Cetme Rifles and Alternatives
I was considering getting a Cetme Rifle, but after reading mixed reviews on them I am really not certain, being that I am not familiar with the Cetme Rifle and was concerned with their quality, reliability and accuracy?
Are their any milled Cetme Rifles available?
As a more expensive alternative, will wood Cetme furniture fit on a PTR-91 or FAL?
What do you think of the cast steel Cetme receivers, are they any good, how difficult might it be to change out a Cetme from its stamped steel receiver to a cast steel receiver and or assemble a Cetme parts kit to a cast steel receiver and would it be an improvement over the stamped steel receiver Cetme currently available?
What kind of receiver does the PTR-91 use stamped or cast steel?
or the FN/FAL stamped or cast steel?
So to make sure that I understand, the FAL which is metric based is the same as the L1A1 which is conventional based?
And does both the Cetme and Fal rifles use gas piston rods as opposed to direct impingement?
Is the following correct?
Cetme - Barrel/trunion welded to receiver
Fal - Barrel/trunion screwed into receiver
Thank you.
Are their any milled Cetme Rifles available?
As a more expensive alternative, will wood Cetme furniture fit on a PTR-91 or FAL?
What do you think of the cast steel Cetme receivers, are they any good, how difficult might it be to change out a Cetme from its stamped steel receiver to a cast steel receiver and or assemble a Cetme parts kit to a cast steel receiver and would it be an improvement over the stamped steel receiver Cetme currently available?
What kind of receiver does the PTR-91 use stamped or cast steel?
or the FN/FAL stamped or cast steel?
So to make sure that I understand, the FAL which is metric based is the same as the L1A1 which is conventional based?
And does both the Cetme and Fal rifles use gas piston rods as opposed to direct impingement?
Is the following correct?
Cetme - Barrel/trunion welded to receiver
Fal - Barrel/trunion screwed into receiver
Thank you.
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quote:Originally posted by Juggernaut
I was considering getting a Cetme Rifle, but after reading mixed reviews on them I am really not certain, being that I am not familiar with the Cetme Rifle and was concerned with their quality, reliability and accuracy?
Are their any milled Cetme Rifles available?
As a more expensive alternative, will wood Cetme furniture fit on a PTR-91 or FAL?
Thank you.
Cetme rifles reflect their reviews. They are hit or miss for q.r.a.
The Cetme / PTR-91 / HK-91 are in general all based on the same design. The FN FAL is a totally different design.
I personally prefer the FN design, I have some original HK's, they shoot well, good quality, and reliable. The only down side to them in my eyes is that they are more difficult to work on.
With the exception of a barrel change, the FN can be serviced in full without any special tooling. Even for a barrel change, standard action wrench, and barrel vise will do the job.0 -
Juggernaut,
The original CETME rifles are outstanding for reliability. The problem is when they were imported to the U.S. the receivers had to be cut then re-welded. Most people who restored these to shooting status, did a good job. However, enough of them got botched and those are the ones you keep hearing about. The truth is even a botched job can be fixed. But it has to be done by someone who knows how to do it.
None of the CETME's have milled receivers. That was the entire point of the rifle is that the receiver is extruded (stamped) sheet metal. The thickness of the metal and the ribs make the receiver very rigid. Rigid enough for a combat rifle anyways. The manufacturing technology is what the Russians copied after they copied the idea of the assault rifle (MP-44).
I don't know if the CETME furniture will fit a PTR-91. I understand it does. The CETME is mostly interchangeable with the HK-91 if that tell you anything.0 -
As an alternative I would recomend a PTR-91 Or good quality FAL from enterprise or DSA. Some good things about the design PTR-91/G3/Cetme is it is usually very reliable, Mags are dirt cheap, the barrel is basically free floated so accuracy is good, and the action is smooth..
The bad is recoil can be harsh considering the weight of the gun and if you are a reloader the fluted chamber can damage the brass and ejection is energetic to say the least.. Also you loose quite alot of velocity with the standard 16", 17" or 18" barrels, but if you reload you can compensate somewhat, But it will cost you. You can switch furniture between the G3 and cetme, You cant switch G3/cetme furniture with the FAL.
Be careful buying FALs from gunshows and the like as people can build a parts kit rifle on DSA or enterprise marked receivers, and you are paying more then its worth and you might get a lemon to make things worse.
I have owned several FALs, recoil is a light push and accruacy is usually anywhere between 2-3MOA. I like them, you get 400-600 round reliability with a good rifle between cleanings. You also get the most out of the .308/7.62 round with the standard 22" barrels. I agree with the brits on one thing though, even with a heavy barrel the FAL isnt the best platform to build a precision long range rifle around.0 -
quote:Originally posted by quickmajik
I have owned several FALs, recoil is a light push and accruacy is usually anywhere between 2-3MOA. I like them, you get 400-600 round reliability with a good rifle between cleanings.
Actually, there are a couple of guys on falfiles.com that have well documented 14K+ rounds with no cleaning, aside from a couple of trips thru a mud puddle. I've seen a full auto FAL eat thru a full 1k case in one range session...
If you like the wood furniture, you can get it for the FAL - either fancy from ironwood design or a few "cottage" guys. Or use the hydrographic printing on plastic furniture. Still have cheap mags, etc.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Juggernaut
So to make sure that I understand, the FAL which is metric based is the same as the L1A1 which is conventional based?
It is more of a pattern as opposed to threads. Inch is commonwealth (Brit, Aussie, Indian, etc), metric is everyone else except the Israeli which is half and half, sorta. Inch guns can use metric mags but they may be a bit wobbly.
And yes, the FAL barrel is screwed into the receiver with a locking sholder to account for headspace. FAL receivers are cast. Best is original FN licensed (FN, Imbel, etc), followed by DSA (FN reps say its the best new FAL you can buy), then DCI, Entreprise, etc. with Century, Hesse, Williams and Olympic at the bottom. Century is better than Hesse, and the Williams and Olympic ones are aluminum not steel which has caused some kabooms - good measurements, etc. just wrong metal.0 -
SAR 8 made by Springfield armory in greece on HK tooling. Just make sure you get a steel one. 0 -
PTR-91 specs
http://www.ptr91.com/techinfo.html
DS Arms FALs & info
http://www.dsarms.com/
Entreprise arms FALs &info
http://www.entreprise.com/0
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