I took my 2 new toys to the range today for some plinking.  The SKS was great, I used the 10rd mag it came with.  I didn't like the color of the stock when I got it, so I refinished it.  I sanded it down to bare wood and used Minwax Golden Oak stain/finisher.  I like the color now as it really shows the wood grain.  I'll put some clear satin (no gloss) finish on it later.  Out of a few hundred rounds from this weekend and last, I only had 1 FTE, no other problems.  

The CETME was fun too.  I had to laugh when the guy next to me came over to ask what round that fired.  He said he was wandering, "where that breeze was coming from" (muzzle blast).  Everyone around me was cool and didn't mind me blasting away.  From this weekend & last, I initially had probs with it loading the first round.  After firing a few hundred, it works without a hitch.  Today, I had no FTF or FTE probs.  I guess I got lucky on this one.  I did do some work on it before I ever fired it.  My 2 take down pins come out by hand and the trigger pack pulls off easily.  It has the paddle wheel rear sight.  I had to work on a few of the mags I got from Tapco, but all of them fit great now.  I'm happy with these 2 rifles.  My SKS was my first C&R purchase.  I'll throw pics up later.

I was thinking about picking up a cetme later this summer.  Worth it?

Keving67

I like my CETME and wouldn't mind getting another.  I have heard that it's a hit/miss thing with getting them, but the one I got is great.  Go for it.  It may be worth a few more bucks to get one at your local store (like I did), that way you can look it over prior to buying it.

A lot of snobs bash the SKS because they're cheap, but a friend of mine has one that'll nail a soda can at 100 yds with iron sights all day long. The only problem is, on ejection, it tries to launch empty cases into outer space (and very nearly succeeds).