I have been thinking of a 308 rifle lately and REALLY want to know about the CETME, is it reliable (most important), how accurate is it and how easy to maintain?  Also, who makes good mags for them and can you change the wood furniture to black plastic and where would you get the black stocks?

And what, besides the furniture, sights  and price is really different than an HK?


TIA

I have shot one and was not impressed. Probably the only thing that DID impress me was it had very low recoil. I wouldn't buy a cetme for accuracy. Probably only to have something that "looks" like a G3 would be the reason to own one. There are a lot of problems with cetme's, perhaps the most common problem is the ground bolt, off-centered sights, poor weldings and poorly cut receivers just to name a few. The guy who let me fire his Cetme would jam on the last round a FTE the casing. Also, it would only take the cetme mags and NOT the G3 german ones.

The real deal is about $1800+ and are pretty nice for what I have seen but for that kind of money you can get one hell of a DSA FAL or M1A.

If you decide to buy one be aware of what a ground bolt is, check the welds, sights and condition of the used parts. IIRC all Cetme's are made with used parts kits built up on a stamped American receiver.

My personal experiences and three friends has been excellent, but I have ran across a couple who have had some serious problems.

As many posts have said……..get a good one it is excellent……..get a bad one it is a paper weight.

200 to 350 rounds to “break in” the action.  Magazines must be fitted.  And sometimes other “attention” is needed.

Mine is excellent.  Shoots very well, and it is accurate.  “Bumps” great and is cheap and fun to shoot.  I only use the super cheap Indian ammo and it gobbles it up.  

If you choose it look it over VERY WELL and if you don’t like playing around messing with weapons….get a more expensive AR or FAL and spend the cash.  

(My Imbel receiver and DSA kit were reasonable)

GOOD LUCK!
 

Pass on these.QC just isn't there.

As for recoil...??? These guns kick noticeably harder than an FAL, M1A or AR10.

Very light kick.  I have never seen one that works well.  Im avoiding them because I dont like things that give me lots of problems.

vist cetmerifles.com or gunboards for all the info you need.

accuracy is good with these rifles,, dont think they arent,,trust me.!
recoil..no more than an sks
the best bet is to buy in person and check  the rifle over as you would any rifle,
check the bolt gap, check for aground bolt,,check the welds.
most rifles will use both g3 and cetme mags.

that rifle that FTE's on the last round is a 5 sec fix,, its mag related!

i have one. 2000+ rounds thru it, justdid a rebuild on the guts 200 rnds ago. didnt have to but did it by choice,, new LP, new bolt head,firing pin and spring, and i have larger rollers to replace if need be ,, but the Bolt gap is in spec.

do your home work...    and you will end up with a rifle that you like and trust,,, fail to do so, and you may get a bad one,,