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Posted: 8/7/2009 7:37:39 PM EDT
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Can anyone recommend a 'smith who can fix my CETME? I have been told by a couple of people that the barrel needs to be reset and the charging tube stop needs to be welded in place at it's "correct position". It also has slightly canted sights that I didn't notice until sometime after purchase. I guess that will be fixed with a barrel reset, though.
The story... I bought the rifle back in 2003 for $300 NIB. It was only the second rifle I purchased so I was new to firearms and took it for granted that any "new" rifle would be problem free. I put roughly 500 failure-free rounds through the rifle. In 2005 I noticed the charging tube stop had become loose. The charging handle assembly was bashing against it with each cycle/charging of the bolt. It now has about an 1/8" "play" in it each way. When in full battery the charging handle assembly is pressed firmly between the tube stop and the bolt-carrier arm. There is no back and forward "play" in the handle assembly as there should be. I am told all of this is due to the barrel not being pressed far enough into the receiver/trunnion allowing the bolt-carrier arm to "reach" to far into the charging tube. I have tried a few sets of rollers and bolt-carrier assemblies. All with the same results. Being that I sell nothing, the rifle was retired to the back of the safe to be fixed sometime in the future. I have long since found a replacement 7.62x51 MBR but I would now like to get the rifle up and running again. Thanks. |
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If your bolt gap measures fine, the barrel is most likely fine right where it sits. The charging handle stop should be able to be re-welded in the proper place while still on the gun. There should be a small amount of "play" with the charging handle when the rifle is cocked with the BC fully forward. If not, the BC will slam into the stop causing problems (broken and loose tube stop) and the charging handle will be very difficult to pull out and "un-cam" the bolt rollers from their recesses. The sights should also be able to be righted fairly easily by a competent HK smith.
The fun may lie in trying to find a good HK 'smith who is willing to work on a (Century?) CETME. And then, are you willing to pay the bill which could easily surpass your initial purchase price once a refinish is figured into the job? |
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