K31 Swiss

[bolus]

Anyone have a K312 swiss?

I see that Aim got a shipment in
http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?groupid=2331&name=Swiss+K31+7.5x55+Rifles

And there are some in stock over at Samco as well
<broken link removed>

Just curious if someone has one and how they like it

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[Lilhigbee]

I've got a couple of them. Nothing bad to say. No butt pad makes them a little hard on the shoulder, but that is the case with any old military rifle. One nice thing is that surplus ammo is readily available, affordable, and best of all, not corrosive. Accuracy is as good as any mil-surp rifle I have seen.

 

[Dapapadon]

I plan to pick up one this year. Looks like Samco is sold out. Think I should get my C & R first though. Guess I should do that this month.
Don

 

[ron]

I have one I like it. An accurate rifle but I wish it had a aperture rear sight.. I can shoot this rifle better
than my Mosin. The military brass is Berdan primed non reload-able. Brass is expensive but
284 Winchester works great. They use 308 caliber bullets.

 

[nemosnacks]

I have one and love the history and build of it. The design is so above the time frame they served in. Only thing to watch out for is a bad lug on the bolt slide. This was a metallurgical problem in production for part of 1945. The mill surplus ammo is paper wadded. Most people say it's more accurate than most people can hand load. It surpasses my ability to shoot it. It's pretty heavy compared to a mosin or a mauser. A lot of wood on them. If you want a hand pick and a little higher price simspon Ltd sells them with a serial, pictures of each rifle and fair description. I bought mine from aimsurplus. Couldn't have been happier, unless it had had a troop tag under the button plate. I should have paid for that option I guess.

 

[Jim Colvill]

A Schmidt-Rubin of any variation is on my list for future acquisition if just for the novelty of a straight pull. By everything I've read and heard they are the best machined firearms, just like Swiss movement watches.

 

[Lilhigbee]

J&G Sales had the best deal on surplus ammo when I bought it.

 

[tac]

1. The K31 is not a Schmidt-Rubin - it was designed by Col Adolf Furrer and his team to replace the over-long action of the Schmidt-Rubin series of rifles and carbines.

2. The 1944-year operating rod story is old and probably no longer valid, since every K31 made that year has now been back to the armourers at least once, and when the problem was identified, it was quickly rectified. Actually getting a 44-date code op rod is about as unlucky as getting hit by an anvil whilst swimming in Crater Lake.

3. I've been shooting GP11 since the middle 1960s, and I've never seen any evidence of paper in the cartridge. I've never seen it in a pulled round, either. The original 7.5x53.5 SM cartridge WAS paper-patched, but that was replaced first in 1890 by the GP90 ammunition and then with the modern bullet in 1911 - the stuff that we are all still shooting.

As an aside, many earlier rifles and carbines had the troop tag under the butt-plate, and many of us have made contact with the former owner [in the case of the K31] or, in the case of a K11/IG11, their relatives. On swissrifles.com forum we have a template in all three common languages used in Switzerland that makes it easy to do.

The Swiss Products company in Kallispel Montana makes a range of very useful accessories for the K31, including a clamp-on scope mount, a Swiss Shooting Federation compliant diopter sight, a clamp-on or permanent fit muzzle brake, a permanent fitting barrel harmonizer, as well as a easy to fix/remove bipod adaptor. They also make a spiffy left-hand operating conversion that can be installed or removed in less time than it takes to read this post, and a clamp-on mount for the K11/IG11.

tac
www.swissrifles.com

.

 

[bolus]

I never got around to ordering one and now I see supplies have dried up.

I also see Samco whet out of business with 14,000 some odd unsold firearms

There is one K31 at Liberty Tree for $450 + 30 shipping. I know that some are trying to find these available. I considered getting this one but decided against it

https://www.libertytreecollectors.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=6237&idcategory=2

 

[tac]

Looks like it's that one or not. All-matching? Seems to be. Needs some TLC, though, by somebody who cares. Do you care?

Bottom is my K31 - bought back in 1989....



Right now it has the latest Swiss Products precision diopter sight - front and rear, with Gehmann infinitely-variable iris eyepieces fitted. Sight with basic iris unit is around $400, add another $300 for the spiffy foresight unit. It's good up to 1000m, whereas the Wysse version from Switzerland costs around $600, plus the extra $300, and only goes up to 900m. The SP version is authorised for use in Switzerland, BTW.





That's twenty shots at 100m...



The muzzle gauges at 0.0003" more than it did in 1989, but then I HAVE put 5000 or more down it since then.

The top is my K11, as is.

This is a cheap Hawke 1.5 - 4.5x24 scope - no more than x4 is permitted in the military 'sniper' comp.


This odd-looking item is a K31-actioned 300m match rifle with Gehmann rear and W+F foresight unit.





The barrel is made by Schultz & Larsen in Denmark, and is in .308Win.

tac

 

[HarryHaller]

I have 2 K31s, one later model with a birch stock that I found at the Tigard Gunbroker. It is very accurate with surplus ammo. I had another with a birch stock but it wasn't quite as accurate so I sold it. I just picked up another 1940 model with a walnut stock, but haven't shot it yet. I love the design, the bolt is awesome to work, the trigger is fantastic, it's also pretty light for a surplus rifle.

I also have two earlier model Schmidt Rubin model 1911 rifles. They have the straight pull bolt as well, but a longer action. Also much longer barrel and overall heavier rifle, but also great trigger, accurate and good handling rifles.

These Swiss straight pull rifles are some of my favorite to shoot. I saw a 1911 rifle at the Tropics pawn on the east side of Vancouver about a month ago for a good price, but decided two were enough for now. I like them so much it's hard for me to recommend them because I want them to myself...

 

[tac]

Beech.

Birch is for the Nordics and the Rooskies.

tac

 

[kilimanjaro]

A K31 is a must-have for C&R collectors, right up there with a Springfield 03A3 and a K98 or something.

Prvi Partisan makes pretty good boxer-primed ammo, as well as brass, it's a good cartridge to reload for, your .30 caliber bullets are waiting. Maybe it's just me, but the GP11 surplus ammo is just as accurate as my tuned handloads. Don't use it for plinking.

 

[MountainBear]

Yep, lots of 03's, 03a3's, 91, 93, 95, 96, and 98 Mausers, Garands, Krag, even a 1917 Enfield. But no Swiss yet. I should really remedy that...

 

[bolus]

Im sad, I got of k31 today. listed as good condition and cracked stock. The metal is all perfect, clean bore and the wood is fair with an arsenal repaired crack. Just a wonderful piece of engineering, great trigger and just great care in finishing the inside of the stock.

Im just upset that I passed on one of the unissued ones that started this thread back in 2015.

I really did get into C&R guns too late.

I was planning on refinishing the stock or making a new one, but this gun deserves to stay original. I cleaned it up, got all the small parts through the ultrasonic cleaner and got it all back together. Thanks to who ever in Switzerland decided to not use corrosive ammo

 

[bolus]

oh frick im an idiot. Checking on my order status as sgammo for some boxes of 7.65 argentine and 7.5 swiss I see that my brilliant self did not order 7.5 swiss but instead I ordered a bunch of 6.5 swedish. I guess I'll need to keep my eye out for a Ljungman now.

 

[tac]

Im sad, I got of k31 today. listed as good condition and cracked stock. The metal is all perfect, clean bore and the wood is fair with an arsenal repaired crack. Just a wonderful piece of engineering, great trigger and just great care in finishing the inside of the stock.

Im just upset that I passed on one of the unissued ones that started this thread back in 2015.

I really did get into C&R guns too late.

I was planning on refinishing the stock or making a new one, but this gun deserves to stay original. I cleaned it up, got all the small parts through the ultrasonic cleaner and got it all back together. Thanks to who ever in Switzerland decided to not use corrosive ammo

No Swiss ammunition has been corrosive since 1893.

tac

 

[bolus]

No Swiss ammunition has been corrosive since 1893.

tac

Great to hear from you! I heard you dont have electricity and have had to resort to cannibalism

 

[HarryHaller]

I guess I'll need to keep my eye out for a Ljungman now.

Curses, with that twist of fate another person is looking for one...

 

[Velzey]

They are all great rifles, and most of them shoot really really well!
You can find them in near mint condition still. Because they are overlooked I think, and some folks say oh those have locking lug issues...yahoo leaves more for US!