I then set up another pair of targets 50 yards and proceeded to have some fu- … uh, I mean continued my test firing. The German H&K G3A3 was an improved version of the CETME Modelo C. The dozen groups thus produced ran from slightly under two to three and half inches in size, more than adequate for a standard issue military rifle. Garry’s L1A1 printed dead on from the get go but I had to fire a few extra shots with Tim’s CETME to figure out how much “Kentucky windage” to use (it was printing about five inches to the right). A Spanish Marine with a CETME Modelo C rifle. Using a Lead Sled shooting rest, I fired three five-shot groups from each rifle with each brand of ammo. Test firing was performed with Winchester “white box” and steel cased Barnaul 7.62x51 ammunition.ĭue to storm damage on my gun club’s 100-yard range I had to restrict accuracy testing to 75 yards. Don’t you feel safer now? Soldiers of the Spanish Foreign Legion armed with CETME Modelo C rifles. Oh yes, and the nasty bayonet lug was removed. This removed the original paddle type magazine release which was replaced by a push button on the right side of the receiver. As all Spanish issue CETMEs were capable of selective fire Century retrofitted Spanish surplus Modelo C rifles with U.S.-made receivers so as to satisfy BATFE import restrictions. To represent the Iberian, side my good friend Tim Hawkins lent me his Century Army CETME Sporter. The Modelo C was the most widely used rifle of CETME series. Garry retrofitted it with all original wooden furniture and it was in very nice condition. From fellow OSG contributor Garry James, I obtained a L1A1 (the British/Commonwealth version of the FAL) that had been assembled from imported British surplus parts with a U.S.-made receiver by Enterprise Arms. Accordingly, I contacted two collectors seeking rifles. I suggested to our editor that I compare the two rifles to see if either was superior to the other, to which he readily agreed. Spanish soldiers armed with CETME Modelo B rifles. It served as the basis for the Heckler & Koch G3A3 rifle which has seen even wider service. The CETME was used by all branches of the Spanish armed forces and marketed internationally eventually seeing service with more than ten nations and various national liberation movements, mainly in Africa and the Middle East. It was eventually issued to the armies and police of more than 90 nations.īrazilian soldiers training the locally made FN-FAL rifles. (Courtesy of Rock Island Auction Co.)Ĭanada was the first country to adopt the FAL as the Rifle, 7.62mm FN (C1) and was quickly followed by Belgium, the British Commonwealth, West Germany, Israel, South Africa, Austria, the Netherlands, India and most Latin American and many African countries. The FN-FAL, and its variants, was the most widely used 7.62mm NATO military rifle. While early rifles had wooden forearms and buttstocks these were later made from synthetic material. It was fed from a detachable, 20-round box magazine and was one of the first rifles chambered for the 7,62mm NATO cartridge. It used a gas operated system similar to Saive’s earlier Fusil SemiAutomatique Modèle 1949 (SAFN) but modified to lighten it and improve reliability. The FN Fusil Automatique Léger (Light Automatic Rifle - FAL) was designed by FN’s chief engineer Dieudonné Saive. Being the majority of the volunteers in his unit were veterans of armies that used the FAL, he stated that they had a low opinion of the CETME and were quite happy to have them replaced with the Belgian rifle. “Mad Mike” Hoare, I will mention that his 5 Commando was originally armed with Spanish CETME Modelo C rifles until reequipped with the Belgian FN-FAL. #CENTURY ARMS L1A1 SPORTER RIFLE SERIES#In an upcoming series of articles on the famous Congo mercenary leader Col.
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