Need advice - $350 for a CETME?

[Pancho Villa]

Have an opportunity to get a CETME for $350. Its a friend, he's not in a hurry to get rid of it and he's a cool guy, so if its a lemon he isn't gonna complain about taking it back, so there's 0 risk on that front.

Is it worth it? I've been wanting a semiauto .308 for a while, but not badly enough to drop the $1k+ on an AR-10. So, questions for the more experienced:

1. Is this a good deal?
2. Are CETME mags expensive/hard to find? I wouldn't want more than like 6, but if that means I'm dropping another $300 on the weapon I may as well go somewhere else I think.
3. What are my options for mounting optics?

[2ndChildhood]

Why can't I have friends like this

[Pancho Villa]

Why can't I have friends like this

So this is a bad deal, then?

[Zundfolge]

CETMEs are just cheap Spanish clones of HK G3s, so they suffer from all the problems of the $2500 G3s plus lower quality control and poorer fit and finish.

CETME mags are cheap and plentiful (usually under $10 ... here's 10 for $45)

B Square makes a G3/CETME scope mount that can be picked up in the $50-75 range that I hear works well.

IIRC the biggest complaint about the G3 is that it destroys brass.

That said for $350 I don't think you could go wrong ... just don't expect it to perform like a PSG-1. But if you find you don't like it you'll be able to get more than your money back out of it (even if your friend doesn't take it back).

[Pancho Villa]

CETMEs are just cheap Spanish clones of HK G3s, so they suffer from all the problems of the $2500 G3s plus lower quality control and poorer fit and finish.

CETME mags are cheap and plentiful (usually under $10 ... here's 10 for $45)

B Square makes a G3/CETME scope mount that can be picked up in the $50-75 range that I hear works well.

IIRC the biggest complaint about the G3 is that it destroys brass.

That said for $350 I don't think you could go wrong ... just don't expect it to perform like a PSG-1. But if you find you don't like it you'll be able to get more than your money back out of it (even if your friend doesn't take it back).

Not reloading here, so destroying brass is OK by me.

What are the problems of a G3?

[Elhuero]

CETMEs are just cheap Spanish clones of HK G3s, so they suffer from all the problems of the $2500 G3s plus lower quality control and poorer fit and finish.

I thought it was the other way around, HK copied the CETME?

[Mtn.man]

My advice would be let me test it for you and give you a professional opinion.
Call me, I'll get back to you in a month or so.

[Fentonite]

Buy it.

The CETME is actually the predecessor of the G3, not a copy. Same man designed both weapons, I believe.

As Zundfolge said, mags are cheap and easy to come by. I have a clamp-on rail that works well (not sure if it's a B-Square or not), but I prefer open sights on this rifle.

Any rifle can have problems. Once I got rid of a couple problem-mags, I've had no problems. It's not a precision rifle by any means, but it's fun.

Buy it. If you don't like it, I'll give you $375 for it!

[Zundfolge]

I thought it was the other way around, HK copied the CETME?

Ah, that's right, I had it backward.

Not reloading here, so destroying brass is OK by me.

What are the problems of a G3?

All the problems I hear about them are the aforementioned brass destruction, along with poor ergonomics (apparently the rifle was designed for wood nymphs or brownies or other tiny people) and bad triggers. But then again most people expect this 1950s/60s milsurp rifle to shoot as well as a Stoner SR25.

[Uberjager]

For $350, even if it runs like fried s#!& you could get it running flawlessly without too much trouble.