New K31 I had to show off...

OOH! That's beautiful! I want!

Man, very cool. I'm a bit jealous I think. They are on my short list.

Your rifle looks great! The range trip will be fun. Mine does not look as good as yours even though I've had it for two years. (too much work on too many projects!) I need to get on that clean up/fix up rifle project!

Let us know how it shoots.

Do you reload? I've had brass on order for two months. Just waiting....

Mark

A beautiful rifle for sure! And such nice photos, what did you shoot them with?

When reloading for the K-31, carefully check overall length. You'll have to seat most bullets deeper than the GP11 surplus ammo because the K-31 is throated for the ogive of the GP11 bullet. With other bullets, if you load to GP11 length, you'll be hitting the lands!

Mimic the GP 11 round as much as you can for best accuracy. Or try and copy the 168 grain Swiss Match ammo. I just ordered mine today.

Are thost Hornady A-Max or V-Max bullets?

Pay very close attention to case length and OAL...I had some failure to chamber problems initially until I cranked down the sizing die just a touch and shortened the OAL length a few thousanths past where I started. Was a bit of a frustrating caliber to get started with but 100% function and wonderful accuracy now. These rifles are a piece of art and yours is one of the nicer examples I've seen..

Nice! Looks really nice...I'm somewhat new to the K31 but I've enjoyed mine so far.

It does look like the stock is a bit "oversanded" by a previous owner. Note the fingergrooves are rounded out. But nice wood nonetheless.

Mine...in original condition:


After I refinished the wood...tried to keep the fingergrooves somewhat sharp:

Great looking rifle. I've been considering picking one up for a while. I have to ask, did it come with a soldier tag? I really think that is one of the neatest things about those rifles is that its an historical piece that some come with a bit of an extra story behind them.

I am far from an expert...

I just started reloading for my K31 (have been reloading .38 spl. for about a year now), you'll see a lot of posts (mostly older) stating Redding dies are needed for the K31 chamber. I "cheaped" out and bought the Lee die set, and it works great! FL sizing is probably the way to go, however, given the lack of mechanical advantage for extraction.

I'm still working on my cast load, so I'll decline to share that at this point. Cheap plinking though!

They are just great rifles. I just bought tree of them yesterday to accompany the one I already have. (I have tree kids, so now we can go out together)

FWIW, yours was produced in 1943, according to the serial.

Greetings

And yes, the previous owner was a little zealous with the sand paper but I'm more concerned about accuracy than originality. I haven't taken the butt plate off to see if there's any owner info yet.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't sweat the sanding. Is the K31 collectable? Some are. Your run-of-the-mill K31, while a truly outstanding rifle, isn't what I would call a collector's item in the strictest sense of the term. Milsurp folks who tend more towards being purists will see that to be otherwise and consider sanding an abomination in most instances. Of course there are ways to refurb a stock (steaming) that runs far short of sanding. With the K31 I say "whatever makes you happy".

I don't think that too many Swiss soldiers would have been too concerned about some stock sanding considering their "angry beavers" tendencies. We can see how they treated their wood when they had it. But, man did they treat the steel well!

Enjoy your rifle.

Full length sizing is a must. Quick check: Make sure the serial on the bolt is at 12 o'clock with a round chambered. Brass: Get 284 Winchester, run it through the sizing die, and you have the toughest brass ever. 165-180 gr bullets. A lot of shooters swear by IMR 4064 powder, but several others work well too. These are tack-drivers. Enjoy!

I love my K31 and yeah I ruined it's collect-ability by refinishing the stock too. Frankly I didn't buy it to collect, I bought it 'cause I love the straight pull bolt, it's a beautifully made bit of military history, and I want to hunt with it. I'll post pictures in it's own thread later. Anyway I have a stupid/nervous nellie question regarding the Winchester Brass mentioned in the thread. I'm under the impression that the bullet diameter of the 7.5x57 is actually .308. Watergoat (didn't watergoat happen in the 1970's?) mentioned the use of .284 brass. Doesn't that leave a neck that's .024 too small? I know that there isn't a lot of difference but how much is too much? I would love to start reloading and really want to put together some 200 yard hunting rounds.

I have used Prvi brass, but not yet in 7.5x55. I've had good results with it in 6.5x50SR and 7.7x58. I use mostly IMR 4064, but I just read that Reloader 17 is the closest to matching the powder in GP11. Don't think I'll switch just yet, though. Oh, yeah -- great looking K31!

For best performance, you'll want to make sure you get dies that are specific for the K31 chamber. I know Redding and Hornady make them.

@Ceej When you are sizing the brass, the case neck will be resized for .308 bullets. Simple version is brass stretches and the expander ball will stretch the neck to the proper size.

Never change the original . Just sayin .

dnthmn, Thanks. I kinda figured it would be something simple. Not a machinist, but even I know the bullets aren't supposed to be a "slip fit". I'm trying to put together a list so I can get all the stuff I need in one purchase (excepting power and bullets) for several calibers. 7.5 x 55, 38/55 Winchester, 7.62 x 39, 30/30, .40 S&W, and .38 S&W (this isn't even close to .38 special). I figured I'd spend the big money right up front, and then get the suggested power/bullet combinations stressed in the book.

Again, thanks.

Guys,
Procedural question: Should I post my K31 pics here or start another thread?