CETME Questions

[wild billz]

I have been wanting one for awhile. Most of the rifles I see are made by CAI. What do I need to know before orderingone, or should I avoid they rifle. It seems like a good deal for a .308. I am going tohe show this weekend and will look for a noice one at the right price, they run 300-350 here. Comments, etc are welcome, pleae

 

[Kilroy]

Looked at several in a gun shop. Each one headspaced differently. Grind marks visible on internals. No thanks....

 

[wild billz]

did a search on it here

seems like if you are willing to tweek it ang get a little lucky it will be fine,though some report great out of box operation. I gues I'll have to see what I find and go form there. I'd still appreciate any inputs, thanks

 

[Marcus]

Do a thorough search on the web so you know what to look for. Headspace is an issue,so are welds and overall assembly quality. The newer G3 synthetic stocked guns look better than most of the early ones I looked at. Make sure you look at several before you commit to one. I looked for several months before I found one that looked good in all respects. That said,if you take the time to find a good one you`ll have a great rifle. I love mine! It`s accurate,reliable and hi caps cost $3.99! Marcus

 

[armoredman]

Avoid Century rebuilds like the plague - had a Century CETME, would not feed from any magazine, bolt had been ground so not only did it need a new bolt but new rollers too, and at 50 yards got a seven,(7) inch group. The original Special Weapons stainless steel reciever CETMEs are supposedly better, but for about $200 more than the cheap CETME you can get a nice OPhio Rapid Fire FAL. If you really want the CETME, you will PROBABLY spend some money and time "tweaking" it to work right. I say prbably because I know of two people who have Century reworks who claim they work perfectly. Caveat emptor.
BTW, TAPCO has bunchs of CETME parts/extras cheap, as well.
GunsN stuff has both the stamped Century reciever CETMEs and the stainless reciever ones.....

 

[Chipperman]

The newer G3 clones seem to be a better bet overall.

 

[Dave R]

I have a Century CETME. Required some tweaking. Now runs perfect. Totally reliable. Shoots 2MOA (with iron sights--better with scope?). I think its a great value.

There's a CETME rifle site that has a great list of what to look for.

http://www.cetmerifles.com/forum/index.php

Short version:
1) Make sure it will cycle correctly (i.e. no hard cocking)
2) Check bolt gap. CETME equivalent of headspace.
3) Check for crooked triple frame.

If you get a bad one, return to Century within 30 days. All the reports I have read of people returning CETMEs end in them getting a good rifle.

 

[wild billz]

thanks for the input

My brother in law wat trying to talk me into building a FAL, he has an extra kit. It cost him more than a CETME, probably over 500 dollars, and its taken him a year of tweeking to get it to shoot tight groups. So I am a little shy of buying a rifle tht needs work and has questionable sights. His FAL is great looking, has great parts, and was his first kit rifle, so a little learning curve was there. I think I'll see wha ti s available and may save if nothing is available.

 

[outdoorman63]

century cetme

i have one and had no problems...after a good cleaning it was fine....