[cslinger]

So Sheslinger likes the CETME, I like the CETME from a feel and looks standpoint.

I realize that some people have had problems but, is it worth it from the standpoint of a beater, cheap plinking .308.

I admit it. I am a plinker. I shoot for the blast, the smell, the experience. I do have my shoot for accuracy days but I am so far from an MOA put the rounds touching each other guy that this is not the purpose of this gun.

Think evil, assualt rifle esq, cheap .308.

Here is what I want out of it. Reliable functioning. Does it go bang on a pretty normal basis when the trigger is pulled.

Is it going to blow up in my face. .308 is pretty high pressure. I realize that these are really parts kit guns but are they at least safe.

Can I get minute of pie plate accuracy at 100 yards?

Do all G3 magazines work for this guy.

Can the action be cleaned up. All the ones I have messed with have had what I would describe as gummed up actions. I assume this is from preservatives or other gunk. Will a good cleaning or six clean this up a bit?

I have a relative who owns one and is happy with it and he fits the plinker category. He also is heavily into class 3 firearms and has many thousands of dollars in high dollar guns so he does have a point of reference between high quality / low quality guns.

So tell me what we got here. Yes I would like to have a DSA FAL, yes I would like a real HK G3, Yes I would love to have an M1A but all of those are way too much money for the amount and type of use they will get.

So let's make this a poll and verbal reply post shall we.

[Pappy John]

I don't know enough about them, but I keep seeing them at shows around here in the $300+- neighborhood for wood stocks and a bit more for the EBR look. I'm always looking for other items when I go, so I haven't succumbed yet, but my resistance is eroding. Even if it is a POS, I like to tinker on things, so maybe I could fix it.

[Dave R]

I have a CETME. Hear are answers to your questions, based on 1st hand experience and spending time on the CETME forum.

http://www.gunboards.com/forums/UltraBoard.cgi?action=Headlines&BID=30&SID=1655538

(It must be true! I read it on the Internet!)

Reliable functioning? You betcha.

Blow up in your face? Have never heard of that happening. Remember, the receivers are new. The other parts are used, but they are built onto a new receiver, which is made for military use of the .308 round.

Accuracy? Reputation is very good. Mine does 2MOA nearly every time I shoot it, using surplus ammo. I have even run some commercial ammo through it and still got 2MOA.

G3 mags? Reports I read are that most of them work in most CETME's but its not 100% I have only used CETME mags.

Actions can be cleaned up. Clean before firing, as Century apparently does not clean after building, and there tends to be some shavings in the receiver and stuff like that. Also. the bolt is parkerized and tends to be a little tight for the first hundred rounds or so. Clean the fluted chamber using a .45acp NYLON brush. Works great.

On the CETME forum you can find a guy named Bill Springfield who will do a good trigger job for you for @ $30 or so.

[hksw]

The two I have have worked out very well. (one wood, one plastic) I did have rare occassion misfeeds of the last round from the wood one but had narrowed the source of the failures to one mag. Otherwise they hase shot great.

I did finally meet someone who had more frequent problems with his that were gun related at a plateshoot. The barrel/cocking tube assembly was welded a bit off 12:00. Didn't see him have any stoppages at the shoot but he did loose his cocking tube end plug during the day.

$400 is a bit high. If the gun was shot any, there should be some brass dings at the back edge of and just behind the ejection port.

[Ian Sean]

I have one, Wooden stock Tru-Oiled it and it came out beautiful (sorry no pictures). I bought it spur of the moment at a gun show and was very lucky as it has NONE of the problems some people have had with them. It shoots well and as a 7.62 NATO plinker due to all the cheap surplus out there, it can't be beat.

At first there were some quality control issues with US built CETMES but it seems as though they have been straightened out. I still hear about ground bolts though.

All you ever need to know about CETME's:

cetmerifles.com/forum/index.php (http://)

As far as using G-3 mags, the CETME mag has a slight curve to it and a G-3 is straight. On some of the US made recievers the fit is very tight and a G-3 mag will not fit right. Mine accepts them and the G-3 mags I have actually fit better than the CETME mags (and the G-3's are cheaper at TAPCO)..

Like I said I was very lucky getting a good one, buying it blind with very little prior knowledge of them. Be sure to research all the known problems well and steer clear of any one that wont let you thoroughly inspect it.

[mattjoe]

I really like mine.
Although it's the least expensive rifle i've ever bought, it's fun. Plus it shoots the big 308 round. Got mine all black plastic for $300 new with 2 20rnd mags, and one silly 5 rounder. In fact, 2 other friends also bought one at the same time, Then we bought 30, 20 round mags from tapco, 15 cetme, 15 G3.
I have found that some cetme mags fit well, others wont even lock in. Same with the G3 mags, the G3 mags that do fit, i have to really pound in there. A quick mag change to a G3 mag would be very difficult without modifying them. I plan on taking a dremel to both the cetme mags that don't fit and the G3 mags, i suspect the little tabs need to be filed down just a hair, and the indentation where the mag catch locks into the mag needs to be widened a bit, as i noticed the mag catch sticking up and not flush like it looks with the original 2 mags.
I'm certain they can be fixed. The G3's that go in with that extra bit of effort work fine.

It has gone bang every time.
The action was a little sticky at first, but I took the whole thing apart and cleaned it before shooting it.
That was a chore that I was none too fond of.

I think if you want an inexpensive evil black rifle, you can't go wrong.

[Tamara]

Two big issues, one safety/function related, one cosmetic:

1) Was the bolt ground? Apparently nobody told the angry monkeys at Century that a belt grinder is not an appropriate tool for adjusting headspace on a roller-locking rifle.

2) How angry were the monkeys that day? Some receivers have gaps in them that you could drop a pencil through, others look pretty good.

If it passes those tests, odds are good that it'll run out of the box, and even if it doesn't, it shouldn't have anything wrong with it that a good 'smith couldn't fix for you lickety-split.