Swiss K31

[Bullseye_shooter]

My whole team and I went down to Fort Dix just to have a little fun with our rifles,shotguns, and pistols. Anyway someone just got a Mauser 98k and it was a dream to shoot. While searching for any dealers with a 98k, I came across this baby.

It is said to be more accurate than the Mauser, and the straight-back bolt is pretty nifty. I am not interested in the zfh55 unless they are in the price range of the K31. The sniper variant I saw for sale was said to be 5000.
Any help will be appreciated in my quest to accquire one of these. Ammo is not problem either because Midway sells non-corosive AMAZING quality mil-surp cheap. Holding these old yet accurate rifles gives me a sense of nostalgia.

--- Bullseye

 

[degunner]

C&R licensees can have one sent to the house for about 250 for a nice walnut stock, birch is offered as well. No C&R will cost you more not sure how much, cool thing is if you remove the butt plate sometimes there is a plasticy type paper with a name and address on it, this tells you who the rifle was issued to since all swiss men of age (not sure exact ages) serve in the national guard. Rifles, ruck, uniform and ammo at home ready to go!

 

[Snowdog]

Holding these old yet accurate rifles gives me a sense of nostalgia.

It keeps 'em from chirping for a few days too. I completely agree with the nostalgia aspect of old surplus, it caused me to buy quite a few. One continues to allude me though, a 1903 Springfield. I've been wanting one for ages but always seem to miss out on the good deals. I've had much better luck with my other C&R purchases though, so I can't really complain much.

I haven't shot my K31 much, perhaps only 40 times. However, I was quite satisfied with the performance of both the rifle and its GP11 ammunition. I was also impressed how well it cleaned up as it came to my door with the stock looking like it single-handedly fought every war since it was born. A little elbow grease and linseed oil.

 

[madcratebuilder]

The Swiss K-31 is an amazing rifle. The quality of the machine work and wood work is closer to a retail target rifle than a mil-surp. Most have excellent bores but you should always check for wear as many of these have been shoot a lot. Per specification a new muzzle would measure 7.51mm and shot out at 7.64mm. The three I have are in the 7.53-7.54 area.

Once I became accustom to the straight pull bolt I actually prefer it to a normal twist bolt action. The K has a good recoil to it and a butt pad of some type well help if you plan on shooting more than a few rounds from it. Swiss Products makes a adapter to use a commercial grind to fit pad and still maintain the original butt piece, or a slip on of some type well make a more enjoyable day of shooting.

There are a half dozen after market "sight correctors" available for the K, from simple elevation only to both elevation and windage with a improved front sight. The Furter corrector is my favorite and is elevation and windage, it replaces the rear assembly.



The K is an easy rifle to scope, Swiss Products and others offer a clamp on mount that is a excellent fit. It does off-set the scope to the right for case ejection.



You mentioned the Zfk, these can be found for less than 5k. With their tilted receiver, heavy stock and integral scope mount they are a very unique rifle, about 4150 made, the are rare.



Swiss products photo
.

The GP11 surplus ammo is excellent quality and should be available for some time to come. At nearly .50 a round it is spendy for surplus, but it's match grade.

 

[AH-1]

I drool everytime I see those pics .
pete

 

[sig220mw]

I got a k-31 from Classic Arms last month, one of their hand picked and it is a beauty. I shot some Privi ammo with it and was only shooting at 50 yards. My eyes are getting old. Anyway the first 2 shots were touching and then the next 2 were also touching. I'm buying some of the GP11 next to see how well it does and then some dies and brass. If the GP11 is better than the privi partizan
it should be impressive. Next step is to get a diopter sight.

 

[Storm]

The Swiss kept the steel/menchanicals of the K31 meticulously. The wood...not so much. You'll often see a lot of dings down by the butt which is said to have been from them kicking the stock with their boots to free the rifle after having been stuck in the snow. The other theory is Swiss beavers. I just refinished a K31 stock and from what I dealt with it could only have been beavers

 

[Bullseye_shooter]

How hard is the ZFK55 to come by, and it is so much more accurate than the K31 I should attempt to find it
The only problem i have with the zfk55 i plan to shoot freehand and its is significantly heavier than the K31
btw, thnaks for all the input 8 hours and i have this many posts!

 

[Hatterasguy]

ZFK55's are not hard to find, just expect to pay between $3k-$4k when you find one.

All Swiss rifles are amazing; buy a K11 to add to the K31 when you get it.

 

[Publius1688]

I've simply got to pick one of these up. It won't be long before the primary market sources are dried up, and prices will move higher. Nothing beats a milsurp rifle for the shooter who likes to tinker, and loves his history.

 

[Storm]

Publius, I felt the same way and now have three of them. Two of them are in orignal configuration and one is a sporter in a Boyds stock to which I am adding back the original iron sights as back-up to the scope that is mounted on the same mount that madecratebuilder is using. I have shot other K31 in the past but have not shot mine yet. These are truly the Swiss watch of military rifles. Prices on these are increasing and will eventually soar as the supply dwindles and folks come to realize what they have missed. For my three K31 I have paid a grand total of $485. That will soon be impossible.

 

[MachIVshooter]

The other theory is Swiss beavers

LMAO

 

[zoom6zoom]

I still need to get a 31. The serial on my K-11 puts it in the last 400 ever built.

 

[jws527]

A K31 was actually the very first rifle I purchased. I originally started with the intention of grabbing a 98k (which I did get, shortly thereafter), but half a dozen people on Sigforums suggested I check out the K31, so I did, and the rest is history. At the time, rifles with great metal/bores and average (beaver-chewed/slightly dull) stocks were selling for around $150. I understand it was possible to get some very nice rifles for under $100 at one point in the not so distant past.

The metal work is absolutely superb--truly exceptional on the milsurp scene and comparable to a lot of high end contemporary rifles. It also shoots extremely well, and the GP-11 ammunition really isn't that expensive (considering it's non-corrosive and practically match grade). I do find, however, that the chunky stock is a bit awkward. To me, the 98k has a more natural feel to it.

I'd have a hard time choosing between the K31 and 98k if I were forced to give one of them up (but I wouldn't put up much of a fuss if my Mosins were on the table instead ). They're not in unlimited supply and have lately been going up in price/value--so the sooner you buy, the better.

 

[Bullseye_shooter]

The nice thing about them some are more accurate than many of the modern rifles and you can get them for very cheap prices.
Does anybody know where i can get one, perferably a walnut stock

 

[LEVRLOVR]

Gunbroker.com

 

[degunner]

jgsales.com if you have your C&R they can ship to your house. hope you find one you like where ever you buy it from.

 

[pcg8r]

FYI, Surplus GP-11 is Match-Grade & brass cased, but Berdan primed.

 

[howabeliever]

Love my K31. It was made in 1943 and shoots like brand new. The PRVI ammo cases seem a little tougher to extract after firing but the Hornady and surplus work fine. I have the North Cape Publications book on Swiss rifles so if you'd like to know when your straight-pull rifle was made, I'd be glad to look it up.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Simpson's Ltd has several Zfk's and K31-43 sniper rifles listed, they aren't getting cheaper.

I enjoyed shooting my Zfk so much I have decided to upgrade one of my K31's with a brake and scope. barrel is threaded, Weaver K4 scope mounted, waiting for Graf&sons to deliver on the brake and pad mount. Cheek pad coming from czechmauseritius.

 

[jkingrph]

There are a half dozen after market "sight correctors" available for the K, from simple elevation only to both elevation and windage with a improved front sight. The Furter corrector is my favorite and is elevation and windage, it replaces the rear assembly.

I could not agree more, I have a Furter on both one of my K-31's and a 1911. Probably
4 1/2 to 5 years ago the sight cost much more than the rifle and worth every cent. At
the time the K-31 was selling for $69-79 and the sight was around $225.