[6530]

I recently picked up a new (to me) Schmidt-Rubin K31 and am looking forward to shooting it for the first time. However, before I do, I think I should get it checked by a gunsmith to make sure it's not going to blow up on me.

If I walk into the local shop and ask for the smith to "check it out" I worry about the bill being more than the cost of the gun. Is there anything specific I should ask for on a C&R (and on the K31 in particular), and what can be checked other than general condition, headspace, & borescoping?

[ocabj]

Other than checking headspace, there's not much you need to ask a gunsmith to look for that you can't check for yourself. Obviously you should strip the rifle down to check for broken parts, cracks in receiver, barrel condition, etc, and give the rifle a thorough clenaing. You should make sure the safety works properly.

[cracked butt]

If other than the furniture on the rifle doesn't look badly abused, I would shoot it with confidence.

[BenW]

I think you have little to worry about regarding headspace on a K-31. I have headspace gauges for other milsurps, but not the K-31s.

That being said, I'm a big chicken. Anytime I acquire a new milsurp, I do the "tire fire" routine. I tie the rifle down to an old tire, tie a string to the trigger, and shoot 2-3 rounds out of it "remotely." I then take a wire which I have bent at 90 degs in the first half inch, and run it down the inside of the spent cases. If everything feels smooth, I'm generally confident that the rifle is good to go (after also examining the case for other signs of problems).

DISCLAIMER: I ain't no gunsmith -- I picked this routine up from one of the milsurp forums.

[444]

First of all, if you are worried about the cost being more than that of the gun, you obviously don't place much value on your personal health/safety/life. If you honetly believe that the rifle is going to blow up, what does the cost of the rifle have to do with preventing it ? Long story short: if you are worried about it, take it to a gunsmith and cost shouldn't be an issue.

Back to reality, for me personally, it would be a waste of time and money to have a K31 "checked out". The gun is not going to blow up from any misadjustment or defect in the rifle. About the only way the gun could blow up is from grossly overloaded ammunition and that would probably have to be grossly overloaded ammunition that was loaded with some kind of fast burning pistol powder (assuming the bore isn't plugged).

[mainmech48]

If it'll ease your mind, have him look it over carefully and check the headspace. Be aware that if he doesn't already have the proper gauges, you'll eat the cost.

Otherwise, do a thorough and critical strip-and-inspect followed by the suggested remote firing and inspection of the fired cases.

Swiss surplus rifles haven't seen the real abuse and neglect which some combat "vets" or Third World turn-ins have been subjected to. The Swiss reservists were required to keep their issue weapon in their homes and developed a genuine proprietary interest in their upkeep.

The stocks may have gotten banged around during drills and manuevers, but the mechanical condition got lots of attention.

[lotus]

My K31 is the finest milsurp rifle I've ever seen. Smooth action, incredible trigger. I can't believe how nice they are.

[Bear Gulch]

Lots of C&R shooters started out with the lanyard and spare tire method. Where if the gun doesn't blow up during the first few "test shots", it is assumed to be safe. Have your smith show you how to test headspace and then buy guages for the calibers that you are apt to collect.

[6530]

First of all, if you are worried about the cost being more than that of the gun, you obviously don't place much value on your personal health/safety/life. If you honetly believe that the rifle is going to blow up, what does the cost of the rifle have to do with preventing it ? Long story short: if you are worried about it, take it to a gunsmith and cost shouldn't be an issue.

I would say that's not obvious at all. In fact, to say that it's obvious that I don't place much value on my personal health/safety/life is absurd. If I didn't, do you think I would have posted this question? Not likely - I probably would have gone out back and fired off a few rounds.

Anyway, my point is this: I don't want to walk into a shop and say "Check this rifle out for me." That's an invitation to charge me for work that doesn't really need to be done. In my mind to do so would be akin to walking into an auto repair shop and saying "Check this car out for me. I'll pay for whatever work you do."

Since I am new to C&Rs (though not to guns) I would like to educate myself prior to walking in the shop with respect to specific items that I should be aware of on C&R rifles and K31s in particular beyond the normal concerns associated with used guns (e.g. headspacing and borescoping). With that knowledge I would hope to be able to give some reasonably informed instructions, maybe something like "check the headspace and borescope the barrel, and if you find anything let me know."

Back to reality, for me personally, it would be a waste of time and money to have a K31 "checked out". The gun is not going to blow up from any misadjustment or defect in the rifle. About the only way the gun could blow up is from grossly overloaded ammunition and that would probably have to be grossly overloaded ammunition that was loaded with some kind of fast burning pistol powder (assuming the bore isn't plugged).

It's fair to say that you, on the other hand, clearly don't place much value on your personal health/safety/life since you consider it a "waste of time and money to have a K31 'checked out.'"

[cracked butt]

The K-31s got very little use other than the abuse of being carried around alot. The soldiers who were issued the rifles, generally kept the rifles through its entire lifespan unless it had to be repaired. There was no communal or group ownership of the rifles as seen with most militaries of the world.

If the serial number on the bolt matches the receiver, as it will nearly 100% of the time, and you have disassembled and cleaned the bolt, bore, locking recesses in the receiver, and have not found anything broken along the way, I would have just as much confidence in shooting a K-31 as I would a new remington 700, maybe even more so as these rifles were built to tighter tolerances than the remington.


With other milsurp rilfes, I bury it with sandbags and pull the trigger with a string if I don't have at least a field headspace guage for it.

[jefnvk]

Where if the gun doesn't blow up during the first few "test shots", it is assumed to be safe.

I don't know if I trust that method anymore, for two reasons:

1) I sold my Yugo SKS. The second time the guy had it out, he blew it up. Now, I can't say whether or not he was using the right ammo (he said it was some old military stuff), but it does make me think.

2) There was an incident that I read about, the guy did that for the first few shots. IIRC, it was the 6th or 7th shot when the gun let go.

Now, if it were a K31, I wouldn't worry much, same with my Swede and M1. Something that came from Russia or Yugoslavia or China though, I might.

[rust collector]

Another vote for clean, inspect and enjoy. These are sturdy rifles that were well kept and poor condition would not be tolerated. If your bolt matches your receiver and the serial number is at 12:00 sharp when the bolt is slammed shut, there will be no drama. Use GP11 or commercial ammo and another variable in the gun integrity equation is removed.

Caution is advisable with very old, rechambered or poorly maintained rifles whether they are milsurps or not. Please feel free to have a gunsmith check it out if only for your peace of mind, but get an estimate before ordering the work and make your own cost/benefit analysis.

You will enjoy that K31, I guarantee. You don't often get that much precision for chump change anymore, so I tend to accumulate them.

[BenW]

Where if the gun doesn't blow up during the first few "test shots"
Just to clarify my earlier post, I DO headspace check my milsurp Mausers and Mosins, then still test fire them with the string on the trigger.

I have just never felt it necessary to put a headspace gauge in a K-31 that after careful inspection and disassembly otherwise looks in fine shape . Just like I wouldn't headspace check and remote fire a new Rem 700 or similar. :)

[ocabj]

Who makes headspace gauges for the 7.5x55 Swiss? Forster doesn't have it in their product line and I couldn't find one by Pacific in Midway's catalog.

[rust collector]

Headspace gauges would probably have to have two series--one for the original Schmidt-Rubin or 1911 chamber, and another for the slightly modified K31 chamber. That and limited demand probably makes them scarce.

[6530]

Headspace gauges would probably have to have two series--one for the original Schmidt-Rubin or 1911 chamber, and another for the slightly modified K31 chamber. That and limited demand probably makes them scarce.

I looked around at Midway & Brownells, then widened my search, but was unable to find headspace gauges for 7.5x55 Swiss. Evidently they're not readily available.

All the numbers match on my K31s, and they're in fine shape, so I'll probably go with the disasemble, clean, inspect, and shoot routine.

Thanks to all for your replies.

[444]

"It's fair to say that you, on the other hand, clearly don't place much value on your personal health/safety/life since you consider it a "waste of time and money to have a K31 'checked out.'"

No, this would be incorrect.
My physical safety has a much higher price tag that the cost of a milsurp rifle. The reason I wouldn't waste my time having a K31 "checked out" has absolutely nothing to do with money. To begin with, the rilfes were headspaced correctly to begin with. If the bolt matches the action, what would cause the headspace to be excessive now ? Then we get into the whole Swiss philosophy on rifles and marksmanship. The Swiss were required to qualify with those rifles every year. They also shot these rifles in competition which is a very popular activity in that country. During their annual qualification the rifles were inspected. If the rifle was damaged, the soldier had to pay for the repair out of his own pocket. For example, if there was muzzle wear due to a soldier incorrectly cleaning his rifle, he had to pay for a new barrel out of his pocket.
Long story even longer: the odds of your K31 being unsafe are nill.
But, if it makes you feel better, pay to have it checked out. Your piece of mind and safety is worth far more than the cost of the rifle.

[LightningLink]

In my opinion it would depend on where it's been.

If you bought it directly from one of the distributors (SOG, Century, AIM, J&G, etc), then I would say "disassemble, clean and inspect" should be sufficient. One of the reasons these are such awesome rifles is because they were carried a lot, fired little and very well maintained. When I fire a new milsurp, I usually line up the rifle's sights, then move my head back out of the way (in case of exploding bolt) and fire. I then inspect the spent casing for signs of splits, stretching or bulges. I do this with 3 to 5 rounds checking after each one.

If, however, you bought it from an individual and you do not know it's history since import, then you might want to have it looked at by a gunsmith. The two things that I would be concerned about would be:

1) Was it rechambered? Because 7.5 Swiss was an uncommon round a few years ago, someone could have had it rechambered to something like .308. Of course, it should be properly marked but you never know.

2) Was it fired with unsafe handloads that put the headspace out of whack or otherwise harmed the rifle. Basically have it headspaced and inspect the chamber, bore and barrel for signs of excessive pressure.

HTH,
LL

[Bear Gulch]

Keep an ey on your fired case necks and shoulders for splitting and bloating. I would suggest also that you check out Milsurp shooter' forums. Hee you can find exhaustive resources on headspacing and smithing your C&Rs.

[ARperson]

I've got 4 K31 rifles. I love them so much I've been thinking of changing my handle to "swissmiss."

Anyhow, my take on the whole thing is to clean and inspect it thoroughly. It's a very simple rifle and take down is about as easy as they come. (Don't forget to check under the buttplate for a nice historical suprise...if you're lucky!) With any newly acquired firearm, I make sure that my head is out of the way if a bolt were to go flying rearward and that my body isn't right on top of the rifle. Make sure the ammo is in good condition. Always start with factory ammo too. If you see anything that makes you concerned about the rifle's ability to function property, take it to a proper gunsmith (none of that guy behind the counter of the local gunshop, unless you trust is knowledge to catch anything that might be wrong with the rifle).

The only problem with the Swisses is that the ammo is so darn expensive. But isn't that the way it always is. Cheap ammo, expensive gun. Expensive ammo, cheap gun.

[6530]

I bought the gun from Allan's Armory; he evidently checks it for condition but does not check for function. The bolt and chamber look great, and the bore looks shiny with sharply defined lands & grooves. I'm not terribly concerned that the rifle's going to blow up on me, but it never hurts to ask those with more experience.

As far as I can tell it hasn't been rechambered, and is clearly marked with 7.5x55 on the barrel along with the importer's name (CAI, I think). I guess I have no idea if it's ever been fired with handloads but I would doubt it.

I've done about as much research as I can stand on the Parallax milsurp rifle site, along with swissrifles.com and a few other sites. I've got a copy of the operator's manual and plan to review comprehensively before firing.

As to ammo, I'm not planning on handloading for this rifle (at least not yet) and expect to use GP11 ammo until the Wolf 7.5x55 comes out later this year. In fact I've got 480 rounds of GP11 on the way from Midway right now.