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Practically Shooting

My K31 Schmidt Ruben Swiss Rifle (pics)


Tom

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I bought a Swiss K31 rifle a couple of weeks ago. They have a unique straight pull bolt that works well and they are made with the quality the Swiss are known for. It's chambered in 7.5x55 Swiss which is a right in between a .308 and .30-06 and uses .308 diameter bullets for reloading.

They often have a name tag under the butt plate. The Swiss Army keeps their rifles and a sealed ammo pack at home for many many years and may have only ever been issued to one person.

My rifle was once issued to Josef Muller, born in 1934. He was a Train Soldier in the 4th company, 80 battalion in Bennenmoos, Mühlrüti, SG

Mine was made in 1952. They typically have beaten up stocks but the metal and bore is in great condition.

I cleaned and lightly sanded the stock then oiled and waxed it. I wanted to clean up the finish but leave the character.

I made a very short video of the unique straight pull action:

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  • 4 weeks later...

Nice looking K31. I had to refresh my memory, but mine was indeed made the same year as yours. S/N 985,4xx.

They sure are neat rifles. The Swiss were, and still are, passionate about accuracy. When they were testing pistols to replace the Luger, they debated long and hard about switching to 9mm from the 7.65 Luger cartridge because of the slight accuracy difference. If they did so much hand wringing and agonizing over a slight edge in pistol cartridge mechanical accuracy, you can guess how obsessed they are with rifles.

I love looking at the metal work on these. They are like Swedish Mausers in that the steel looks like artwork. Some people have questioned if the tight tolerances might hamper function in bad conditions, but I don't care. It's fascinating to look at.

It's also interesting how the metal is so beautiful but the wood...uh...usually isn't. I know the stocks got a beating when the rifle was used for ladder rungs and everything else, but I think the majority of them were far from pretty to start with.

One of the places (now closed) where I used to shoot Highpower held a Vintage Rifle match every October. Anything WWII or older was allowed. I loved that match for all the odd rifles that came crawling out of safes. Two guys always brought K31s, and even then (early-mid 90s) they were almost exotic rifles because you just didn't see them. They have started to dry up now, so I'm afraid they will soon be back to that status.

I sure wish I had bought more K31s when they were more plentiful in the surplus racks at shops.

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  • 9 months later...

If you wanna win military shoots, the K31 is the one to get..

Possibly the most accurate of the surplus rifles from WWII. Though the Swiss K31 ain't easy to find anymore.

Took me a long time to find the K31 I bought and it wasnt cheap either! Worth it YES! As far as WWII era rifles this is the best and possibly the most interesting. It really sucks how expensive the rounds are. Wish this K31 had a strong following like Mosin-Nagants do today. Then maybe Id be able to get round at any ammo shop.
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The ammo is priced the same as any other commercial ammo. In fact the surplus is match grade and a bargain at only about $0.59/rd. Its just not as cheap as Russian surplus.

It is hard to find at a local store. Easy to find online and easy to reload.

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  • 1 year later...

If anyone is interested, I got an email from AIM Surplus today, listing more Swiss rifles. They have the 1896/11 ($279.95) the 1911 ($259.95), and the 1911 carbine ($269.95).

http://www.aimsurplus.com/catalog.aspx?groupid=209

GP11 ammo:

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?i...amp;groupid=738

They have trade-in S&W M&P 40 pistols too, for $379.95.

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  • 1 year later...

Surplus ammo here is 300 bucks for 480 rounds of gp-11. You can or shouldn't hunt with it though. It's easily match grade. 

  Mine is made in 1958. It had a name behind the buck plate. 

They are a fantastic rifle and because most shot the gp-11 ammo the bores are in very good shape. 

   Mine has the lighter stock. Made in '58,the last year they were made if I remember correctly. These rifles with gp-11 ammo can shoot moa which is fantastic for a old mil spec rifle. 

  Got mine for 299.99 at wholesale sports about a month ago. Grabbing another box of ammo today. 

  Berdan primers suck. 257602 is my serial number. This old girl kicks harder than my 7mm rem mag,and with the gp-11 ammo will punch straight thru a 16" spruce at 100 yards. 

  I got a clamp on scope mount and fitted a vortex crossfire 4-12 on it. My favorite old school rifle by far. The pull action is reliable as heck. And fast. I can send all 6 down range faster then a common bolt action. 

   And most were in great shape as far as barrels are concerned. After buying this one I wanted another to play with. Was going to free float the barrel,new stock etc. Then I learned that the Swiss actually tuned each and every k-31. If you look at the front of the stock on the bottom there is a point where it's built up. So only that point touches the barrel. That's on purpose. It works with the harmonics of the bore making each gun as accurate as possible. Each one is different and done custom before the rifle left the factory. 

   So anyway I apparently bought the last one in western Canada that wholesale sports had and they weren't getting anymore. 

  And 300 bucks was a steal. If I had the numbers matching bayonet it could be worth 1000+ from what I understand. 

  However I couldn't sell it. I like it way too much. Shooting is my only hobby and I've found it to be the most fun I have. I just couldn't part with it. I get more than 300 bucks worth of relaxation from shooting this rifle. And that to me is priceless. 

    These are the sniper rifles of old military surplus rifles. The mosin,Lee enfield,m1 just can't compete with the accuracy of these old guns. 

  And the world record longest shot with open sights is held using this model rifle. It's on YouTube if you want to see the guy making the shots. Mile and a quarter iirc. 

   Long range shooters of Utah is the channel on YouTube if interested. 

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  • 3 months later...

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Tom, Clevy and others inspired me...and I thank you for doing so...

This is the rifle that Mrs. Astro got me for Christmas.

It shoots very well.  Not crazy recoil, but you feel it, about like a 1903 Springfield...I'm using the Prvi Partizan 7.5mm FMJ, which I got for $15/box.  I only bought 10 boxes...but now wish I had bought twice that as it seems to be out of stock...

Love the straight pull action.  It works smoothly when moved with "authority"...baby it and it seems notchy...I used TW-25B grease as the only waffenfett I could find was more collector's item than gun care product.

Cleaned the rifle when I got it, and of course, the patches came out quite black...reckon that was the Automattenfett...a bit of Linseed oil on the stock and she looks just great.

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