Parts kit

[Kyle S.]

I'm a little curious about the parts kits im seeing on apexgunparts.com, specifically the cetme-c. The have the parts kits and the barrels for sale for a package deal under $300. It says that the parts kit comes with everything accept the barrel, barrel pin, and receiver. Does anyone have experience with these parts kits? Whats the likely hood that you buy one that doesn't even function?
Seems like a good deal. If I'd get one, I'd probably just take it to my gunsmith and have him assemble it. Seems like you could get a solid 308 rifle for under $500. Is there a catch?

 

[Obturation]

How much you think a barrel & receiver cost? It won't be $500, it'll end up a lot more. Cetme isn't a desirable rifle in my opinion but if it were just $500 I could see it being more appealing. Parts kids are generally pretty good depending on who they're from

 

[Kyle S.]

How much you think a barrel & receiver cost? It won't be $500, it'll end up a lot more. Cetme isn't a desirable rifle in my opinion but if it were just $500 I could see it being more appealing. Parts kids are generally pretty good depending on who they're from

Well the parts kit is $124 and the barrel is $150. Haven't seen a receiver or barrel pin on their website yet. Looks like the receiver would need to be bent into place and maybe some welding is required. Definitely some higher level of gunsmith skills are needed. Thats probably a lot of where the cost would be. Im not savvy enough to do all that.

 

[lysanderxiii]

Whats the likely hood that you buy one that doesn't even function?

That really depends on how well you do your part in putting the receiver together . . .

 

[hk940]

My brother had a kit several years ago and the hard part was the barrel, at the time none were around.
The other hard part is the receiver. Either find one bent and welded, or bend and weld your own, no easy task

 

[Ohen Cepel]

I think the price of the parts kits is linked directly to just how easily one can build it out. This is a good case of that. If it could be complete easily (like an AR lower) and put together at your dining room table then the parts kit may be twice as much.

I got a Walther P1 parts kit years ago for cheap and the frame for even cheaper. However, took years to find a barrel as I think the Germans treat their barrels like we treat a frame (and destroy them), the barrel cost many times more than the rest of it combined.

All that said, they are not a bad deal but know what you're getting into and the cost to have someone do it well for you if you do not have the skills/equipment to do it yourself.

 

[Sovblocgunfan]

Not a bad deal but you need someone around who knows how to do the build.

Apex is legit-one of my favorite gun parts companies.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

InrangeTV did a series on building the CETME-L from a parts kit -- a different rifle perhaps, but the videos give an idea of the work involved. YT dumped this content, but Vimeo still has it archived in 8-10 separate tutorials. Here's video #1:

 

[AK Hunter]

It's about like the AK kits you will have more invested in tooling before you get one finished that the price of a new gun.
If you like a challenge go for it but you won't be snapping one together like an AR it takes a lot of time fitting all the parts.

 

[BigBlue 94]

Century C308 is $600 to $800... Not much more for a complete rifle. Most of em run okay. Mine runs good. Mags could be found for a few bucks before covid. Havent looked lately.

 

[jmorris]

The have the parts kits and the barrels for sale for a package deal under $300. It says that the parts kit comes with everything accept the barrel, barrel pin, and receiver. Does anyone have experience with these parts kits? Whats the likely hood that you buy one that doesn't even function?
Seems like a good deal. If I'd get one, I'd probably just take it to my gunsmith and have him assemble it. Seems like you could get a solid 308 rifle for under $500. Is there a catch?

Here is a receiver https://www.sarcoinc.com/cetme-ptr91-g3-308-receiver/

If you can get someone to put it together for free you could stay under $500.

If you are paying shop rates by the hour to put together a bag of parts, just go buy one already done. It’s one thing to take on a project like that as a learning experience but if the only thing you are going to learn is that it cost a lot more than you expected to have someone do it for you, that’s not a great idea.

The last one I had was a Century and ran fine, had to work on the trigger and cut the TAC and reweld the front sight. I imagine the people they have throwing them together don’t cost as much as a competent gunsmith by the hour.

 

[trackskippy]

Is cutting the barrels something new now? I recently saw an ad for a bunch of different kits, and all the barrels were cut. That was never done in the past, and most all the kits we used to buy, had intact barrels.

 

[AK Hunter]

Is cutting the barrels something new now? I recently saw an ad for a bunch of different kits, and all the barrels were cut. That was never done in the past, and most all the kits we used to buy, had intact barrels.

Yes cutting the barrels was started about 8 to 10 years ago to try to stop the building of guns from kits but as we do, we found a way through it by learning to fit new barrels. Most can not have any part of the barrel in the kit so they remove the whole barrel. They were just cutting the barrels but we found that if they left enough barrel in front of the chamber we could make pistols out of them.

 

[jmorris]

Yes cutting the barrels was started about 8 to 10 years ago to try to stop the building of guns from kits..,

I am not in charge but if that is the goal it seems like you just wouldn’t sell any parts that were usable.

 

[AK Hunter]

I am not in charge but if that is the goal it seems like you just wouldn’t sell any parts that were usable.

What they want to do & what is legal for them to do are two different things. So the only thing they could do is make importing barrels illegal, that makes it more expensive to build than buy a complete gun outright & much more trouble.

 

[jmorris]

What they want to do & what is legal for them to do are two different things.

Seems like the BATFE just kind of wings it and waits for courts to say “no” before they reel it back in.

Found this.

18 USC 925(d)(3):

(d) The Secretary shall authorize a firearm or ammunition to be
imported or brought into the United States or any possession thereof if
the firearm or ammunition--

(3) is of a type that does not fall within the definition of a
firearm as defined in section 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 and is generally recognized as particularly suitable for or
readily adaptable to sporting purposes, excluding surplus military
firearms, except in any case where the Secretary has not authorized
the importation of the firearm pursuant to this paragraph, it shall
be unlawful to import any frame, receiver, or barrel of such firearm
which would be prohibited if assembled.

 

[AK Hunter]

Seems like the BATFE just kind of wings it and waits for courts to say “no” before they reel it back in. Did the BATFE add to this, somewhere else?

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/machinegun-destruction

That's just receiver destruction they have another page saying that MG barrels can't be imported & most places totally remove the barrel to keep the BATF from nit picking their kits.

 

[jmorris]

Yep, they did and I found it and posted above.

Breaking news…in 2005.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ion-of-parts-kits-with-intact-barrels.145292/

 

[jobu07]

I guess I skipped a step and purchased my parts kit already assembled. Fully knowing my limitations with bending receivers and welding I decided that was not an undertaking for me at this time. While not fully on topic to a build thread, I thought I would share some pictures of my LC.

I'm not crazy about the rail welded on, but it is a very utilitarian option should you ever want to mount optics. In the last two pictures you can see that MarColMar very nicely blind pinned a barrel extension on the paratrooper models and shipped the rifles with the OEM flashhider and crusher washer should you want to SBR it and go back to the correct barrel length.

The rifle also ships with a very nice soft case with their company logo and a fancy glossy 50-some page color manual with the history of the gun, accessories, and take down/reassembly instructions.

I may yet pick up a kit or two to squirrel away.

 

[hk940]

A CETME build is not a simple job. The receiver is the most challenging part, It is a simple piece but needs to be stamped/folded just the right way.
I had a, I think a Century Arms build that would never work 100% all of the time.
I sold it off at a gun show for $600.00.
You can buy an AR-308 for less than a CETME build and it will work.