[Drmike]

For Xmas my wife got me a century c308 before California gun laws changed. Iam in the process of swapping out the furniture to all wood and ran in to a problem and wanted to see if anyone here has experienced this. I picked up a surplus German complete wood stock from either hkparts or try, can't remember, problem is won't fit my receiver? The metal backer plate that the op rod goes into does not align with my slots on the receiver. I then swapped the back plate from the plastic stock that came with the rifle because I know it slides on smoothly. The wood stock for in the metal great, problem now is the hole for the buffer housing do not line up between the metal back plate and the wood stick-up , the hole in the wood stock is approx 1/8" proud at the bottom, in other words when you look down thru the metal buffer hole, you see 1/8" of wood so that you cannot install the buffer? Has anyone else had this problem when switching to a wood stock? Since the receivers are new made by PTR on original tooling, I would think that it should be a direct swap? Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Steve_in_29]

You bought an actual CETME wood furniture set? Because AFAIK HK Parts has been out of "HK" wood sets for about a year.

IIRC the buffer hole on a CETME stock needs to be enlarged to work with a HK buffer and is not a drop in replacement.

 

[Drmike]

I don't think it's a Cetme stock, it has the metal sling attachment embedded in the left side of stock just like the black plastic one that came with the rifle. I assumed this was an early German version of the wood stock. Doesn't the Cetme stock have a slit in it for the sling to pass through??

 

[Steve_in_29]

Yes CETME stocks have the slit for the sling. The HKs have a metal plate riveted into the side of the stock for sling.

Sorry but I'm not fully up on the nuances of CETME/HK interchangeability beyond what I already posted. One thing that has been reported by an C308 owner is that the forearm is held on with an HK push pin instead of the CETME screw.

I am amazed you were able to buy that wood furniture set from HKParts since Christmas though. They have been out of stock for a long time and last ones they had listed on site were priced at $150.

 

[The_Great_308]

The best thing to do would be to use a complete HK G3 Stock, recoil assembly and buffer. Then all you would need to do is either use the retaining washer from the Cetme recoil rod on the HK recoil rod or you could just lightly sand the plastic retaining washer on the HK recoil rod (some of the retaining washers are plastic and some are metal) until it fits inside the Cetme bolt carrier. The inner diameter of the Cetme bolt carrier is smaller than the inner diameter of the HK bolt carrier. Once you swap out the retaining washer (or sand the existing one to fit) on the end of the HK recoil rod it should then slide all the way into the bolt carrier allowing you to pin it in place.

The best place on line for information on Cetme Rifles is Militaryfirarms.com it used to be the Cetme forum. You should go over there, become a member, and read every sticky about Cetmes. They have a ton of information including how to check for proper bolt and cocking tube gap and how to make corrections.

Militaryfirearm

How to put HK furniture on a Cetme:
G3 plastic furniture on a CETME....

 

[gulfstategaurd]

+1 On the great 308. Swap the recoil guide and pin on the HK backplate, buffer, stock assembly and it will work.

The CETME Backplate. The buffer and its location is different from the HK one, as is the recoil rod retaining pin and guide. BUT if you swap the 2 peices on the end of the HK stock assembly it will fit the Cetme.

 

[Drmike]

I appreciate everyone's input. I agree with what's been said so far, Iam going to look on the forum mention to see if there is any additional info I may have missed on the subject. As far as where I picked the complete stock up from, it was either hkparts, RTG mfg or APEX, these are the only sires I have purchased from.

 

[The_Great_308]

Here are some photos comparing the HK and Cetme recoil assemblies: From looking at photo two you can see that you can just remove the keeper from each recoil assembly and swap the bushing from the Cetme recoil rod to the HK recoil rod and reinstall the HK keeper. If you have the plastic HK bushing you can just leave it assembled and modify it if you want by sanding it down to the proper outside diameter. This should only take a few minutes. Just go slow and check if it will slide freely in the bolt carrier often until it fits smoothly and does not get hung up.

 

[Atlantic Firearms.com]

Is the Cetme front hand guard the same ?

 

[The_Great_308]

Is the Cetme front hand guard the same ?

It is not the same but HK forearms can be put on a Cetme and Cetme forearms can be put on an HK. Both forearms mount exactly the same in the back. In the front the HK has a push pin whereas the Cetme has a bolt. This is because the HK has a forearm hanger attached to the cocking tube but the Cetme does not. The left side of the front metal collar on the Cetme forearm is threaded for the bolt. It mounts basically the same as the tactical PTR91 in the front. I will post some photos below that will hopefully help explain.

 

[Steve_in_29]

Someone with a C308 posted that the forearms for them mount with the HK push pin.

 

[The_Great_308]

Someone with a C308 posted that the forearms for them mount with the HK push pin.

I think this OP was referring to the new Century Cetme made on the PTR receiver. Century also made a C308 at one time was an HK clone and were built from surplus G3 kits. Those had forearm hangers and used a front push pin. Actual wood Cetme forearms do not attach to a forearm hanger. The Cetme had a straight cocking tube (rather than the tapered cocking tube of the HK) and had no forearm hanger. The front end uses a bolt and the metal collar on the front of the forearm that is threaded on one side for the bolt. The bolt just goes between the cocking tube and the barrel. If you look at the photos on post #10 you can see what I mean.It is possible that Century is building the new Cetmes with an HK style tapered cocking tube but that is not what the originals had.Regardless in order to use Cetme wood forearm you have to use the bolt in the front unless you modify it.

 

[Steve_in_29]

The "new" Century CETME is the C308.

 

[gulfstategaurd]

Some clarity might need to be made here, the CETME cocking tube is a straight cocking tube. The early G3 also had a straight cocking tube. Both models uttilized a similar triple tree that came rearward. The CETME bolt and the early G3 push pins passed between this rearward section of the triple tree and the straight round cocking tubes. The later G3 eliminated this rear section of the triple tree and changed the cocking tube to the step down bottle neck front with the hanger/spacer to mount the forearm with the pin through the hanger. This upgrade was to allow the barrel to free float improving accurracy. If you rifle is set up properly the cocking tube should not be in contact with the triple tree.

I was going to attach pics of all three (CETME, Early G3 and late G3) but the photo site I use is not coming up right now.

The top pic you have CETME top and early G3 below
Middle pic CETME top and early G3 triple tree and cocking tube below.
Bottom pic the later G3 cocking tube and triple tree with wide handguard.

The earlier style you get a bit of handguard rattle and you cannot mount the wider handguard as is.

 

[The_Great_308]

Thanks hopefully that helps clarify what I was trying to explain. I was able to modify HK handguards to fit the Cetme in about five minutes with a Dremil tool. I just used a sanding wheel to slightly increase the inner diameter of the handguards at the front where they mount over the triple tree.

Some clarity might need to be made here, the CETME cocking tube is a straight cocking tube. The early G3 also had a straight cocking tube. Both models uttilized a similar triple tree that came rearward. The CETME bolt and the early G3 push pins passed between this rearward section of the triple tree and the straight round cocking tubes. The later G3 eliminated this rear section of the triple tree and changed the cocking tube to the step down bottle neck front with the hanger/spacer to mount the forearm with the pin through the hanger. This upgrade was to allow the barrel to free float improving accurracy. If you rifle is set up properly the cocking tube should not be in contact with the triple tree.

I was going to attach pics of all three (CETME, Early G3 and late G3) but the photo site I use is not coming up right now.
View attachment 95146
View attachment 95154
View attachment 95138

The top pic you have CETME top and early G3 below
Middle pic CETME top and early G3 triple tree and cocking tube below.
Bottom pic the later G3 cocking tube and triple tree with wide handguard.

The earlier style you get a bit of handguard rattle and you cannot mount the wider handguard as is.

 

[Atlantic Firearms.com]

Sorry to ask this again , What exactly do you need to mount the Cetme hand guard on a PTR ? I understand they are different but do they need to be drilled out ? New larger pin used ?

 

[The_Great_308]

Sorry to ask this again , What exactly do you need to mount the Cetme hand guard on a PTR ? I understand they are different but do they need to be drilled out ? New larger pin used ?

The wood Cetme hand guard mounts the same in the rear. In the front use the bolt that comes with the Cetme hand guard. It just pushes through one side of the hand guard, through the pushpin hole in the hand guard hanger on the PTR and then threads into the other side of the hand guard. You may have to ream out the push pin hole slightly but I don't think so.