Why I bought a Century Arms C308 instead of a PTR rifle

For a long time I have wanted a something built on the CETME or G3 style platform but due to cost I didn't buy one till late June of 2016 . Well part of the delay was just pure financials .


With the election coming I decided now was the time to buy.  So I started reading ,a lot .

The first thing you will probably find is that PTR makes a really good rifle and they back it up with a ok warranty for rifles made before January  01, 2012 " 1 year " if it was manufactured after January 01, 2012 it has a 3 year warranty you get a 3 year warranty and a lifetime warranty / 25,000 rd warranty on some internal components.

These rifles are normally what is recommended as they are considered good quality rifles and reliable .

The next Company that will probably come up is Century arms . Now the company has had issues in the past with quality and reliability with several of the rifles they have built and its not just limited to the CETME and G3 based rifles they have made through the years. The number one issue with there older CETME builds "also  referred  to as C308 " is incorrect bolt gap . As long as a person is aware of the issue it can normally be corrected by replacing a few parts and detected with a set of feeler gauges and a visual inspection of the bolt after a person knows what to look for .


With the current units being sold by Century arms issues have been few and far between as I have only seen one issue on the net and it was a broken firing pin . Part of that is being credited to PTR who has at least some involvement with the current crop of C308 rifles being sold under the Century Arms name . At a minimum they are providing the flats being used for the upper receiver , front hand guard and the Navy style Polymer lower receives being used on the rifles .  Now there has been statements on the net saying PTR is handling the warranty work on these rifles and if that's true I would find it hard to believe that they are not building the rifles .

The warranty for a Century Arms rifle is also not all that great as it seems to just be 1 year and if I understand correctly that is from the date it was sold to the distributor not from the purchase date by the  customer 😞.


So really why did I buy the C308 well Cost was most of the reason .

A Century Arms C308 has a online price of around $699.99 on average and places like J&G Sales  have even bundled additional magazines with the ones they are selling at that price just to make the deal even a little better .

Now PTR has a large range of rifles with different features but frankly the PTR91 GI  is the most comparable as it is there lowest cost model with a price around $989.00 .
prices as of 12/16/2016 

Ok so its ruffly gonna be $290 dollars cheaper to get a C308 .

The PTR has a better rear site , a better warranty, ,may have a more convenient paddle style magazine release "depending on were you live" and has new internal parts .

Now I know what your thinking : I'm crazy all those are worth it . You may be right but knowing myself pretty well I knew the rifle was going to be small portion of my expenses and at the prices CETME parts and G3 magazines sell for $290 buys a lot .

So what Can you buy with that $290 dollars ?

Cetme - HK G3 - HK91 Compatibility

Cetme - HK G3 Compatibility 

YES, the below HK parts will work perfect on a Cetme

Barrels : Yes

Barrel Retainer Pins : Yes

Firing Pin : Yes*

Spring, for firing pin : Yes*

Rollers: Yes

+2, +4 Rollers: Yes

Retainer Plate and Roll Pin Retainer for Rollers: Yes

Extractor: Yes*

Extractor Spring: Yes*

Recoil Spring: Yes*

Backplate or Complete recoil Assembly : Yes with minor fitting to the plastic sleeve at the end of 

the spring guide rod

Complete Stock set : Yes with minor fitting to the plastic sleeve at the end of the spring guide rod

Collapsible Stock : Yes with minor fitting to the plastic sleeve at the end of the spring guide rod

Buttstock : Yes with minor fitting (needs the buffer hole matched to use the cetme buffer)

Grip Frames : Yes

Complete Trigger Pack : Yes (but no individual parts)

Rear Sight : Yes (but only if entire sight base is swapped)

Handguards, Slim : Yes

Handguards Wide : Yes with minor fitting. Just like the old style HK triple frame, the cetme has a bipod retaining ring that prevents the wide from installing

Pistol Grip : Yes

Triple Frames : Yes

Flash Hider : Yes

Eyeloop for triple frame : Yes

Cocking Handle : Yes*

Spring for cocking handle : Yes*

Pivot Pin for cocking handle : Yes

Mag Catch parts : Yes

Paddle mag release : Yes

End Cap, Dust Cover : Yes (but cetme will not fit g3)

Bayonet Adapter : Yes*

Bayonet : Yes* (only when using adapter)

Retainer Pins : Yes*

Blank Firing Adapter : Yes

Claw, Stanag Scope Mount : Yes

POF Carry handle and Port Buffer : Yes (carry handle slight modification to Cetme handguard)

*these items not only interchange but are an improvement over existing Cetme parts. Over the years

No, the below HK parts will not work on a Cetme:

Trunions : No

Bolt Carriers : No

Locking Lever for bolt carrier : No

Bolt Head : No

Locking Piece : No

Cocking Tube : No

Support for Cocking Handle : No

Recoil Buffer : No unless using HK buttstock

Individual fire control group parts like trigger, sear, hammer : No