My final take on the Century Cetmes

[AKWARRIOR]

I sold mine today,

After owning and shooting one for over a year I have come to a few conclusions.For the first few months I was very happy with this rifle straight from the box.It was more accurate than any FAL I have ever shot.The recoil wasnt bad at all however bystanders to the sides of the rifle always complained. ;) I started noticing some problems however.The black finish Century puts on these starts to crack off pretty badly after a while and the parts kits they been putting on these in the last year or 2 have started to suck.My big complaint was what happened about a month ago.On the rear of the reciever the front retaining pin hole the buttstock goes into the weld broke off so the cylinder hole the pin goes in was loose.For some reason after I noticed this the recoil became very bad,about a 50% increase.I promptly sold the piece of junk.Of course I did let the new owner know about the problems.I took a $125 loss on it but thats cool.I will never buy one of these again.At least the stamped models.Another thing is after repeated and prolonged magazine changes the mag well gets dinged and dented very easily.Another reason to go with "cast" I guess.My next semi 308 will be a FAL for sure.Im steering clear of these.

Regards,

[Poseiden]

my next .308 Semi is going to be a FAL, M1A, or a Romak 3 (not .308 of course).

-P

[RetVet]

I'm still very happy with my cast SS CETME. The jury is still out on the stamped sheet metal one I got with a ground bolt however. I haven't tinkered with the replacement bolt/carrier I got to resolve that situation. Maybe I'll work on that tonight.:rolleyes:

[SalBO]

AKWARRIOR, you might as well build a FAL or a 1919 along with the rest of us..........:)

[AKWARRIOR]

Originally posted by SalBO
AKWARRIOR, you might as well build a FAL or a 1919 along with the rest of us..........:)

You hit it right on the nail bro,

Its time to start collecting parts and build a FAL.Is there any other source you guys go to for recievers?Id hate to have to buy a Century made reciever.Id prefer a Imbel.DSA is way out of my price range.:D

Regards,

[RetVet]

FAC is probably your best bet for a receiver be it either a Type 3 Imbel or one of the Coonan Type 1's. I believe FAC is still selling both for $199.95 each.

[PBR]

Some of the post I have been seeing say that Entreprise has gotten their act together..... I will reserve my judgment and buy one from FAC/Coonan.

[AKWARRIOR]

THanks guys for the input,

Id heard some things about Enterprise lately too but I think Ill go with Fac.Ill see what I can come up with in the next few months.I think this is going to be a fun project.Never built a complete rifle myself before.:D

Regards,

[RetVet]

Originally posted by RetVet
I'm still very happy with my cast SS CETME. The jury is still out on the stamped sheet metal one I got with a ground bolt however. I haven't tinkered with the replacement bolt/carrier I got to resolve that situation. Maybe I'll work on that tonight.:rolleyes:
Last night I swapped out the ground bolt and carrier group on my second CETME with an unground one pulled from a recently acquired parts kit. No dice.:( I simply could not get any free play between the end of the carrier tube and the cocking handle (which is required in order to prevent damage to the cocking tube and to allow accurate measurement of true bolt gap).

Filing down the end of the cocking tube in an attempt to acquire the necessary free space only resulted in reducing the bolt gap. I can swap in the bolt carrier group from my first CETME and get great clearance AND bolt gap on this second rifle, but no success in swapping in the replacement one. This is what puzzles me. Perhaps this parts kit bolt/carrier is worn out.

I'm at a loss now. I guess I'll put the original bolt and carrier back in CETME #2 and call it the "Ground Bolt Special". Just leave it as is and shoot it until something breaks, if is does at all.

[AKWARRIOR]

Originally posted by RetVet
Last night I swapped out the ground bolt and carrier group on my second CETME with an unground one pulled from a recently acquired parts kit. No dice.:( I simply could not get any free play between the end of the carrier tube and the cocking handle (which is required in order to prevent damage to the cocking tube and to allow accurate measurement of true bolt gap).

Filing down the end of the cocking tube in an attempt to acquire the necessary free space only resulted in reducing the bolt gap. I can swap in the bolt carrier group from my first CETME and get great clearance AND bolt gap on this second rifle, but no success in swapping in the replacement one. This is what puzzles me. Perhaps this parts kit bolt/carrier is worn out.

I'm at a loss now. I guess I'll put the original bolt and carrier back in CETME #2 and call it the "Ground Bolt Special". Just leave it as is and shoot it until something breaks, if is does at all.

That sucks,

You know I think the people at Century shouldnt be just slapping together whatever they have left.Its just rediculous and not good bussiness because a good deal of these parts kits have seen better days.:rolleyes: Luckily on mine the barrel was in pretty good condition,the bolt wasnt ground and quite servicable but it and the carrier looked like it had been through a war.Ok so its time to go get my FAL,funny thing the FAC catalog came yesterday,HINT HINT.:D