[baker1425]

I've been looking at those good prices on the K-31s. The ammo is really expensive. Dad says that he used to see them converted to .308 with some regularity.

Anybody done this conversion or had it done?

I would probably get one if I could afford to shoot it.

thanks!

[Jaeger]

Conversions are possible but pretty expensive. It would be MUCH more cost effective to reload your own ammo. Components are readily available and inexpensive.
Should you choose to load your own you will find plenty of help here!

[Don Gwinn]

I looked at that after a friend gave me a .308 rifle as I have plans to acquire more, but I agree with Jaeger (not that it would make much difference if I disagreed with him about gunsmithing) ;)

I just bought 7.5 Swiss dies. The brass is getting harder to find for cheap, at least with boxer priming, but the bullets are the same and it even seems like the same weights work pretty well in both my rifles. YMMV.

[jefmad]

.284 brass can be used in a pinch for the 7.5 Swiss. Just size the brass, trim, and then make a light load to fire form the brass and you are all set. While 284 still is not very common, everybody makes brass for it.

[Cosmoline]

Most of the converted Swiss rifles I've seen have been 1911's, not K-31's. The actions aren't quite as strong as K-31's, and I'd stay away from light magnum .308 loads for sure. The GP-11 swiss ball was on par with 7.62 NATO in pressure, I believe.

I had one of the conversions and it worked OK, but it's not as hard to get or make Swiss ammo now.

[Jaeger]

Graf and Sons (http://www.grafs.com/bulkByBagQty.cfm/startItem/1) carries dedicated brass for the 7.5X55. (made by Hornady) I have a bunch of .284 brass that I've resized and used and it works great.
It's a pretty easy caliber to reload for.

Here's (http://www.lprgunsmith.com/K31_rifles.htm) a link for the conversion work.

[Jim K]

Hi, baker1425,

The K-31 could be converted to .308/7.62 NATO only by rebarrelling. Rechambering obviously would not work, as the .308 is not only shorter but slimmer than the 7.5x55. And the way that K-31 barrel is made, it would not only not be feasible to set the barrel back, but IMHO, it could be dangerous.

With a rebarrelling job running a couple of hundred dollars or more, reloading is really the only practical approach. I had heard that a U.S. maker was going to turn out some ammo or cases, but I can't find the caliber listed on any of their web sites.

There was a whole batch of Portuguese-made 7.5x55 imported not long ago and it is Boxer primed and excellent brass. The Swiss military match ammo on the market is, of course, Berdan primed. I also hesitate to mention this, and don't recommend it, but a whole lot of reformed .30-'06 or 8x57 brass has been fired in Swiss rifles with no problem except swelled cases. (Don't forget neck reaming if you rework cases like that.)

Jim

[Sleeping Dog]

then make a light load to fire form the brass

I've always used "normal" loads. One shot, and the brass is fire-formed. Is it better to use a light load?

Regards.

[mainmech48]

Have to agree that reloading is the most cost-effective way to go here. Rebarreling isn't a DIY thing for most folks, and both the new barrel and the work would be semi-expensive.

When I bought my K-31, I also bought several boxes of Portugese FMN commercial ammo off a fellow on Gun Broker for less than $8/box shipped in ten box lots.

While it wasn't as accurate as the Swiss surplus G-11 stuff in my rifle, the brass has held up nicely. I'm still working with the same 100 cases that I started with. Six reloadings and haven't had to even trim one yet.

Lee dies are cheap and work well. Bullets are standard .30 cal, and weights from 147 to 200 gr will work fine. My best accuracy has been with 180 gr., but 168 gr. is a close second.

Of course, if you don't want to mess with reloading at all and would just like an inexpensive surplus military rifle in .308/7.62x51 to shoot, I'd recommend that you look for a nice Ishapore SMLE 2A. They're a gas to plink with and generally quite accurate. Price would be about the same as a nice K-31, at least around here.

[kaferhaus]

to burn, I guess re-barreling would be okay.

Financially a very poor "investment". But if you just want something to be different, I could see it.

I would just buy some dies and reload for the thing....

for the price of a re-barrel you could buy a nice Remchestersavage that'll shoot better and have a better resale value when you finally get tired of it.

I don't even build up Mausers anymore because it's just not worth it... even if I get the receiver for next to nothing by the time I buy a barrel, stock, safety, and trigger, I could have bought a nice rifle from across the counter... and that's even though I do all the machine work myself....

[greg531mi]

Hornady I heard is going to make 7.5 swiss.....With all the guns coming in, I think most of the major players are going to make this round for a number of years........

[iamkris]

Lee dies -- $17
Graf's 7.5x55 Swiss brass 100 pcs -- $27
1 lb IMR 3031 -- $16
Speer 180 gr .308 bullets -- $15

No longer crabbing about expensive 7.5 Swiss ammo prices and shooting a really cool caliber -- priceless