic of my new toy!

When I got it home I stripped and cleaned it. There was a LOT of cosmo in the receiver and the action. I would assume that the previous owner didnt clean the rifle very often. Everything seemed very tight and relatively new execept the barrel. Upon inspection, the barrel showed some moderate pitting but the rifling was still intact.

So now I'm looking for goodies to add on. I'm thinking about wood furniture and some .30 round mags.

[wayne in boca]

Congratulations on your new rifle.You may want to check ot cetmerifles.com and Gunboards Cetme forum for loads of info on these .While there are a few 30 round mags floating around,they tend to be expensive,and unneccesary.20 rounders are cheap and plentiful,and you can also use G3 mags,available for like $3.00 apiece.

[Steelcore]

$200+Intratec+Blackhawk=Cetme

I paid $250 for a slightly used one and $300 for a new one.
Just what was the price on that Cetme?

Right now I wouldn't buy a Cetme or G3 klone from Century.I would go for a PTR 91 in its various iterations.

[longhorngunman]

Clean it well and work the snot out of the charging handle about 1000 times and you'll be good to go. Check the bolt gap, www.cetmerifles.com has a tutorial on this, and you should be good. Mine is more accurate than my AR which cost twice as much. :)

[Commissar Gribb]

thanks longhorn! I'm guessing the easiest way to clean the snot out of the charging handle is to sit there and pump it for a few hours- not really looking forward to that :uhoh:

$200+Intratec+Blackhawk=Cetme

I paid $250 for a slightly used one and $300 for a new one.
Just what was the price on that Cetme?

Right now I wouldn't buy a Cetme or G3 klone from Century.I would go for a PTR 91 in its various iterations.

not really information that would help me NOW. Please save your buying tips for the next time i'm in the market. I'm pretty sure I got hosed but considering the intratec was a POS and I never used the ruger, it wasn't that bad.

20 rounders are cheap and plentiful,and you can also use G3 mags,available for like $3.00 apiece.

damn right! G3 mags are awesome! I might pick up a couple 30 rounders to mix it up but I have the feeling the bulk of the mags will be 20s

[MachIVshooter]

Congrats. I have a Century G-3, paid $409 for it new. It has been extrememly reliable, and with the right ammunition, very accurate. I had almost written it off as an expensive plinker, getting no better than 2 MOA with factory hunting rounds or cheap surplus. Then I picked up a bunch of American Eagle 150 gr. FMJ-BT. It averages 3/4 MOA with that ammo, with a best of .402"/3 rounds. It is topped with a Simmons Aetec 4.5-14x using B-square mount. Be ready to drob some coin on the mount, though ;)

[Sunray]

Check the headspace. Century has no QC.

[AirPower]

Sounds like a nice new toy, but Steelcore's right about the price, but at least you got to unload the Tec-9.

[itgoesboom]

Congrats on the purchase there Commissar.

Check the headspace/bolt gap, and make sure you don't have a ground bolt. If those are fine, odds are you will be just fine with that rifle.

You might have to do a little 'smithing to get the G3 mags to fit right, but you might now. I did, but it worked out in the end.

If you want to start sprucing it up, with new furniture and such, just mind your US parts count so as not to run afoul of the 922(R) laws.

HK furniture can sometimes be bough cheap used, like $20-30 for the buttstock and foregrip, either wood or synthetic. I even found my wide forearm for only $25 last year.

This is mine, although I have taken off the scope and mount, and the stock riser. I left the stock extension on but shortened it by 1/2".

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b209/itgoesboom/CETME1.jpg


I.G.B.

[jobu07]

I think you'll be most pleased with your new (to you) CETME Commissar. Mine has been utterly reliable and quite accurate.

So you don't care for the synthetic furniture? I'm glad I bought one with the wood on it. It just has a nice look to it from the grain to the color.

Anywho, pass up on the 30 rounders. You'll never want to fire the rifle with a full 30 rounder in there anyway. HEAVY! :eek: But grab some 20 rounders while you can and work that charging handle!

Congrats! :D

Edit: Here's some pics of my wood furniture.

[Commissar Gribb]

OK! I just took it out today and shot it.

The first 5 rounds were trying. first a fail to feed, then a fail to fire from a dimpled primer.

However, after that it worked fine. We shot 60 rounds through it and it was boringly consistant from then on. about 1-2 inch groups at 15 yards. It seemed sighted in for me already which was good.

shooting those big .308 cases was an interesting exerience since they didnt fly away as far as the 30-06 ones for some reason. The recoil with the CETME and Garand, incidentally, was about the same I thought.

[itgoesboom]

shooting those big .308 cases was an interesting exerience since they didnt fly away as far as the 30-06 ones for some reason. The recoil with the CETME and Garand, incidentally, was about the same I thought.


That doesn't sound right. These rifles have a well deserved reputation for violently ejecting cases, almost to a fault.

So you need to check some things out.

1. Check out the bolt gap/head spacing. This is really important. If your bolt gap is out of spec, and many are, than the rifle is dangerous to fire. Go to cetmerifles.com, and read how to check your bolt gap.

2. The cases not ejecting violently could be the extractor spring being broken. I had it happen to me. Still ejected reliably 100%, but it was only ejecting a few feet away. I checked the extractor, and it was a little loose.

I.G.B.

[ziadel]

+1 on the violent ejection.


If they are not flying 20ft at least, AND smashed to hell, theres something seriously wrong.


Unless mebbe theres a port buffer. Never used a port buffer. I like pegging people with hot brass :evil:

[itgoesboom]

+1 on the violent ejection.


If they are not flying 20ft at least, AND smashed to hell, theres something seriously wrong.


Unless mebbe theres a port buffer. Never used a port buffer. I like pegging people with hot brass

Thats just mean. Although, I must admit to always ending up set up to the left of people when I am shooting my CETME, although it isn't planned.

I.G.B.

[confed sailor]

ooof, ow, eek, arg, (running away from the hailstorm of brass)

hell if engauged to the left, no worries just brass'em to death.

first day i had it, i scored 3 quick hits on my roomies neck. it was a good thing no one was there or he would have been arrested for lewd dancing, as for the profanity, only a lip-reader who did a hitch in the marines would have understood it, since it was emitted at dog whistle frequencies

[Dave R]

If its not blued steel and walnut, (and Scottish), its CRAP You might want to add Poplar to that list. That's the wood used in CETME furniture.

I'll add my congrats on your new rifle. I'll bet you'll really enjoy it. I love my CETME, even though I had to fix 2-3 things to get it right. Once right, it really shoots well.

I agree that the brass should be going farther than it is. I always set up at the far right end of the range when I bring the CETME. Check the extractor and ejector. Its not hard to fix either.

[Father Knows Best]

I haven't fired a CETME, but my PTR-91 (very similar) ejects spent brass with about as much force as a Saturn V rocket. The mouths of cases are beat to hell, too, from bouncing off the receiver. They usually head out in the 1 to 2 o'clock direction, landing forward of the firing line and about 30 feet to my right and 15-20 feet downrange. The last time I was out, I was shooting from a bench on a covered line. My brass was hitting a 4x4 support post just to the right of my shooting position and ricocheting off at around the 10 to 11 o'clock direction from the post, crossing back in front of me. I paced off the distance when I was done, and found a nice pile about 35 feet forward and 15 feet right of my firing position.

Also, my PTR-91 is definitely harder shooting than either of my Garands or my FAL clone (SA58). I assume that the gas systems on those rifles soften the recoil impulse a lot. I shoot the Garands and FAL with plain steel buttplates, but had to put a recoil pad on my PTR-91 to make it tolerable.

[1911Ron]

I just put about 100rnds thru mine on saturday what hoot,couldn't hit very well with the open sight but when i switched to the peep it put everything real close together at 25m :D :D +1 on checking the gap and the extractor/ejector.

[Commissar Gribb]

I'll check that out.

When I field stripped the rifle the ejector looked fine. very tight. the ejection tended to vary from 3 to 10 feet to my right. not nearly as far as my AK's ejection pattern. The cases came out with the neck squished and crumpled and with ground wear on the rim.

the buttplate on mine is a rubber/plastic sort. even so it felt only a slight less than my garand.

[itgoesboom]

the buttplate on mine is a rubber/plastic sort. even so it felt only a slight less than my garand.

The CETME has less felt recoil than the HK91/PRR-91 rifles, due to a different buffer in it. Put a HK stock assembly on it, and it will increase that recoil a little bit.

I.G.B.

[Father Knows Best]

The CETME has less felt recoil than the HK91/PTR-91 rifles, due to a different buffer in it. Put a HK stock assembly on it, and it will increase that recoil a little bit.

That makes sense to me. I think that most of the "kick" you feel with these rifles is actually the secondary impulse from the bolt carrier impacting against the buffer. A different buffer could change the feel the recoil considerably.

[Dave R]

couldn't hit very well with the open sight but when i switched to the peep it put everything real close together at 25m Good point! The 100M "combat V" on the CETME rear sight is essentially useless, except for snap shooting at close range. Most CETME owners I know ignore it completely. I use the 200M aperture exclusvely. When zeroed at 200 yards, its about 3" high at 100. Perfect for "dotting the I" on a 4" bull.

[Dave Markowitz]

That makes sense to me. I think that most of the "kick" you feel with these rifles is actually the secondary impulse from the bolt carrier impacting against the buffer. A different buffer could change the feel the recoil considerably.

Also, a lot of the CETMEs and G3 clones on the market have worn out recoil springs, hence the sharp perceived recoil. I find that CETMEs, G3s, and HK91s in good condition have less perceived recoil than M1As, Garands, and FALs.

YMMV.

Commissar -- nice rifle. I have a Century G3, although mine has a 'brake which I'd like to get rid of and replace with a flash hider. Other than that, I like it a lot.

[Commissar Gribb]

Good point! The 100M "combat V" on the CETME rear sight is essentially useless, except for snap shooting at close range. Most CETME owners I know ignore it completely. I use the 200M aperture exclusvely. When zeroed at 200 yards, its about 3" high at 100. Perfect for "dotting the I" on a 4" bull.

I quite like open sights, so I found it to be a neat feature that the rifle had both open and peep style sights.

[TrekkieFromHell]

the ejection tended to vary from 3 to 10 feet to my right. not nearly as far as my AK's ejection pattern.

From what I was seeing standing behind you, mostly it seemed to go 7-10 feet with a few exceptions :neener:

[MachIVshooter]

That doesn't sound right. These rifles have a well deserved reputation for violently ejecting cases, almost to a fault.

+1. Mine go about 30-40 feet to the right, slightly rear. Have actually dinged cars :eek: I don't reload for this rifle due to the dented cases and the nasty carbon "stripes" from the fluted chamber. That crap just doesn't come off!

[Bart Noir]

The current CETME's I see for sale have that steamboat paddle-wheel rear sight, and some are so loose they will just spin in the breeze..... If solidly held in each position, they might be good sights but I think a bit prone to being bumped out of position. What do you experienced guys think of those?

The HK style rear sight has that big V but it is located at the position of the aperature peep sights. So a shooter has a hard time using it for anything but coarse front-sight-only type shooting, I would imagine.

Question about the HK sight: Do you think that it covers up too much of what's downrange? As in, loosing sight of everything that is not lined up in the front sight, during combat when it would be nice to notice multiple enemy troops on the advance. Again, your views on that?

Bart Noir

[jobu07]

some are so loose they will just spin in the breeze..... If solidly held in each position, they might be good sights but I think a bit prone to being bumped out of position. What do you experienced guys think of those?

The rear sight on mine is rock solid when it's in place. There are some ball bearings or somethign to just sort of pop into place when the sight is properly aligned.

Do you think that it covers up too much of what's downrange? As in, loosing sight of everything that is not lined up in the front sight, during combat when it would be nice to notice multiple enemy troops on the advance.

I only own the CETME, but if you flip it to a peep sight, you get the same problem as the HK. The battle setting on the arpeture doesn't have this problem though.

[Daniel T]

Check cetmerifles.com for info on how to see if you have a ground bolt. If you have a ground bolt...well, I wouldn't fire it.

Instead of bothering to space the bolt gap correctly, Century has taken to grinding off the part of the bolt by which the gap is measured. Sounds great, eh?

See this post (http://www.cetmerifles.com/forum/kb.php?mode=article&k=66) for a bunch more info.

[possum]

Sweet rifle, looks great and barely touched, that is the way i like them. I want one so bad and can't wait to add one to the collection. I just have to wait for the shop to get some good looking and quality ones in, and no telling when that might be. ITGOESBOOM that is a very nice set up you got there; where did you get that bi-pod? And what kind of accuracy do you get out of that rifle?

[Partyguy816]

I have been wanting a Cetme for a while now, but after reading this post and others post on the Cetme forums I am starting to think I should pass on this rifle. I am not very inclined to do work on a new gun. I guess all CAI Cetme's are like this?

[jobu07]

Partyguy, just case the gunshops in your area for a CETME in the rack. Look it over close to make sure it's all assembled correctly. If it looks good, purchase it on the premise that if it doesn't work right that it will come back to that shop. I'm sure the owner will understand if you've heard bad things about Century. And if he's selling you a quality product, he'd have no reason not to allow you to do this.

Don't pass on a great rifle just because you've heard bad things on the net.

[Father Knows Best]

I have been wanting a Cetme for a while now, but after reading this post and others post on the Cetme forums I am starting to think I should pass on this rifle.

You should. Get a PTR-91, instead. It's a U.S.-made version of the H&K 91, which is of course the semi-auto version of the G3. The G3, in turn, is really just a CETME with a few evolutionary changes. The PTR-91 is beautifully made, with excellent fit and finish and fantastic accuracy:
http://www.jldenter.com/PTR-91%20riflepage_files/PTR-91-9s.jpg

For more info, see http://www.jldenter.com

[Commissar Gribb]

From what I was seeing standing behind you, mostly it seemed to go 7-10 feet with a few exceptions

Well- he was standing there so I gotta give it to him.