Century Arms' C308 rifle, built using
CETME parts kits, can be found in the $600 range, a price point where you'd be hard pressed to find any semi-auto .308 with an optic rail.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Spanish 7.62x51
CETME rifle, it was an evolution of a World War II German design designated Sturmgewehr 45 (M) developed by Mauser's Light Weapons Development Group.
Somewhat ironically the
CETME was actually refined into the 7.62x51 mm NATO G3 in the old Mauser plant The G3 would of course go on to be adopted by the German Bundeswehr and be exported around the world.
This was followed two years later by the Fusil del Asalto
CETME Modelo B chambered for the 7,62m/m Cartucho
CETME cartridge.
Moving to Spain, Vorgrimler took up shop with
CETME (Compania de Estudios Tecnicos de Materiales Especiales) in Madrid.
The Heckler and Koch Company rose from the ashes of World War II around the extraordinary roller-locked action driving the Spanish
CETME assault rifle.
They made the
CETME Model 58, which has an adjustable pressure port that can be opened up to let the rifle work at the lower pressure (39,000 to 43,000 psi) or closed down to allow the rifle to work at the higher pressure of the 7.62x51mm NATO (45,000 to 51,000 psi.)
A: The .308
CETME round is basically a loaded-down version of the 7.62 NATO cartridge.
The Germans, Danes, Greeks, Norwegians, Portuguese and Turks chose the Gewehr 3 (G3) (Spain has its own
CETME version of that weapon).
He went to work for the Spanish government establishment of Centra de Estudios Tecnicos de Materiales Especiales (
CETME).