Century Arms CA-3: Rebuilt G3 Goodness

Who wants an affordable G3? Everybody, right? The Heckler & Koch-built battle rifle is a classic weapon of the Cold War, and now, Century Arms has its own take on the formula with its new CA-3.

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The sorta-new CA-3

It’s not exactly correct to call the CA-3 new, because it’s made from a combination of new and old parts. Officially, Century Arms says it’s a “military surplus sourced G3 with a lot of original features and a configuration enthusiasts have grown to love.” It’s actually assembled by PTR, who specializes in roller-delayed firearm designs—see all the fun stuff they make here.

In this case, Century is recycling the G3’s original fixed stock, forend, adjustable front sight, rotary aperture rear sight, trigger group, bolt and bolt carrier. They also included the original trigger group, but modified it to keep the good people at the ATF happy.

The new parts, from PTR, include a made-in-America trunnion, barrel, flash hider, stamped receiver, hammer, sear and charging handle.

Of course, the rifle comes chambered in 7.62×51 NATO; it ships with a single 20-round mag. Like all Cold War battle rifles, it’s a hefty piece of firepower, weighing in at 9.5 pounds and with an overall length of 40.5 inches. But if you’re going to rip off a dozen rounds of .308-level firepower, that weight doesn’t seem quite so bad.

The barrel itself is a chromoly 4150 18-inch unit, with 5/8×24 threads, a birdcage-style flash hider and a 1:10 right-hand twist.