CETME sale at Atlantic

[13mogul]

Soooo, is this a good price? Looked like a deal.

http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/storeproduct856.aspx

 

[aquaman]

Yes it is considering it would cost close to five hundo to build one

 

[armed ferret]

does atlantic sell over the counter yet? every time i've asked i'm always told absolutely no sales OTC.

 

[fivepointstar]

Whats the word on the CAI CETME's? Are they quality?

 

[mikec]

Whats the word on the CAI CETME's? Are they quality?

It depends on whether the angry beavers played nice the day they built the gun you want to buy. I have heard of real bad things being done to parts to make them fit.

The only CAI item I own is a SIG P6 that they just imported. They didn't build it or work on it.

Inspection is the key.

 

[boricuamaximus]

How are CETME's compared to the FAL's. Same thing? Some internet boards say they're not as high quality as the FALs.

 

[aquaman]

How are CETME's compared to the FAL's. Same thing? Some internet boards say they're not as high quality as the FALs.

Depends on the builder if they are both made from parts kits.

 

[mikec]

aquaman nailed it. My FAL is a South African Type II kit with a DSA Type II receiver. The gun was put together by a well respected FAL builder from the FALFiles, Randy Kline, screen name "Sledgehammer". It probably is as good as the Austrian STG58's DSA was selling. I don't know how good their current crop of 58's are. A full blown US made DSA FAL may be better than my gun, but I selected nice parts. A very good kit, Ironwoods furniture, DSA piston and hammer/trigger/sear package and the DSA receiver.

I truly believe that my rifle and this rifle http://mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=30138 beat anything CAI can build. The two rifles may equal Mark Graham's builds.

How are CETME's compared to the FAL's.

If you are asking how the CETME family compares to the FAL. Hmm, I never compared the two. Back around '84 I bought a HK 93 instead of a FAL because the FAL was more $$$. Was the price difference justified? I don't know. I would grab a PTR91 rifle in a heart beat, but I don't think I would jump all that quickly for a CETME.

Visit FALFiles. The rifle mcsurgeon bought wasn't that expensive.

 

[rob-cubed]

Whats the word on the CAI CETME's? Are they quality?

I have a CAI CETME... it was my introduction to the world of .308. Wanted something affordable, and wanted to try the delayed blowback system.

Any gun in the CETME/G3 pattern is going to run very dirty. The blowback design puts a lot of dirt back into the receiver, bolt, even the magazine follower ends up coated. However, it is an inherently accurate design since nothing moves except the bolt, which doesn't completely unlock until the bullet leaves the muzzle. It also has reduced felt recoil due to the heavy bolt, it is comfortable for a .308.

It has a fluted chamber which is good for reliability but hard on brass, so if you want to reload, it's not a great design for that.

The CETME is rough around the edges compared to a HK91 or PTR91. The rear site is the biggest noticeable difference between these guns, the CETMEs rear paddle sight is serviceable but leaves a lot to be desired compared to the G3. The good news is the Century CETME has a standard push button mag release and will take cheap G3 mags.

I have had no problems with mine, although Century has ground some bolts on these in the past to get the desired bolt gap. This doesn't seem to have caused any major issues, but it's the kind of bubba'ing I've come to expect of Century.

All in all, not a bad gun for the price. Mine works flawlessly, and it's reasonably accurate. That said, a FAL is next on my list and once I can afford one the CETME may have to get traded in for a bolt .308...

 

[13mogul]

Thanks to all, as usual, for the great advice!
I was looking at the HK & PTR's as well, but they're out there on price sometimes.

 

[rob-cubed]

How are CETME's compared to the FAL's. Same thing? Some internet boards say they're not as high quality as the FALs.

The FAL has a gas piston system, CETME/G3 is roller-delayed blowback. Very different design. Both guns can be high quality depending on the builder and kit.

Germany actually wanted to adopt the FAL as their MBR after the war, but couldn't negotiate the rights to manufacture it. So they took the CETME pattern their designers had helped create while in Spain and made a few minor tweaks to create the G3.

People with well-built G3 clones swear by their accuracy over other .308 battle rifles. CETMEs are inferior to G3 in terms of build quality, but are otherwise nearly identical in operation and many parts are common between them. I would agree that the average FAL looks and feels better than the average CETME, but add a PTR-91 in the mix and it's a different ballgame.

 

[hole punch]

One of these isn't too far down my "gotta have it!" list. If I wait are they going to dry up? Should I be looking into getting one before my next AK?