[michiganfan]

Got a new CETME 308 from SOG. Cleaned throughly and lubed it. Took it to the
range and it would not fire more than a couple of rounds without a misfire. I could hear the hammer fall but the cartridge would not ignite. The firing pin would put a little shallow dimple in the cartridge but would not set it off. It was new 308 Winchester. Well I took it home broke it down again. Even cleaned and lubed the firing pin channel. Took it out today and for the first 20 rounds it was dandy. Then the same thing started happening. Same shallow dimple on the cartridge, it was a different box. Any suggestions from the group ?
I would like to keep the rifle instead of sending it back because for the 20 rounds that it was working it was a real hoot. Great fun and very little recoil.

[cwalker3]

I feel your pain, but have no answer to your question. I too have a Cetme that is a blast to shoot when it functions correctly. Mine doesn't misfire, but it does FTE, FTF a couple of rounds in every mag I've tried. Mine is one of the ground bolt issues from Century's angry beaver manufacturing facility. It's now mostly a wall hanger until I can find a new bolt for it.

There's a lot of good info over at the Gunboards site on this rifle. Go here: http://www.gunboards.com/forums/UltraBoard.cgi?action=Headlines&BID=30

Good luck with fixing your problem.

[Tropical Z]

A friends Cetme does the exact same thing and hes never been able to fix the problem.Cetmes are cool but trying rifles to own.:(

[cma g21]

You can also try the CETME forum:
http://www.cetmerifles.com/forum/index.php

[Marko Kloos]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. My CETME runs like a top...not a single failure so far. What kind of ammo are you using? Did you check the condition of the firing pin and firing pin spring?

[Jim K]

Any possibility of dirt or crud in the locking areas? If the rollers do not seat properly, the firing pin cannot go forward (for obvious safety reasons). Partial seating may mean the firing pin can move but not enough to fire the round.

Jim

[keederdag]

Sure it's going all the way into battery? My first one had a bent cocking handle tube, that when cold worked fine. When hot, it would warp further and cause the bolt to drag.Century AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH:cuss: :fire: :scrutiny: :uhoh:

[chevrofreak]

you could try lightening the firing pin

[michiganfan]

Chevrofreak could you help me out here? What does ligthening the firing pin mean and how do you do it ? Thanks Walt

[Jim K]

Lightening a firing pin means removing metal from the sides to make the firing pin weigh less. This is often done in an attempt to reduce lock time for target shooting or to prevent primer "dimpling" from firing pin inertia. There are advantages to this, but also problems, so I can't recommend doing it to try to solve an ignition problem which I think has another cause. The rifle was designed for the firing pin as it is made, so I can't see any advantage of playing with it.

Jim

[Dave R]

I would replace the firing pin before lightening it. But I'm a conservative guy.

Other possible cures:

1) Disassemble the bolt (instructions on the CETME forum)
2) Clean and lube the firing pin and firing pin channel. Check for broken firing pin or spring. Replace as needed. If there was goo in the firing pin channel, that could be the culprit.
3) Clean your rollers, while you have the bolt apart.
4) Clean chamber and locking areas. Chamber is easy to lean with a .45acp NYLON brush. You can clean the locking indents in the chamber with fingers & cloth, if your fingers are not too short or fat. Like Keenen sez, that can prevent going fully into battery.
5) Cycle that baby about 500 times by hand. Century parkerized the bolt and some of the them have enough friction that they won't go into battery well until they are broken in.
6) Check that the hammer is operating freely. Since this gun was built by Century, no tell whether the hammer is bent, or getting interference from another bent part.
7) Check cocking tube, and recoil spring holder (name?) for straightness, as keederdag suggested. Any binding there will prevent going into battery.

Century wll let you return them within 30 days. Averyone I have heard of who did this got a good rifle back...

[surfinUSA]

These Century guns can be cool unfortunately they are not the easy fix that the Century FALs can be. It sounds like your head space is loose allowing the round to move slightly forward and therefore not being hit by the firing pins full force.

[Pumpkinheaver]

I've got a solution...







Buy a FAL:D

[yayarx7]

Lol!

[michiganfan]

Thanks for all the advice. Cleaned it again tonight. Lubed the hell out of it and worked the charging tube about two hundred times. it is quite a bit easier to do now than before. Will go to range on Saturday and report back. Also am waitng on NATO ammo from AIM should arrive friday.

[pdt203]

Use a .45cal brush gently in the chamber. I had the same problems at first too until I got everything clean. You may also try other mags too. I ordered several of the G3 aluminum mags and after firing 200rds through it, I don't have anymore problems.

Johnny in Huntsville

p.s. http://www.gunboards.com/forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=47

[Dave Markowitz]

Cycle that baby about 500 times by hand. Century parkerized the bolt and some of the them have enough friction that they won't go into battery well until they are broken in.

An alternative to this is find the spots where the bolt carrier is rubbing inside the receiver an polish them with Flitz metal polish. I did this with my Century C91 "G3" before I took it to the range and it helped quite a bit. This was easier than manually cycling the rifle a couple hundred times.