How-to hand pick a K-31?

[buzzcut]

Thanks for the help....

0) How do I pick the best one? Look for least wear, best wood, or what? (please be honest, I'm not likely competing with your selection )

1) What are good/bad signs to check?

2) Are some production years better than others? Markings?

3) How do I check that "the one" is in good shape?

4) Obviously the bore is important; how do I take out the bolt?

5) I don't have go/no-go gauges, so do I just try to notice wear or erosion in the chamber?

Thanks again,
Buzz



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[TechBrute]

Tag, because I want one of these, too.

 

[Dionysusigma]

0) Yes. Metal condition will tell you a lot. If it's pitted right there on the visible barrel and receiver, who knows what else might be wrong? Also, if the metal is perfect (I've seen at least one that way ) then that's a pretty good indication that the rest of the gun was taken care of well. Wood is almost always in bad condition for milsurps, but it can be refinished easily.

1) Bore (duh), muzzle, and as many internal surfaces as you can. Don't worry about the buttplate, etc. Look for honest wear, like thinning of bluing near raised and exposed points. This shows that it was used, and is probably in original condition. Check numbers on receiver, bolt, magazine, and so on.

2) Dunno. They're pretty impressive as is--Sig, Hammerli, and so on all collaborating on one project.

3) See #1 and 2.

4) There is a small switch near the rear of the receiver on the right side. Open the bolt as far as it will go. Press the aforementioned switch down (as in toward the trigger guard), not in (as in toward the ejection port). Continue to pull the bolt back until it slides out. Kinda like the Mauser.

5) Dunno.


Wish I could be more of a help... I've not picked one out (yet).

 

[cracked butt]

0) How do I pick the best one? Look for least wear, best wood, or what? (please be honest, I'm not likely competing with your selection

Best wood is a good start. Walnut is generally considered more desirable than beech and is easier to touch up the finish on to make it look good. Check for obvious damage and abuse, the first inch of the buttstock especially the toe will almost always be water damaged and rough- there isn't much you can do about that. Check the bore- it should be nice and shiny after you run a few patches through it, pitting is pretty rare but I have a rifle with some pitting in the barrel- it still shoots good. Close the bolt, decock the firing pin and open the action- opening should be fairly smooth, if one rifle takes a lot more effort to open than another, it means some of the parts are worn on the stiffer rifle- I have one of these too, its a bit more of a nuisance than a real problem.

2) Are some production years better than others? Markings?

Years from 1943 and earlier should have walnut stocks, other than that, I don't think there are too many variations. Some of the very early production years and late production years are pretty rare. Here's a list of build dates by serial numbers http://www.radix.net/~bbrown/schmidt_rubin.html

3) How do I check that "the one" is in good shape?

Have faith in the rifle- the k-31 that I have that is in worst condition is still a better shooter than any of my mauser 98s, mosins, etc.

) Obviously the bore is important; how do I take out the bolt?

There is a large horizontal lever on the right side of the reciver just above the magazine- push it down and the bolt will come out.

5) I don't have go/no-go gauges, so do I just try to notice wear or erosion in the chamber?

If the serial number on the bolt matches the receiver, headspace isn;'t even an issue with these rifles. Many of these rifles were issued to only one soldier who kept the rifle its entire service life- at a certain age (around 48-50) the soldier had the option of buying the rifle or turning it in to a government armory- the ones that got turned in are the ones in shops here today.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

I checked the exterior, the bore, made sure the numbers matched and the wood was good.

From there is was just small things for me. In the end I got the best looking one I could find, then haggled for a sling and muzzle cap.

Worse of them I have seen had rough wood and some exterior finish wear. I haven't seen one yet with a bad bore (not that I've checked 100's, just 10-20).

I don't think any of the markings are going to make a difference.

It's a great gun. Especially for the price!

 

[Gordon Fink]

My technique was to pay AIM Surplus $10 extra to send me a K-31 with a walnut stock. What arrived was a rifle with metal that looked factory fresh and wood that showed only minor wear.

All in all, I won’t have to do any restoration work on this rifle. Kind of disappointing actually … Now all I need is some ammo … and another K-31. Can’t get that lucky twice in a row, can I?

~G. Fink

 

[buzzcut]

Tag, because I want one of these, too

Yeah these old obsolete rifles are OK I guess, for such an old obsolete rifle

Can’t get that lucky twice in a row, can I?

No, it's my turn.......... Is gloating permitted on The High Road?


Thanks for the info everyone. What cleaning brush size fits this bore? Who offers the best price for milsurp ammo online?


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[jbweld]

Hand pick K31

Okay, ya want a K31. Are you going to shoot alot or just stand it in a corner and look at it? The reason I ask is alot of folks seem to want the earlier ones with walnut stocks. The walnut stocks do look better than the beech. In total production numbers, there were more K31's made with walnut then beech. These rifles are also the older ones. If you had a 33 and a 58 dated manufacture rifles, which one do you think would have more throat erosion, barrel wear etc.... Hmmm? There is also a time period when the Swiss changed from chrome nickel to chrome moly. Think it was 44. Anywho's they only did it for a bit and then went back to chrome nickel. Chrome moly is used alot in modern guns, so it probably is not that big of a deal. But ya got to wonder why they changed it and then went back to what they were using. If you run across a 33 manf. date, buy it. If you don't like it, sell it on a online auction and make some money. Plenty of guys who got 20 of them that want the 1st year of production. Same goes for 58, last year. I would go for one that was made in the 50's or has a refurb date in the 50's. My best shooter is a 39 that was refurbed in 58. Probably got a new barrel and did not see much use till it got put in storage.

 

[Cosmoline]

For shooting or collecting? The collector's value at this point in most K-31's is nearly nil. There are still a ton of them on the market for under $100 and unlike Mosins and Mausers there aren't any ultra-rare carbines or subtypes of the K-31 (AFAIK). For collectors, the Swiss rifles to grab now are the true Schmidt-Rubins, which do have a number of sub-types and which have been going up in value a lot lately. In a decade or so the prices on K-31's will certainly be higher, but how much higher is anyone's guess. I suspect you have a few years to grab them cheap.

For shooting, the wood doesn't seem to matter at all as far as I can tell. I've had ones with horrible wood and ones with new wood with no difference in the way they shot. In fact I found the K-31's to be the most consistently accurate C&R's I've ever owned & shot. With GP-11 they all seem to be excellent shooters so long as the bore is good and the crown is good. On most both will be.

Remember to check under the buttplate for a secret.

 

[buzzcut]

My uses for the K-31 would be occasional shooting for accuracy amusement, to settle a curiousity about straight-pull bolt engineering, admiration of Swiss quality and beauty, and for possible future appreciation.

What common cartridge is the Swiss round comparable to in bullet weight and ballistics? Would I be better off getting something like a Savage 110 in a common round first? Should I just get both?




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[Cosmoline]

The Swiss K-31's fire 7.5x55. The most common type is GP-11 ball, some of the best ball ammo ever made by any nation. Its loaded with a 174 grain spitzer at about 2,600 fps. That's on par with standard .30 caliber loadings during WWI and WWII. It's VERY accurate ammo. Getting ammunition is currently the only drawback to K-31's. It's not as tough as it was five years ago, but I'd say it's only really going to work if you can handload.

 

[Third_Rail]

Basically, if it's a K31 good luck getting anything BUT a good condition one!


EDIT: And Cosmoline isn't kidding - check under the buttplate after you buy it.

 

[buzzcut]

What optics mounts are available for the K-31? Being known for accuracy, I assume it's shooters are using scopes? Old milspec or new with adaptors?


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[jacketch]

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[jacketch]

What optics mounts are available for the K-31? Being known for accuracy, I assume it's shooters are using scopes? Old milspec or new with adaptors?


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Go to www.brownells.com and look for the St. Marie Graphics K31 scope mount. S&K also makes a scout mount.

www.swissrifles.com has lots of good info on the K31.

In addition to milsurp GP11 ammo, you can get Prvi Partisan 7.5x55 boxer primed ammo. Wolf has just come out with brass cased, boxer primed 7.5 Swiss ammo.

 

[Cosmoline]

On the swissrifles site there are links to makers of scope mounts and target sights. The St. Marie ones are top of the line and are used by the Swiss in rifle competitions.

 

[buzzcut]

I just held a K-31 for the first time. How can you tell if one has been refurbished, and when?

Dumb Q: I don't know my wood types at all.... what's the visual difference between walnut and beech, the grain pattern or what? Are they stained the same color? Was there a reason some were made in beech (any advantage)?


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[Dionysusigma]

Walnut = Brown color, relatively tight grain. More "character" to it (swirls, etc.)
Beech = Orange color, well-spaced grain. Not much character at all.

I think the reason for change is that walnut is more expensive. Both are decently robust woods, though.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

What cleaning brush size fits this bore?

.30 Cal. Er, wait. Trick question. I've never used a brush in mine, just a patch on a .30 Cal jag, with some CLP. It's still a mirror in there.

Regards.

 

[TexAg]

GP-11 isn't corrosive is it?

 

[cracked butt]

not corrosive

 

[jbweld]

I just held a K-31 for the first time. How can you tell if one has been refurbished, and when?

Dumb Q: I don't know my wood types at all.... what's the visual difference between walnut and beech, the grain pattern or what? Are they stained the same color? Was there a reason some were made in beech (any advantage)?


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If the rifle has been refurbed the year will be stamped on the receiver tang behind the safety. You can't go by color alone to tell walnut from beech. There are some light colored walnut stocks. Beech does not really have much of a grain pattern. It also exhibits little swirls or half moons in the cut on top of the handguard and the bottom of the stock. There is a word for that, but I can't remember at the moment. The year the stock was made is stamped under the buttplate. I believe that they changed from walnut to beech in 44 or 45.

 

[jbweld]

For shooting or collecting? The collector's value at this point in most K-31's is nearly nil. There are still a ton of them on the market for under $100 and unlike Mosins and Mausers there aren't any ultra-rare carbines or subtypes of the K-31 (AFAIK).

First and last year production are getting a premium price from collector's. There are also the rifles that were sent to the Vatican. I imagine if they ever show up on the market, they would be worth more to collectors too.

 

[Cosmoline]

That's good to know. Though the only Swiss Guard related items I've seen were some GP-11 marked "Vatikan" someone had managed to find. An actual Vatican marked K-31 would have great value but I suspect we'll never see them.

I still say, though, if you're wanting to put money into Swiss rifles as an investment snatch up whatever 1911's and 96/11's you can still find on the market. They've been going up in value but not everyone realizes it. They're also very elegant rifles and my 96/11 was even more accurate than a K-31.

 

[cracked butt]

You can't go by color alone to tell walnut from beech.

That's correct. The difference can be pretty subtle sometimes.

Top walnut. Bottom Beech.