K31 Schmidt-Rubin in .308?

[Kind of Blued]

My buddy just picked up a rifle at a pawn shop. From what I can tell (99.9% sure) it's a sporterized 1889 Schmidt-Rubin, but he says the barrel is marked .308.

Was this a production thing or was it popular to rebarrel them?

I saw the rifle, but didn't see the ".308" marking which he mentioned (didn't look for it).

 

[PTK]

I sure wouldn't fire .308 in that gun! The 1889 action is simply not strong enough to safely fire it.

 

[eldon519]

If it is truly chambered in .308, I don't think a 7.5x55 Swiss would chamber in it. The 7.5 round is bigger at the base and longer too if memory serves. It would probably be best to take it to a gunsmith and have a chamber casting performed if there is question about the caliber.

Also, is it an 1889 or a K31? They are not the same thing as far as I know, though they are built around a similar action.

 

[CBS220]

AFAIK there are no .308 1889s. There were some K31s chambered to .308. They went for around a thousand apiece when they were available.

 

[PTK]

If it's a converted K31, it's plenty safe. Easy way to tell - remove the bolt. If the locking lugs are on front, it's a K31, rear it's a 1889 or 1911.

AFAIK there are no .308 1889s.

This area of CO has a LOT of hack gunsmiths. I wouldn't be shocked if someone did convert it to an unsafe caliber.

 

[RickH]

It could be a rebarrel, or a rare variant made in .308. There were also a few made in 30-06. I'd be curious to know what he paid and if it is original or not.

 

[jd46561]

You can do a little research on this subject ,by exploring (swissrifles.com). Also, the chamber on this rifle cant take modern pressures. Please check before shooting it.

 

[cracked butt]

Its more likely to be a 1911 or 96/11, both of which are safe with .308 and are fairly common. I wouldn't fire a 1889 in .308 though. The 1889 is easily identified by the 12 rd magazine- I've seen a lot of these that were sporterized, still on the lookout for a original copy.

 

[azhunter12]

The bullet diameter is .308 for 7.5*55. Maybe thats what hes thinking.

 

[PTK]

And also note - "modern" GP11 surplus 7.5x55 is also unsafe in a 1889 action. Handloads or very rare GP90 7.5mm is needed.

 

[Vaarok]

Century and other importers converted a buncha 96/11 and '11 Swiss rifles to .308 Win. Safety is debatable, but probably okay. I personally wouldn't even consider it, both because of the desecration and the pressure differences.

 

[Kind of Blued]

I asked him to let me look at it again, and sure enough, I saw that right near the breech on the outside of the barrel, it is marked very clearly "CAL. 308 WIN."

He paid $90 for it, and it's in REALLY good shape! Kind of wish I would have run across it.

 

[Canuck-IL]

OK, it's a 308 barrel but is the action a K31 or an 1889?
/Bryan

 

[keith taylor]

I have model 1889/96 that the bolt lugs have been moved forward on the bolt by the factory to make stronger acording to my research I got the riffle in 1988 it was chambered in .308 win I have fired it 1000 + rnds with no problems