From CETME to MG3: Which Firearms Leave a Mark?

CETME, MG3 and the .22: Which is best remembered after testing?

A shooting history that starts with a .50 BMG Barrett, moves through an M2-HB heavy machine gun and ends with an MG3 does not prevent the most repeated answer from being different: the humble .22 LR carbine. Military service allowed many participants to handle a long gun for the first time. What remains is a mix of nostalgia, technical precision and common sense about what is actually fun to shoot.

The catalog of tested equipment discussed is extensive: CETME L, G36E and C7 —a copy of the M16—, Llama 9mm pistol, Glock of the same caliber, .38 revolver, MG3 and MG4 machine guns, the FN Minimi and the aforementioned Barrett. Under such a list lies a common idea: raw power impresses once, but it is not what brings people back to the range.

Why does the .22 LR carbine hook more than a large rifle?

Because it is cheap, clean, safe and allows play. Compared to large calibers, the .22 LR lets you shoot a lot without wrecking your pocket or shoulder, while demanding real accuracy: you can compete at distance, change sights and refine technique. On paper it seems like a toy; in practice it is the caliber that accumulates the most shooting hours.

It is not the only candidate. The 12-gauge shotgun receives similar praise for a different reason: versatility. Changing ammunition, choosing shot sizes, mounting chokes to vary the pattern or using slugs turns it into several weapons in one. Clay pigeon shooting, hunting, precision targets with scopes or tactical shooting with red dots, all with the same barrel. Simple and accessible, with fewer legal complications than a rifle.

The memory of the MG3 is bittersweet. Its rate of fire places it among the most satisfying to shoot, but it is heavy and punishes the careless: the barrel and casings burn easily. The same fruta drags its predecessor, the MG 42, colloquially known as Hitler's buzzsaw. More than one person has suffered a burn changing the barrel.

CETME L vs G36: The design no one quite figures out

The comparison between the old CETME and the German G36 takes up much of the conversation. The former, with its characteristic Z-shape, theoretically occupied similar space despite functioning via rollers. The latter, made of polymer, carries a receiver that many consider oversized. The gas system forces housing parts that the CETME solved differently, and plastic walls must be thicker than metal ones.

The one-meter length is not seen as a defect for an expeditionary force destined to fight outdoors. The problem is another: the magazines, whose rim catches on pouches. Details that no manual highlights and that are noticeable in daily use.

From mortars to missiles: The other list

Memory does not live only on rifles. The 81mm mortars and the 60mm commando mortar, the latter fired by hand, appear among the most valued experiences. Milan missiles left the field full of cables, and advancing after firing towards the target led more than one person to end up tangled and on the ground. The C90 is fun, but the old bazooka of 88.9 mm —the churrera— was more hilarious because it had to be loaded manually.

And an initiation warning: placing the eye too close to the C90 sight leaves the eyelid purple for a whole week.

Optical sights, muzzleloaders and legal fine print

Regarding sights, the dominant current defends that optics should be auxiliary and backed by fixed sights of similar performance. A holographic sight without magnification works well; a tube optic, no. Peripheral vision is lost just when assaulting a height. Many ended up mounting the holographic sight over the rifle's optical sight, with a result that is not ergonomic due to excess height.

There is a separate chapter for muzzleloaders. A Spanish rifle from the brand ARDESA, the VORTEK .50 INLINE, dominates in the United States and is barely known here. It is exported so much because there the hunting season is extended if weapons of this type are used, hence why it is usually sold out. The reference to the old Whitworth and its hexagonal bullets —the first precision rifle in history, still on the list of longest shots— serves to remind that muzzleloading is no joke.

Closing the picture is the legal warning. Having any firearm in Spain complicates life, summarizes a participant. And there military experience, sport shooting and hunting coexist without any of the three paths resembling the others.

The most fun to shoot? It depends on the day, the wallet and the shoulder. The honest answer takes longer to arrive than the list of calibers itself.