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Bought a New Marcolmar CETME L Recently

dalbert

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I recently bought a Marcolmar CETME Model L in green, and have not yet fired it, nor even pulled the trigger. I ordered a sling and bayonet from Apex, and a bipod from Numrich that should arrive tomorrow. I decided I missed my chance for a reasonably priced HK93 in the 1980's, so perhaps this will fill that void. I did however, pick up a 91 in 1986. I think I'm going to like the smaller profile CETME L. The thing I like the most so far is the sight picture, and the gun seems to be of very good quality manufacture. I didn't expect it to come with a case, so that was a nice surprise.

Here are some photos:

IMG_7779.jpg

IMG_7787.jpg

Has anyone else bought one? Any comments or experiences are appreciated.

Thanks!

David Albert
dalbert@sturmgewehr.com
 

flybynt

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I thought about buying one...never did. I would be interested to hear your shooting review and first impressions.
 

AGG

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I recently bought a Marcolmar CETME Model L in green, and have not yet fired it, nor even pulled the trigger. I ordered a sling and bayonet from Apex, and a bipod from Numrich that should arrive tomorrow. I decided I missed my chance for a reasonably priced HK93 in the 1980's, so perhaps this will fill that void. I did however, pick up a 91 in 1986. I think I'm going to like the smaller profile CETME L. The thing I like the most so far is the sight picture, and the gun seems to be of very good quality manufacture. I didn't expect it to come with a case, so that was a nice surprise.

Here are some photos:

Has anyone else bought one? Any comments or experiences are appreciated.

Thanks!

David Albert
dalbert@sturmgewehr.com

Very nice--- please review, if you take it for a spin. ;)

Tony
 

dalbert

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I went to the range Friday morning, and sighted in the CETME L that I bought recently. Overall, it's an acceptable rifle, and maybe I'll think more of it after a few more outings. I'm further convinced that the AR-15 platform is superior to any non-AR style HK rifle or variant, such as the CETME L. I've owned an HK 91 since 1986, and while I enjoy shooting it, the FAL is superior, in my opinion. So now that I have that out of the way, here are some specific likes and dislikes about my new Marcolmar CETME L.

Likes:

- Overall sight picture​
- Feel of the rifle​
- Unique appearance of the rifle​
- Potential accuracy - I need to shoot more with the ammo that produced the best result​
- I like the case it came with​
Dislikes:

- Magazine well is not as easy to acquire as that of an AR​
- Magazine release is not as easy to operate or as nicely shaped as that of an AR​
- Recoil is typical of HK style roller rifles with heavy bolts - Heavier than almost non-existent AR recoil​
- The safety button does not protrude far enough to easily operate - It should be larger​
- The bolt release was finicky - I had two failures to release the bolt, and in each case ended up using the bolt handle - This may just be during break-in​
- The bolt hold open is in a strange location, and takes getting used to​
- Casing marks developed on the finish outside the ejection port, but I should have expected this to happen, like with other HK's​
- Although I liked the overall sight picture when pointing it inside, it was bright sunshine outside, and my tired eyes had difficulty seeing the front sight - I don't have the same difficulty with an AR front sight​
- The front sight adjustment looks like an AR with detent marks on top, but the detent is on the bottom, and is unrelated to the marks - This is a change Marcolmar mentions in the manual, and is supposed to provide better accuracy of adjustment​
- Sight setting from the factory was way off - More on this below​
The manual indicates that Marcolmar test fires the rifles, and sights them in, but does not indicate at which range. I have no doubt the rifle was test fired, but I have a feeling with the current cost of ammo, that Marcolmar may be cutting corners on the sight-in. The rifle was off target at 50 and 100 yards to begin with, firing approximately 15 inches above point of aim at 50 yards. I had to adjust the front sight up at least 12 full rotations until it got close to paint of aim. Adjusting the front sight took the use of a cleaning rod tip, and a pen at the same time, although the manual indicates it is easy to adjust with an AR sight adjustment tool, which I did not have. I took some photos of the front sight during the adjustment phase.

Front sight before sighting in: (At first I thought it was caught between detents, but then learned about the detent being on the bottom of the front sight dial plate)

IMG_7817.jpg

Front sight after sighting in:

IMG_7818.jpg

Here are the targets I used during sight-in. Shots at the top of the 50-yard target started to appear after I adjusted down 4 turns of the front sight, while aiming in the middle of the entire target. After I turned the front sight somewhere between a dozen and 15 times, I got close to the point of aim, and began aiming at the lower left target. You can disregard the lower right target, which I shot at with my Nylon 66.

After sighting in, I shot with 3 different types of ammo at 100 yards, with the following results:

Independence 5.56 - 9 7/8" CTC (Some of this was probably my front sight acquisition trouble) This is the ammo I used up until this point during sight-in.
Norma .223 Tactical - 3.5" CTC
Creedmoor .223 69gr Sierra TMK - 4.125" CTC (I only had 3 rounds of this left)

IMG_7827.jpg IMG_7826.jpg

Case ejection marks on the finish:

IMG_7819.jpg

Now to the red tag...I enjoyed the joking here about how I had not yet removed the red warning tag from my rifle, and finally did so about a minute before I fired its first shot. Here are some photos of it just before firing, before and after removal.

Before removal:

IMG_7815.jpg

After removal:

IMG_7816.jpg

Somehow, I started to miss the red tag, so I have replaced it with another for laughs. If it doesn't make anyone else laugh, at least it will amuse me.

IMG_7891.jpg

I don't want the overall impression to be that I dislike this rifle. I need to shoot it more. It's a novelty rifle for me, in that I would always pick an AR for match shooting, or other general use. The CETME will be fun to take to shoots, and to let others shoot for fun.

Your thoughts?

Thanks!
David Albert
dalbert@sturmgewehr.com

 

Guyanaman1963

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Excellent Range Report... and I laughed at the red tag and howled at the replacement!
Personally, I have never found a rifle that is as intuitive as an AR Platform... but tats just me, its what I was trained with and what I’m comfortable with.
M.
 

AGG

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I went to the range Friday morning, and sighted in the CETME L that I bought recently. Overall, it's an acceptable rifle, and maybe I'll think more of it after a few more outings. I'm further convinced that the AR-15 platform is superior to any non-AR style HK rifle or variant, such as the CETME L. I've owned an HK 91 since 1986, and while I enjoy shooting it, the FAL is superior, in my opinion. So now that I have that out of the way, here are some specific likes and dislikes about my new Marcolmar CETME L.

Likes:

- Overall sight picture​
- Feel of the rifle​
- Unique appearance of the rifle​
- Potential accuracy - I need to shoot more with the ammo that produced the best result​
- I like the case it came with​
Dislikes:

- Magazine well is not as easy to acquire as that of an AR​
- Magazine release is not as easy to operate or as nicely shaped as that of an AR​
- Recoil is typical of HK style roller rifles with heavy bolts - Heavier than almost non-existent AR recoil​
- The safety button does not protrude far enough to easily operate - It should be larger​
- The bolt release was finicky - I had two failures to release the bolt, and in each case ended up using the bolt handle - This may just be during break-in​
- The bolt hold open is in a strange location, and takes getting used to​
- Casing marks developed on the finish outside the ejection port, but I should have expected this to happen, like with other HK's​
- Although I liked the overall sight picture when pointing it inside, it was bright sunshine outside, and my tired eyes had difficulty seeing the front sight - I don't have the same difficulty with an AR front sight​
- The front sight adjustment looks like an AR with detent marks on top, but the detent is on the bottom, and is unrelated to the marks - This is a change Marcolmar mentions in the manual, and is supposed to provide better accuracy of adjustment​
- Sight setting from the factory was way off - More on this below​
The manual indicates that Marcolmar test fires the rifles, and sights them in, but does not indicate at which range. I have no doubt the rifle was test fired, but I have a feeling with the current cost of ammo, that Marcolmar may be cutting corners on the sight-in. The rifle was off target at 50 and 100 yards to begin with, firing approximately 15 inches above point of aim at 50 yards. I had to adjust the front sight up at least 12 full rotations until it got close to paint of aim. Adjusting the front sight took the use of a cleaning rod tip, and a pen at the same time, although the manual indicates it is easy to adjust with an AR sight adjustment tool, which I did not have. I took some photos of the front sight during the adjustment phase.

Front sight before sighting in: (At first I thought it was caught between detents, but then learned about the detent being on the bottom of the front sight dial plate)

Front sight after sighting in:

Here are the targets I used during sight-in. Shots at the top of the 50-yard target started to appear after I adjusted down 4 turns of the front sight, while aiming in the middle of the entire target. After I turned the front sight somewhere between a dozen and 15 times, I got close to the point of aim, and began aiming at the lower left target. You can disregard the lower right target, which I shot at with my Nylon 66.

After sighting in, I shot with 3 different types of ammo at 100 yards, with the following results:

Independence 5.56 - 9 7/8" CTC (Some of this was probably my front sight acquisition trouble) This is the ammo I used up until this point during sight-in.
Norma .223 Tactical - 3.5" CTC
Creedmoor .223 69gr Sierra TMK - 4.125" CTC (I only had 3 rounds of this left

Case ejection marks on the finish:

Now to the red tag...I enjoyed the joking here about how I had not yet removed the red warning tag from my rifle, and finally did so about a minute before I fired its first shot. Here are some photos of it just before firing, before and after removal.

Before removal:

After removal:

Somehow, I started to miss the red tag, so I have replaced it with another for laughs. If it doesn't make anyone else laugh, at least it will amuse me.

I don't want the overall impression to be that I dislike this rifle. I need to shoot it more. It's a novelty rifle for me, in that I would always pick an AR for match shooting, or other general use. The CETME will be fun to take to shoots, and to let others shoot for fun.

Your thoughts?

Thanks!
David Albert
dalbert@sturmgewehr.co

Thank you very much for the detailed report. :)
I would probably favor the FN FAL over the HK91 in accuracy--- though a longer barrel on the 50.00 model. ;)

Tony
 

Vinz Klortho

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My dad had a Nylon 66. Nice memories!
My BIL got it after my Dad died, Asshole left it in his garage. It just rusted away. Made me kinda sad.
 

Raygixxer89

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I might take it to the range this weekend. If so, I will report back with results.

Here's a photo with the bipod. Now my intent is to keep the red tag attached until I fire the first round...;-)

View attachment 3374

David Albert
dalbert@sturmgewehr.com
Very nice David! I bought two kits when Apex? Had their 2 for one sale. Was going to send one to MCM to have but and save the other for a rainy day. Ended up costing about the same thing to buy a new one. So I did, lol. I got the grey/black from Atlantic a few months ago. Been itching to take her to the range!
 

Raygixxer89

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Excellent Range Report... and I laughed at the red tag and howled at the replacement!
Personally, I have never found a rifle that is as intuitive as an AR Platform... but tats just me, its what I was trained with and what I’m comfortable with.
M.
Same here. But I'm at that point in life where just about any pretty gun will be a treat for me to own and shoot. I forgot to mention that I bought extra bayos and slings for my CETME Ls also.
Great write-up, OP!
 

AGG

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Very nice David! I bought two kits when Apex? Had their 2 for one sale. Was going to send one to MCM to have but and save the other for a rainy day. Ended up costing about the same thing to buy a new one. So I did, lol. I got the grey/black from Atlantic a few months ago. Been itching to take her to the range!

Congratulations on the newest acquisition. ;)

Tony
 
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