Rare MARS CETME

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gopguy

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In the closing days of WWII a number of German engineers from Mauser escaped to Spain. While they were there they were put to work at CETME (Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales) now Empresa Nacional SANTA BARBARA. There they continued to refine some rifle designs started at Mauser during the war.

What would become known to many in the US as the CETME rifle was primarily designed by Ludwig Vorgrimler. Later when the Belgians would refuse to grant a license to manufacture the G1 (FN FAL) to the Germans, which after an order of 100,000 rifles really ticked off the Germans, they turned to the Spanish Government and CETME and negotiated to build the CETME rifle in Germany. They came to an agreement and eventually the HKG3 was born of this effort.

In the 1960s a small number of CETME rifles were imported by the Mars company in Chicago Illinois. Here is one of those rifles and an ad from an April 1966 Shooting Times advertising them. You have to love those prices when the dollar had real value. Oh for the good old days of mail order...

http://www.drzero.org/cetme/cetme.htm

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Interestingly enough there's another classic in the same ad, the 1860 Colt copy is one of the Belgian Centaure's that are now worth upwards towards a cool $Grand in as-new condition. They are considered the best and most authentic of the Colt copies ever made.


Willie

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Oh I know it was a lot of money Beagle, that was not the point. The dollar had value then, today we print it like monopoly money driving it down even more. The point was you could order that rifle mail order and your mailman dropped it at the door. Did we hear about school shootings with little black guns then? No.

You will pay more than inflation for one of these rare beasts now, the last MARS CETME I saw for sale was over $3000.
 
gopguy

I remember seeing those ads! So many great deals back then.

From the 1973 Gun Digest price listings:

CETME rifle with 5 rd. mag. Scope rings, bipod, 20 rd. mags. available.
Imported by Mars Equipment Co.
Retail price-$229.95

Beretta BM-59 rifle with 20 rd. mag. Bipod available
Imported by Gold Rush Arms
Retail price-$249

SIG-AMT rifle with 20 rd. mag. Scope, mount, bipod, sling available
Imported by Benet Arms
Retail price-$349

Colt AR-15 rifle with 5 rd. mag. and sling
Manufactured by Colt
Retail price-$234.95
 
Yes, the CETME was still selling for a lot when HK starting importing the 91 in the 70's - for a lot less. I bought my first for $160, flipped it and bought the second for $180. My buddies and I went for a group buy on the first one, I was saving $20 from each paycheck to do it.

Sold it years later for $1000 after HK quit making them.

In the day accessories were extremely limited and high priced, magazines were $20 and the 5 rounder $45. I got the slimline handguard and a inexpensive scope mount to install a first generation Aimpoint. A few years later ARMS offered a copy of the claw mount for hundreds less and I sprung for that.

Assault Systems was making cases in those days, it was stored in that most of the time, and eyes would light up when you hauled it out of the trunk deer hunting. When I had the opportunity to attend the first SOF 3 Gun Invitational match at Chapman range there were a few competitors who used HK's, the large majority were all using FN's or M1A's.

Couldn't afford one of those, they were too pricey.
 
Actually HK brought in a 7.62 NATO rifle earlier than the 70s. What you are looking at is a HK 41. Brought into the US in the 60s, this is one of those rifles that once it got here the BATF decided was way too easy to convert to select fire. Mine is dated 1966 and was imported by Golden State Arms. Note the pin at the point the trigger guard meets the mag well.

The magazine article reviewing this is from Shooting Times in 1963.

Had a HK 43 at one time too. I foolishly let that go. :(


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