Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles I'm thinking about a PTR 91

And --
the G3's have worked pretty well in military's not known for cleaning or servicing weapons very often.

You may want to take a look at the C308, which uses a PTR91 received and CETME parts

This guy is 60 miles or so up the road from me and has ego that reaches all the way here, but everything I am seeing shows the gun to be pretty nice, a real improvement over the crud that Century has imported in the past

It looks like they're shooting it all the way out to 15 feet. I'd like to see what it does just a bit further.

The big thing with building a CETME/HK style rifle is placement roller recesses inside the trunion. Century in the past has built them where there was absolutely no allowances for wear. I'd want to check that before I bought something like that. But I just saw one for sale on Atlantic Firearms for $629.00, that's a hell of a price; especially if it turns out to be any good.

Nice thing about HK/CETME is that it is easy to check the "gap" for clearance with feeler gauges and a little understanding of how they lock up. Century used to warranty them if out of spec. Oversize rollers are (at least used to be) available if not too far out of spec. Not defending Century build quality but G3 clones have a history of needing some tweaking (or return for warranty work} to make them 100% reliable. I would definitely confirm sellers position on warranty repair or replacement before purchasing.

Wondering which FCG the C308 is using, looks like a Navy housing but not sure. CETME FCG won't allow the charging handle to be cycled when on safe and that always seemed like it could be an issue.

In your opinion which your certainly entitled to. That being said, you know what opinions are like...

As it applies to GunGeek, the legend and lore of the G3 is built off of the GenX'ers who grew up reading Soldier of Fortune and dreaming about responding to an employment ad in the back of the magazine. The rifles have been in a few battles but never a war.

While the G3 was an OK battle rifle, it's not the invincible, super tank AK battle rifle that many believe it to be. Jim "Mr. HK" Schatz weighed in on the subject years ago:

"There are lots of roller-locked fans around the world and that is good. However the facts are that the blowback-operated roller-locked bolt system while good in its day (1940-1960's) is no longer state of the science. It was not selected by its designers because it was more reliable. It was selected because of unique production and assembly concerns during German war time conditions. It is in fact more sensitive to ammo variances and one of the only modern rifle systems that requires problematic chamber fluting. As mentioned HK tec reps traveled the world with MANY (80+) different G3 locking pieces to "adjust" weapon function with different ammo found around the globe."

If the rifle is maintained, it can last a LONG time. However cleaning/maintenance on it sucks and it's expensive. The fact that you don't need a 1-ton press and a welding wizard to facilitate a barrel change is a clue.

The rifle is ahead of the curve on traditional battle rifle accuracy, but it does not lend itself to easy customization outside HK parts and a small lot of decent aftermarket parts (discontinued KAC rails, B&T mounts, Spuhr). Even then ergos and controls are not something a good shooter would tolerate. HK roller locks can be made to shoot VERY well with a great deal of effort, TLC and often a TON of cash.

All this as it applies to a REAL G3/HK91. As soon as you buy a clone, all of your problems will get compounded by tenfold.

saying that all cetme rifles and their clones are junk is like saying all AR's are junk because they crap in their living room ( direct inpingement ). comes close to ignorant.

I handled a couple last week. On was an 18 inch basic, the other had a fluted 16 inch barrel and a rail. That's the one I would get.

I thought it handled rather well, fairly easy to manipulate.

I owned an HK 91 for 35 or so years. It was well built, very accurate, and recoil seemed far worse than a 308 should be. I tried multiple buttstocks (wood, plastic, sliding) and had different forearms for it including wood, the skinny plastic and the bulky forearm for bipod. The rifle was accurate and reliable but ultimately it found a nice, comfortable space in a safe and was sold some 5 or so years ago. I don't miss it and prefer the FAL or the M14/M1A types.

A friend used to go off to Rhodesia and spend time with one of the forces there. He preferred the HK and said it was more reliable in that environment and would shoot all the various ammos available just fine.