CETME vs. G-3 similarities

[Abominable No-Man]

Hello, THR!

I have a question about the CETME and the G-3, and if this is common knowledge, please excuse me. I have fired a G-3 before, but I haven't got any real experience with it.

I know that the CETME was made in two different models (for full-powered 7.62 and the Spanish CETME 7.62), and that the West Germans liked the gun enough to build it themselves and call it the G-3.
But if the immediate predecessor to the G-3 is the CETME, and if some of the mags interchange, how similar are the internal parts? I have noticed that the CETME clones (you can insert "from Century" here.......) are running anywhere from about 2-400 dollars cheaper than the G-3 clones, and I'm wondering if regular old G-3 parts, which are relatively easy to find, would work in a CETME.

ANM

 

[mrapathy2000]

some mags interchange into cetme's, dont believe cetme mags work in g3. some g3 parts will work in cetme.

google cetme up and do some searching. few easy to find websites. would post links but my bookmarks are not well organized.

 

[Destructo6]

They are both descendants of the Mauser STG-45(m). That design was further developed in Spain by former Mauser engineers and by CETME engineers. The design teams split not long before the respective rifles were ready for issue/adoption, so they are very similar, but not quite the same.

Some complete assemblies interchange, such as the gripframe and trigger box as a unit, though the trigger box is substantially different than the G3's. Other parts can be modified to fit.

If you are talking about a made-in-Santa Barbara CETME model C and a made-in-Oberndorf HK, the HK will accept CETME mags, but the reverse is not true. However, most of the Century CETMEs are built on the same receiver as their G3 (SW's tooling, iirc), so mags fit both equally well (or poorly, depending).

 

[chapperjoe]

perfect question!!!

I was just surfing the web and came across this on one of my new favorite msg boards....
scroll down a little:
http://www.cetmerifles.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2