Savage or Milsurp???

[SSN Vet]

I'm looking to buy my first bolt action rifle.

Intended use is target shooting @ 200 yds and longer (don't have a place to shoot longer yet, but 200 yds is 2 miles down the road).

I intend to scope the rifle.

I intend to "roll my own" and have fun working up accurate loads for the rifle.

Small probablility of hunting with the rifle...but I have other tools for that.

I don't have much to spend.

I had been planning on a Savage 11 series or a Stevens 200, in either .308 or .30-06.

but....

I read some recent threads that got me to thinking a K-31 might fit the bill for less.

Maybe some of you guys can help sort out some thoughts.

Does the K-31 sound like a good candidate for what I'm looking to do?

7.5x55 Swiss brass isn't exactly falling off of trees....but once I buy 100 factory rounds, I would likely be good to go for quite a while. Is the milsurp brass any good? I don't want to get stuck buying Norma at a buck a case.

Haven't checked closely into bullet availability and prices, but am assuming Speer, Hornady, etc... all have it.

Is the K-31 a hard kicking rifle?

What's the LOP on the K-31?

How heavy is the K-31?

Whats the drill to mount a scope on a K-31? Is it expensive to do?

How much "risk" is there when buying a K-31 that it will be "a shooter"?

Any other considerations?

Thanks in advance.

 

[BADUNAME13]

I shot a buddy's K-31 the other day. 200 yards offhand we were NAILING a 12 by 12 inch plate. (Not that hard, but offhand, open sites, first shots...)

I'm gonna need to get one...

Slick handler also.

There is a clamp on scope mount avalable. It's expensive (~$100) but IMHO it's worth it not to MANGLE a fine Milsurp.

The way I understand it, is that your pretty sure of getting a good shooting K31

 

[cmidkiff]

I've got a few Savage rifles... they've all been good, problem free shooters.

There's nothing wrong with the K31... fine gun, really... but it's not designed or intended for 200 yard bench shooting.

A Savage or Stevens (savage without the accutrigger) would be my pick for your stated purpose. With Savage's easy-change barrel system and the wide variety of after market stocks, barrels, and accessories, you can do just about anything you might desire with that platform. (though I'm a model 12 fan, rather than the model 11...)

Enjoy, either way

 

[cracked butt]

I really like the K-31 for what you get:

$100-150 for th rifle
$70 for a St Marie or Accumount clamp on scope rail.
$30 for a decent set of rings.
$??? however much you want to spend on a scope.

Here's one of mine with a clamp on Accumount rail, and a Simmons 3-9 x42 scope:




That particular rifle is far more beat up that the usual K-31 but I only paid $59 for it as a 'gunsmith special' a year or so ago

 

[cracked butt]

Reloading is no problem with the 7.5x55, just use 284 winchester brass which is pretty common.

 

[Red Tornado]

When I started reading the first thing I thought was K31. If you're reloading, the ammo cost won't be a major problem. Get 100 rounds of PRVI and you're good to go.

The Savage 11 or Stevens 200 might outshoot it, but not by much if any. They're not the same as the heavy barreled Savage 10's and 12's that shoot 1/2 MOA or less.

I imagine you could get any of the 3 to shoot about MOA(or close) with the right load, but the Savages will be around for years, and the K31's might not. Also, I guarantee you that the K31 is a better built rifle. A marvel of Swiss engineering.

I've got the St. Maries' mount (looks strangely like CB's) and it's rock solid.

If you get the K31, and don't like it, you won't lose any money. If you keep it for 2 months, you can probably make a small profit.

In short:
Blah blah blah....go milsurp...yada yada yada...history...blah blah blah...straight pull....yada yada yada...real wood...and so on.

RT

 

[SSN Vet]

two things....

1.) I'll confess ignorance and admit I don't know what the straight pull thing is all about.....

no rotation of the bolt?

how's it held in shut?

2.) can you drill and tap a K31 for a more standard scope mount and avoid the expensive clamp on thingy? (heresy of altering a "piece of history" aside). $80 for a clamp on mount just put the K31 at the same price point as the Stevens at Dick's.

 

[Car Knocker]

1. The bolt does rotate - the handle doesn't.

2. The scope has to be offset to allow loading and ejection.

 

[longhorngunman]

St. Marie makes a permanent mount that mounts on the left of the reciever for around $40 I think. Also they're various scout type mounts that replace the rear leaf sight. I don't think you can go wrong with a K31 and they will shoot with rifles costing 6-7 times their price. Get a couple hundred rounds of Prvi Partisan at www.aimsurplus.com or sometimes www.grafs.com has 7.5 brass and you'll be good to go for a long time. I compared the cost difference between a nicely scoped K31 and buying the cheap Savage .308 and changing out the Simmons scope for decent glass, it was still cheaper to go with the K31 and have a great shooting rifle that will do nothing but appreciate in value.

 

[longhorngunman]

Might check out www.swissrifles.com , great sight for all things Swiss.

 

[cracked butt]

2.) can you drill and tap a K31 for a more standard scope mount and avoid the expensive clamp on thingy? (heresy of altering a "piece of history" aside). $80 for a clamp on mount just put the K31 at the same price point as the Stevens at Dick's.

A good reasoning for the clamp on mount other than the argument for not permanantly altering a rifle, is that a lot fo people who have a K-31, often have 2 or 3 or a dozen more of these rifles, I'm up to 7 myself. The clamp on mount is very solid and can be changed from one rifle to the next in a few minutes time. If I had only 1 rifle, a drill and tap mount would make more sense.

 

[doubleg]

I got the savage and I love it!

 

[Essex County]

My favorite K-31 has Pierre's clamp on mount with a Weaver scope. It's a very workable set up and I wouldn't go to the hassle of drilling and tapping. It's a tremendous rifle and I handload for mine. Everyone should have one. I consider the .308 Savage more practical for the average person. Mounts are cheaper and commercial ammo is relatively inexpensive. I'd go for one first. Essex