K31 Safety Question

[Dave P]

Just got a k31 yesterday (pretty nice, matching S/N's) from AIM. Noticed that I can sqeeze trig and drop the hammer long before the bolt is fully closed and rotated. Is this normal?

"Most" modern rifles don't let the firing pin and/or hammer move until the bolt is in full battery, avoiding the dreaded "frontal lobotomy by bolt" syndrome from a cartridge that fires early.

Thanks
Dave

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Yes, unfortunately that is normal.

On my K31, when you pull the trigger, it fully closes the bolt if it's not quite locked up. I've read that the energy it takes to do this might take enough energy away from the firing pin so that it doesn't fully engage the primer.

At least it locks up the bolt when you pull the trigger, but I am not willing to try it out on a live round.

To be safe, always hammer the bolt forward and make sure that the serial number on the bolt is at 12 O'clock before firing.

 

[Dave P]

Well, I got it to the range today, and it worked fine while fireforming the brass. Yes, I felt much better after slamming the bolt after loading each rnd. Boy, that will build some callouses!

Thanks for the info!

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Dave -- I'm glad you enjoy the K31. Lotsa fun for $100.

When I close the bolt on mine, I just make sure I close it "smartly" and don't baby it, It really shouldn't be any more callous-inducing than a regular bolt action.

Now you get to accurize your new baby! Is is very easy to isolate the barrel of the K31 so the entire barrel is free within the stock. You put a shim in the "bedding lug" (the screw forward of the magazine) and add some spacers between the upper and lower stock. When you do this, the only pressure points are on the three screws in the receiver. You can also "tune" the barrel by adjusting the screws holding the receiver.

Details here:

http://swissriflewebsite.com/SwissRifleTuningforAccuracy.htm

and here:

http://pub125.ezboard.com/fcollectorguns35625frm1.showMessage?topicID=4504.topic

I'm in the middle of doing this all myself while cleaning up my 1935 K31 that I imagine kept out the Nazi hordes.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Bolt action rifles will often do the same thing with the bolt handle partially up.