Swiss K31

[gunsmoke]

This is another very nice very reliable, accurate and rugged WWLL era militaru bolt action rifle. Unlike most bolt actions it is a straight pull BA. You pull the bolty handle straight back and puush it sharly forward to chamber a round.

These rifles have seeen virtually no combat use, only practice. Remember it is going on 500 years since anyone attacked the Swiss. The stock rifles are notoiously accurate with fine triggers, And there are match triggers, muzzle brakes, scope mounts recoil pads and other acessories should you desire them.

Until recently Swiss Mil-surp mmo was all that was available, but now Prvi Partizan has boxxer primed reloadable ammunition available at relatively modest cost AND for those of you who handload the bore diameter is .308 so you have the full range of .30 cliber bullets available for your experimentation.

All in all a very good relatively inexpensive utility.trucj/hunting rifle for the homestead.

[Teg]

Someone was talking about this rifle in one of the other threads and you are right they are nice rifles and fairly inexpensive (depending on the grade), the pull back bit is a bit odd but it works. ;)

[NotSoFast]

And they kick like a mule. :eek:

The last time I went to the range I only shot 30 rounds and stopped because of the soreness. For the next few days I was black & blue. Since then I have acquired a shoulder pad and am about to put a recoil pad on the rifle.

They are awesome shooters though, and very inexpensive.

[gunsmoke]

These rifles distinguish themselves as one of the most inherently accurate milsurp rifles avaialable and for their fine triggers.

The recoil seems heavy because of the relatively straight stock which tends to direct all the recoil energy straight back rather than a rolling effect as occurs with a pistol grip stock.

There are recoil pads made specifically for the K31 as well as match grade adjustible triggers and no gunsmith scope mount.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/cid=0/k=k31/t=P/ksubmit=y/Products/All/search=k31

For those who are interested in handloading their own ammunition, which is a valuable and ,arletable skill post shtf) the K31 can be a near ideal general purpose homestead rifle.

It is powerful enough for all but the very biggest Brown Bears. It is simple easy to teach "average" people to employ in a multitude of roles. Almost all of them are in outstanding condition mechanically (they are SWISS military issue what do you expect?) Most flaws are cosmetic.

Because the grove dia is .308 same as .30-06 .30-30 etc and the bullets for those cartridges can be used to losd the 7.5 Swiss. So if you have this rifle for a person of small stature you can always load .30-30 bullets down to about 2.4k or so and they can use it effectively. Hornady's 160gr Leverevolution comes to mind as an outstanding bullet for medium (DEER) game hunting and for general self defense purposes.

Surplus is plentiful and relatively inexpensive although almost all of it is berdan primed and not reloadable, bullets tend to be 174 gr FMJ which are great for target, training and defense but not so for hunting.

Norma and Prvi Partizan is available in brass and boxer and with soft point hunting bullets.

[kawalekm]

I almost bought a K31 a few years back for 99$, but it was so banged up I decided to pass. Looks like it got harder use than other rifles that must have seen combat. This was back before I got my own C&R gun license.

Fast forward to today. I've got my license to purchase, but prices are jumping out of sight. I'm shocked that the same K31 is being sold now for 299$-449$. That's the mail order price in Shotgun News, not retail. For anyone that's used to paying 50$ for WWI-WWII Mausers, that's a steep price jump.

You can still buy Mausers for 150-160$ and even Mosins for only 80$, so unless you are a hard-core collector, the K31 doesn't make much sense to me as a surplus rifle. For anyone that just wants an inexpensive homestead gun I would say a Mauser is still a better choice. You can buy lots of parts to modify it, like plastic stocks, or conversion barrels, but the market for the K31 is essentially zero. And, it you just walk into your local sporting goods store, you're more likely to find 8X57 ammo than you are 7.5X55. Plus, there's a long history of converting Mauser's into hunting rifles, and you can find instructions for that at any public library. Finally, my local store had a scoped Remington bolt action in 30-06 on sale last week for 379$. Why pay that kind of money for used surplus rifle in a foreign caliber when you can get a new rifle in a standard American caliber.

[NotSoFast]

There are recoil pads made specifically for the K31 as well as match grade adjustible triggers and no gunsmith scope mount.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/cid=0/k=k31/t=P/ksubmit=y/Products/All/search=k31

What Brownells sells is a recoil pad adapter. They do not supply the pad itself. YOu have to do-it-yourself the pad to the adapter before you can mount that to the rifle. That is what I am getting ready to do.

One word of caution on buying a recoil pad to fit the adapter. The K31 has a very wide foot on the stock unlike American made rifles. Go to your local gun shop with pad in hand to see if you can find a pad that fits before you buy. And it does require grinding the pad to fit so make sure you wear a mask and do the grinding in a well ventilated space.

Chuck

[NotSoFast]

I was fortunate to only have to pay $185 for mine from Widener's. They are slightly higher there now but not at the prices you quoted.

http://www.wideners.com/index.cfm

[Teg]

Simpson has a good selection of C&R weapons for sale also.
http://www.simpsonltd.com/

[gunsmoke]

You'll get no arguments from me about the vityues of the M98 Mauser. My very first rifle is a WWI vintage M98 manufactured at the Spandau Aresenal in 1915Long since custom built into a sporter by Parkrt O. Ackley in 1970 in .358 Norma Magnum caliber. I have more Mauser M98 based rifles than any other single type of firearm.

My purpose in starting this thread was in no way intended to start a debate about the superiority of one rifle over another. Rather, it was intended to inform and highlight another less common option to other homestead/truck/urility rifles. M98s were manufactured in dozens of Countries in dozens of calibers and vary just as widely in quality and accuracy standards. Virtually all of the actions can make the basis for a fine rifle.

Likewise the available ammunition varies widely in quality, consistency and accuracy.

The K31 was manufactured in much smaller numbers less than 225K total production. Quality of manufacture is VERY CONSISTENT! I offered the information on the K31 not as an advocate but merely to familiarize people with another viable option.

I have seen K31 in various rarer configurations priced as high as $1600 such a variation is obviously NOt a great peospect for a truck/utility rifle. By the same token I have 3 K31s, the last one purchesd for $150 at a gunshow less than a month ago. All three have very nice tiger-striped Walnut stocks all matching with nothing more than cosmetic flaws such as worn bluing on the high spots. These rifles are all superbly accurate with Swiss Surplus Ammunition which is very inexpensive when compared to milsurp 8X57. I also have several cases of PrviPartizn Brass/Voxer but I haven't shot enough to start loading yet when I get about 500 empties I'll start experimenting. I've bought 2K Hornady Leverevoltiom 160 grs. specifically for down loading to .30-30 trcoplevels for an effective deer/defense/utility tifle that can be used bu women adolexensts and others of similar stature with freat effectiveness with a minimum of training.

In mu experience the K31 "out of the box" is more ready for immediate use.

On the subject of the M98, a few yrs ago I bought 2 dozen CZ24s. The condition was unbeleivable they wera ALLL matching and virtually new and their out of the box accuracy approached that of the K31s with surplus ammo and down right superb with Sellier & Belloit 198 fr soft points whicj are not loaded nearly as anemic as U S 8 X 57.

I modified all of them adding trench mags, scout scope mounts LER scopes, titanium strikers and Chrome Silicon Springs, and Timney adjustivle triggers.

They are GREAT Scout rifles under 300/ea with the modifications.

Again, my intent was not to engage in a debate only to inform those unfamiliar with the K31 of its virtues which are plentiful.

[Pitdog]

If it won't shoot a quarter inch @ 100 yards it AIN'T WORTH IT!!!!!!

LOL

ANYWAY- K31 is fantastic, the machining is precise and the quality if first rate. Got my cousin's in the safe for an upcoming experiment. LOVE those guns and the next one I find for reasonable will be mine. Fo Sho! 150gr Speer works wonders in them as well, excellent deer round and can be downloaded with some RE 15 to achieve a nice comfy round that will kill whitetail size game without remorse. Enjoy that rifle!

[Pitdog]

If it won't shoot a quarter inch @ 100 yards it AIN'T WORTH IT!!!!!!

LOL

ANYWAY- K31 is fantastic, the machining is precise and the quality if first rate. Got my cousin's in the safe for an upcoming experiment. LOVE those guns and the next one I find for reasonable will be mine. Fo Sho! 150gr Speer works wonders in them as well, excellent deer round and can be downloaded with some RE 15 to achieve a nice comfy round that will kill whitetail size game without remorse. Enjoy that rifle!