[tc300mag1]

Anyone else got one? what ammo your like best leaving on vaction tuesday so will get to shoot it then... Picked up 3 mags and 200 rounds didnt buy nothing else. Of course its the very evil black rifle with the muzzle brake.

Almost bought a benneli Nova 18" 12 gauge for home defense too 289$ guess itll be next gunshow.

All and all not bad prices at the gunshow for a friday night i really didnt intend to buy anything but maybe some brass or other reloading stuff guess it had been to long since i bought a gun few weeks at least :)

[DeputyVaughn]

I bought a Cetme about a month ago. I love it, Maybe even more than my FAL. Anyway I bought a case of portuguese surplus for it and my FAL and have had no complaints about it's performance.

Scott

[Dave R]

I sense a trend here....

My CETME likes the Portugese surplus, too. (FNM).

I also shopped CETME vs. FAL and chose CETME. I likes the balance and ergonomics better. I have a thing for wood, too.

[Bigdog]

I have the older wood-stocked CETME ("El Chopo"), and it's been a great shooter from the beginning. So far, I've used the South African ammo and the Venezuelan-made CAVIM ammo - it shoots well with both. It also shoots well with the Remington/UMC .308 in 150 grain Core-Loct. (Yes, I know commercial is a "no-no" - mine likes it and has no extraction issues).

Using CAVIM and with the 4.5-14X40AO ATV scope installed, it'll shoot 1.5MOA on a good day.

You'll find that the Century "Muzzle Blast Enhancer" is fun, but you won't endear yourself to other nearby shooters. ;)
I once drove off a guy shooting a BOSS-equipped .300 Magnum bolt rifle - mine was louder! Bwahahaha! :evil:

My CETME is my favorite "military-style" rifle.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-1/93045/CETMEElChopoModeloC_Pic3.JPG

[Feanaro]

When possible, use only surplus ammo. Or get used to carrying a broken shell extractor and jumping on the cocking handle. :D

Port is good, Australian is good, and Spanish is good. Port and Aussie do the best, so far. I would steer clear of Indian but some people use it without problems.

[tc300mag1]

I dont worry much about the blast enhancer i shoot on private property and it cant be worse than my 300 mag with blast enhancer...

Got a question now anyone make a aftermarket grip for them ? something like hogue or pac grips ok but would like something different

[ConserVet]

A CETME is probably the best deal on an honest-to-God MBR out there. I've had mine for a couple of years and its my favorite rifle. I've never had issues with ammo, except for the odd misfeed which doesn't seem to point to any particular brand or type.

I like the wood stock, like a couple of other posters, and its just a simple, clean design. I like the FN/FAL too though, and hope to add one to my collection in the near future.

As far as being noisy on the firing line, I think my '03 Springfield takes the prize for "Most Noticed". I can't figure it out, but something about that weapon just makes more racket than any other rifle I've ever heard.

[Third_Rail]

Really, I think a 1917 with HOT 30-06 surplus is pretty loud too. It certainly trumped the LEO with a 11.5" AR-15 in any case.

[Logan5]

So far, mine likes Port surplus, and actually, will digest Indian, the issue there for me was many, many duds. Haven't tried Aussie yet, but I'm thinking of picking some up.
I've got the wood stock/no brake at all model, and it's middling loud... Last outing the guy to my left was shooting one of the bigger Weatherby magnums (with no ear protection... lunatic!) and that was much, much louder. Kind of creeped me out, he was talking to himself and so on the whole time, I wonder what came first, the crazy or the Weatherby mag with no ears?

[outdoorman63]

mine likes the port also..only thing i have had to do to mine was change the firing pin

[pdt203]

I got mine at the beginning of last summer. Spent lots of time cleaning it before taking it out to the range. There is lot of info on the gunboards.com CETME section.

Recently I have added a scope and a better grip and reworked the wood finish. I can be caught at the Skyline range with my FAL, luv'm both.

Johnny in Huntsville

[Daniel T]

I like my Century Cetme:

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=1158444

It digests anything, never had a failure to feed, even with crappy Indian surplus. The recoil is not unpleasant, and the muzzle blast is a great crowd-clearer while sparing the shooter.

There are a couple things about it I don't like though. No bolt hold-open. Crappy sights. I can solve the sight problem with a claw mount and 4x scope, but the bolt hold-open can only be resolved by moving up to a FAL. :)

[Destructo6]

Venezuelan-made CAVIM ammo
Argueably the worst stuff to feed a HK/CETME A/B/C gun. It tends to leave a tar-like goo in the chamber flutes. I've heard many HK shooters complain that 60 rounds of CAVIM rendered their, otherwise perfectly reliable, rifle useless.

FNM, Hirtenberger, or anything with the NATO cross should work perfectly.

[jobu07]

Mine runs like a clock. So far, i've run very limited amounts of commercial ammo through it (when I first got it). And no problems. Since then i've run thousands of rounds of south african surplus (i blieve that's where it originated from) without a hitch. Great stuff. Great gun.

[RevDisk]

You'll find that the Century "Muzzle Blast Enhancer" is fun, but you won't endear yourself to other nearby shooters.

:cuss:

I was one of those nearby shooters. Geesh. One mag from the guy next to me gave me a splitting headache. I think a combo of the noise induced headache and bullet wake threw off my grouping like no tomorrow.

It was fun to shoot, though.

[Dave R]

There are a couple things about it I don't like though. No bolt hold-open. Crappy sights.

I like the sights. Except for the 100M "V" rear sight, which is essentially useless. So I just don't use it. I stick with the 200M aperture, which works great. Just hold 2" low at 100 yards...

[itgoesboom]

I got mine a few weeks ago, and have taken it out twice so far. I bought close to 50 used G3 mags, and 45 of them work, and about 20 look good.

I brought it out this weekend, and it sure got some looks at the range. I just had to let a few other shooters try it out, since they were using a bunch of bolt actions, and single shots. I noticed that whenever I started to shoot a mag, they stopped shooting, and just watched instead. :D

When I first sighted it in, it shot a .45" at 25meters, so I was hoping for about 2" at 100.

This time, my targets were set up at about 75 yards, and unfortunatly, since I didn't have a working target stand, my targets would get blown off the hill after a few shots. Made it tough to shoot for groups, so I really didn't shoot for groups.

However, while shooting prone off a log, I got one group, and I honestly think this had to have been a fluke, cuz A), its a CETME, B) Iron sights, C) I am not all that good a shot.

But this 3 shot group, center to center, was smaller than the length of my last joint on my pinky, and that is just about an inch. :what: I should have measure it before I threw the target away, but like I said, I think it was a fluke.

We will see the next time I take it out.

Oh, and it was with Aussie surplus.

I.G.B.

[Red_SC]

What is an average price for a CETME? Sounds like a fun gun to have.

[Feanaro]

What is an average price for a CETME? Sounds like a fun gun to have.

$350 is a good price for the CETME version. Wood might cost you a little more. $300 is a darn good price. A G3 clone(Has and accepts G3 parts, the CETME can take most G3 parts but require some fitting here and there) will run about $400-500.

[NevadaPistolero]

Glad to hear everyone is using mil-spec surplus ammo...do not shoot commercial ammo in a CETME...it will start ripping the heads off of them...the commercial brass is not as strong as the mil surplus stuff. Just sold my CETME awhile back and all my ammo, but getting ready to buy another, wish I had kept the damn ammo now.

[Richardson]

I like my CETME - very affordable, very reliable, and easy on the shoulder.

After I got a FAL, the CETME took a back seat. The ergonomics on the FAL are MUCH better (IMO). But the CETME will stay as long as I can afford both...

[TooTaxed]

My CETME with 3x9 scope is acceptably accurate...though the trigger pull must be about 12-lbs! (I'd REALLY like to get that worked on!) I ring the 360-yd gong every shot with Aussie and South African milsurp, the 500-yd gong about two out of three...I suspect because of the inherent ammo dispersion (about 2-1/2 minute of angle)...haven't tried Port yet, though I just bought some to try. I've only tried five rounds of 1997 Indian provided by a friend...was amazed to get a single ragged one minute-of-angle hole at 100-yd! (Suggest you stick with recent manufacture Indian...the 1980's stuff I've seen was mostly linked machinegun ammo damaged by the delinking.)

Things I don't like: 1. the trigger pull. 2. the cocking lever, which takes a LOT of effort. 3. the bolt doesn't remain open after the last shot. 4. it ejects cases about 20 feet to one o'clock (not really a problem, as all milsurp except the Indian is berdan-primed anyhow) 5. the cost of the ammo...upwards of $150/1000, plus shipping.

If I had it to do over, I'd get one of the brand new Romanian SSG-97 sniper rifles complete with 8-power ranging scope for less than $700 incl. shipping. MUCH cheaper ammo (7.62 x 54R), which would soon result in breakeven cost! And MUCH easier to operate.

[Richardson]

TooTaxed mentioned things he doesn't like about the CETME... I agree with 3 of them:

1. the trigger pull.
Mine isn't too heavy, just long, gritty, and "mushy". The FAL's trigger (on the one I have) is crisp.

3. the bolt doesn't remain open after the last shot.
For plinking this isn't a problem. But if one were to have to use it in a serious situiation, this becomes more problematic, especially given...

2. the cocking lever, which takes a LOT of effort.
Having to reach up almost to the muzzle to recharge is a pain in the rear, and can be difficult if prone. The FAL's charging handle is even with the bolt - and much easier to work.

I'll add, that if one gently lets the bolt slide forward, they're probably going to get a jammed bolt. If you don't let it slam home, the charging handle becomes very difficult to move. I usually have to bounce it off the buttstock while pushing on the charging handle when this happens.

Even so, my CETME is staying in my safe. Replacing it, along with it's 12 magazines, would just cost way too much. It's still fun to shoot, and delivers the same "punch" as my FAL.

Richardson

[Roadrunner]

I've been wanting to purchase a CETME for a few years. But I haven't because I heard that a number of owners of Century CETME rifles were complaining about problems with their rifles (I think cycling and failure to feed issues). Sounds like you guys have some nice rifles from Century. Maybe Century had a bad batch or two a few years ago.

Besides Century, any other distributors/sellers worth looking at?

[Spieler]

I've put off buying one for the same reasons Roadrunner put forth, but I may be breaking down soon as I have some cash on hand now and everyone who is getting one these days seems to be having good luck with them.

[Feanaro]

Trigger problems: WTS (http://www.soldierstuff.com/wts/) can help with that. By all accounts they do great work.

Roadrunner: I love my CETME to death but I will be the first to admit that CAI can put out some truely BAD stuff. They will fix it but I'd be worried about that, after a few things I have heard. If you want a CETME, you need to check it out in person. Check out Perro's (http://www.cetmerifles.com/forum/index.php). There aren't as many lemons as some people will tell you but there are a fairly disturbing amount.

The other options for a G3/CETME aren't many. Ohio Rapid Fire has been cut off from their receivers, which is too bad. I'd heard they made good stuff. JLD makes the PTR-91. Never seen one but it's supposed to be a great rifle. The furniture is the best US made stuff that I can think of. You can also make one yourself. Or partly so if you are less mechanically inclined. FAC (http://www.gunsnstuff.net) has G3 part kits and receivers. Throw in some US parts(FAC should have them. CAI has them but has a $75 minimum order) and then send it off to, say, IGF (http://www.investmentgradefirearms.com) or AEA (http://www.azexarms.com/g3.html). All in all this will cost about seven to eight hundred but you will have a high quality rifle.

[Shadowman]

recoil?

vs fal?

[Feanaro]

Shadow: can't say about CETME recoil against FAL recoil. Depends on the user. Almost everyone says the CETME recoil assembly is easier on the shoulder than the G3's. I think it's fairly mild myself but I am not recoil sensitive.

[Shadowman]

Thanks for the reply.

I fear I might be a wuss