If you've wondered how accurate these K-31's are--mine is shooting near MOA. And in the interest of full disclosure, a gent here who goes by HarryB just posted pix of a .75" group at 100 yards in a thread titled "Swiss K-31 Scout Project." He was using GP-11 ammo. I'm using handloads. Usually, handloads are more accurate than factory ammo, but I'm not the world's greatest handloader, and I'm using lighter, cheaper bullets (Speer 150gr. Hot Cor.) GP-11 uses 175gr. bullets, and the K-31 seems to prefer them.
Enough excuses--here's my report.
The rifle is a 1930's vintage K-31 from AIM Surplus. $79 plus shipping and FFL fee. About $110 to my door.
It is unaltered, except for the addition of a "Darrel's" scout scope mount. It replaces the rear sight, and requires no permanent alteration to the rifle. 10-minute installation. The current scope is an NCStar 2.5X intermediate eye-relief scope. Its a hunka Chinese junk, but I'm on a tight budget. I consider it disposable while I save up for a Burris or Leupold. Scope & mount together under $100. You can use stripper clips with the scout scope in place. How tactical. (BTW--stripper clips $10 per 10 at Dan's Sporting goods. Order online.)
The ammo is my load. Reformed .284Win brass, CCI 400 (magnum) primers, 43gr. of H335 and the previously mentioned Speer 150 gr. Hot-Cor bullets on the end. Velocities in the high 2700's to low 2800's. Hmmm--that's .308Win specs. And the cost for this load is in the neighborhood of the cost for surplus ammo.
Accuracy at 100 yards--2 best groups were identical 1.3"
Accuracy at 200 yards--2 best groups were 1.6" (3 shot group) and 2.15" (4 shot group).
Just for fun, after leaving the range I went out to the desert, spread out some clay pigeons at 100 paces, and tried rapid target acquisition with the scout scope. Between the straight-pull action of the rifle, and the "both eyes open" scout scope, I was able to break the clays significantly faster than my Rem700 boltgun. Sorry, no stopwatch comparison. But I think there's really something to this whole scout scope thing.
The ergonomics of the gun are fine. Recoil is well absorbed by the 8lb+ weight. The snick-snack of the straight pull bolt is a tactile joy (if not a tactical joy.) And with the scout scope--no fear of dinging your eyebrow under recoil.
Summary: this setup pegs the meter on the fun-per-dollar scale.
Enough excuses--here's my report.
The rifle is a 1930's vintage K-31 from AIM Surplus. $79 plus shipping and FFL fee. About $110 to my door.
It is unaltered, except for the addition of a "Darrel's" scout scope mount. It replaces the rear sight, and requires no permanent alteration to the rifle. 10-minute installation. The current scope is an NCStar 2.5X intermediate eye-relief scope. Its a hunka Chinese junk, but I'm on a tight budget. I consider it disposable while I save up for a Burris or Leupold. Scope & mount together under $100. You can use stripper clips with the scout scope in place. How tactical. (BTW--stripper clips $10 per 10 at Dan's Sporting goods. Order online.)
The ammo is my load. Reformed .284Win brass, CCI 400 (magnum) primers, 43gr. of H335 and the previously mentioned Speer 150 gr. Hot-Cor bullets on the end. Velocities in the high 2700's to low 2800's. Hmmm--that's .308Win specs. And the cost for this load is in the neighborhood of the cost for surplus ammo.
Accuracy at 100 yards--2 best groups were identical 1.3"
Accuracy at 200 yards--2 best groups were 1.6" (3 shot group) and 2.15" (4 shot group).
Just for fun, after leaving the range I went out to the desert, spread out some clay pigeons at 100 paces, and tried rapid target acquisition with the scout scope. Between the straight-pull action of the rifle, and the "both eyes open" scout scope, I was able to break the clays significantly faster than my Rem700 boltgun. Sorry, no stopwatch comparison. But I think there's really something to this whole scout scope thing.
The ergonomics of the gun are fine. Recoil is well absorbed by the 8lb+ weight. The snick-snack of the straight pull bolt is a tactile joy (if not a tactical joy.) And with the scout scope--no fear of dinging your eyebrow under recoil.
Summary: this setup pegs the meter on the fun-per-dollar scale.
