A guy with a new CTME in .308 purchased from "Bullet Trap" was next to me at an outdoor range. He paid $450.00 for it with a cheap ass scope. He could not get it to stay on paper at 50 yds., it fired more than once with a single trigger pull which got the attention of the range master, he tore up the wooden frames of the targets, it beat the hell out of the brass when ejected and jammed like crazy. I had considered purchasing one because $300.00 on the internet for an HK knock off was attractive, but no more. I let him shoot 30 rounds out of my AR and he was impressed.

I'd have to say that that is a not the norm for CETME's.  To be sure they need to be polished up (or just shot a lot if you'ld prefer to do it that way) and properly lubed to run, but mine shoots very well and very reliably.  I get about 1.5 to 2 MOA.  It isn't my M1A, but then I can by 4 CETMEs for the price of one of my M1A!  I know 4 other guys that shoot them regularly and they have the same experience I do.  We all love them.  I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if I were you, just don't expect it to run like a stripped assed ape right out of the box.  They are a "tinkerer's" rifle.

Some of us don't have the knowledge, skill, desire or time for such a Tinker, to us it is just junk.

Your loss...

True...

Eaglearms, You definately Dont have the Knowledge, For the record, The HK IS a knock off of the CETME not the other way.

How did you determine that its the Gun's Fault? Suppose the Guy Just Cant Shoot?

I have seen a lot of idiots at the range with brand new AR's who cant shoot squat either, usually its not the Gun, its the Man.

[noclue]

The CETME that I had was a complete POS (it was from CAI, naturally). I don't even know where to begin trying to describe that thing. Mis-aligned front sight, jacked-up charging tube which would make cocking the rifle a b!tch, ill-fitted receiver with bolt carrier dremeled/chewed in order to fit, mag well so out of spec that the mags would not feed reliably, that's if you could get the mag to seat in the first place.

My first and only outing with it was rediculous. It would jam about every 3rd or 4th round. Accuracy with it, however, was the only decent thing that I can really say about the rifle (about 2-3 moa @ 100-meters w/ mil-spec).

Now, let me say that NO, I was not expecting something along the lines of an FAL or M1A, however, I wasn't expecting anything like what I got out of it, either. Hell, the SKS rifles that I've shot were more reliable.

Evidently, I wasn't the only one that got a bad one. My dealer ended up getting all the ones he sold returned as trades. He hasn't stocked them since.  

Hold on there...  you say that as if its surprising or out of the ordinary.  Its not.  

SKS's are a pretty darn reliable design in and of themselves.  I own several, including a couple that were factory modified to take AK mags.   My "beater" is a cheapo Norinco with the fixed 10 round mag (fed via stripper clips) that I picked up in highschool for $80. It has gone through roughly 4,000+ rounds (including some smelly corrosive Chinese stuff that was on the market in the early 90s) and has not jammed once.  I'm dead serious.  I've never had a FTF or FTE with that rifle, ever.  In fact, the only failure I've ever experienced with that rifle was when I used some Remington commercial ammo wiht soft primers and had a couple firing pin intertia doubles.

SKS's are very robust for their cost.

I love my BUSHMASTERS but I have a buddy that has a SKS that is very accurate! and he out shoots everyones Mini 14/30!He is damn good at 250yards

SPIFFY3
I HEAR THAT!!! They are the same Jerks who take Forever picking out there POOL STICK and then blame there stick when they Miss! Its a Joke!

I see it all the time!They Blame the Gun! when in fact its there own Fault!

I sure do hope there are more people out there like you that allow the rest of us to continue getting great deals on great weapons! Thanks for exercising your God Given right to be an idiot!

I've seen many an "AR" that needed it's fair share of tinkering.

About a month back I was a few benches down from a guy with a CETME.  His seized up after a few rounds and he had to take it home after unsuccessfully trying to get the thing to function.  I even tried to help the poor guy get the thing to work.  It looked like a cheap POS.  This may not be the norm, and the guy may not have cleaned or lubed the weapon, but even when it was firing he was barely keeping it on the paper at 50 yards.  Maybe it was the ammo, maybe the operator, all I know is that I'm not buying one...

I once went to a indoor Range with a LEO buddy of mine who had just bought a Brand new Glock 19, He moaned and complained how innacurate the G19 were all day , so i took it from him loaded it up and proceeded to eat up the Bulls eye, i passed it Back to him  and asked him how is that he said the Gun was no Good? Logic is : He was just not a Good shot with that Gun.

2manchu, the problem is with century for Failing to Assemble the Gun properly, NOT the CETME, Any Gun Put together improperly will have these Problems, i have seen Brand new Bushmasters that had to be sent back to BM for service.

I got one of the earlier ones from Century and had no problems with it. The trigger sucked big time though. It was a consistant shooter with groups of 2"-3" at 100yrd.
The ejection of casing was extremly violent.Just ask the guy next to us at bullet fest with the dent in his forehead.

My CETME, like many others, required some tinkering.  At first it irritated the hell out of me.  I mean, I bought a gun, and had to do some work on it.  BUT, I am glad for that now.  I understand the rifle very well.  I had 2 problems, and knowing that I am the one that fixed them is very satisfying.  My CETME is running a lot better then my FAL (that's another story).  Anyways, for $300, I think it is a good deal.  The tinkering was not rocket science, and only required basic tools found in your house.  It is accurate, and fun to shoot.

Brad

Ive got a low number cetme I bought about a year ago that was build with like new parts.It just needed some fine tuning like getting the bolt gap in spec etc.
Its a great shooter.
Ive since build two more and they have been perfect from day one.
Like the others said,its not the cetme its Century Arms causing the problems with poor builds.
Raymond

Seth_Livzz let me shoot his CETME at the Kentuckiana shoot last fall. It seemed like a keeper. It was one hell of a good time bump firing a .308. I went and got one at AIM afterwards. It is a good shooter -- I'd put it in the SKS class. Nothing that I'd want to do any benchrest competitions with, but it'll do in a pinch.

Glad you liked it well enough for you to buy your own Ben.  I shot it just this week for the 2nd time ever.  Shot 200 rounds of Port and some SA 7.62 as well.  Zero malfunctions of any kind.  Twenty round groups hovered just under 2 inches at 50 yards.  Not bad for a POS that some guys make them out to be [bd]