Swiss k31?

[PT1911]

SO... local shop has a K31 in remarkable condition. The gun looks new!!!! It is amazing that a gun that was issued in 1940 (as stated on the "tag" under the butt-plate) could be in such great shape. The bolt design seems extremely inovative and just completely different than anything I have seen.. I have heard that the K31's and the 7.5x55's are a potent and extremely accurate combination.


So I am curious as to the opinions of this rifle.
Are they as accurate as their reputation? What are they worth? And how on earth do those cardboard looking clips work?

 

[jimmyraythomason]

This rifle is Swiss not Swedish. These are some of the best made,most accurate mil-surps available. $250+ is usually a good price. Cardboard clips?

 

[PT1911]

Wow...I cannot believe I did that...yes, SWISS K31 LMAO...yeah... the cardboard clips... quite similar to stripper clips for an sks... the gun comes with two cardboard (though extremely thick!!!!) and metal clips for reloading the mag quickly. one of the most bizzare things I have seen.

 

[TimboKhan]

They are great rifles, and while I wouldn't necessarily call the 7.5x55 "potent", it is a nice round. Certainly, if one were to hunt with it, you could easily dispatch most of the game on this continent, but I don't think it is as good a round overall as the .30-06 when looked at from the perspective of "potency".

Also, not Swedish. Swiss. Big difference, obviously. Branching off a bit, the Swedish Mausers are a delight. The K31 are pretty accurate rifles across the board, but the Swedish Mausers are better. It is not unheard of to get sub-MOA performance out of them. Plus, the 6.5x55 Swede round is a pretty good round.

Back to the K31, if your interested, buy it. Out of all my milsurps, it is my favorite to shoot, because that straight pull bolt is just fun to work with. They are more accurate than I can shoot, and I have made hits, from a rest, from surprisingly far distances (out to 500 yards). From more moderate distances, say 100-200 yards, I have shot real, real close to MOA with the GP-11 surplus ammo. I assure you, you will enjoy the rifle, depending on the price. I actually am not sure what a good price for them is anymore, but the last I looked, around $200.00 for a shooter was about right. Also, there are commercial loads available for them if you cannot find or run out of the GP11 ammo.

From a sportsmans perspective, you certainly could hunt with one. There are scope mounts available. I have never looked, but I am sure you can find sporterized examples of them. Personally, this is one milsurp rifle I do not like to see sporterized, particularly if it comes with the previous owners tag, as you indicate this one does. While all milsurps hold a certain amount of nostalgia and respect for the soldier that carried them for me, this is the one rifle where you can commonly find a name and unit. Some guys have actually found the previous owners and chatted with them.

In any event, unless it is priced over the moon, I heartily recommend the rifle.

 

[PT1911]

thank you for All your input Timbokhan, and I know the gun is Swiss... bit of a Freudian slip I guess... ha...

 

[Sam1911]

The cardboard stripper clips are the most unlikely and AMAZINGLY useful features in the world of stripper clips.

They work AWESOMELY, and far easier than any other stripper I've used. You just can't screw up the reload. They drop into the top of the receiver, press down -- gently even -- and the rounds pop into the mag without a fuss. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it may be easier to reload a K-31 with those cardboard stripper clips than it is to reload a Garand.

The cardboard is very durable, too. You can soak those things in water and they don't get soft or fall apart. I've got a dozen or so I've used for years. I've never had to toss one out, though they must wear out eventually, right?

Very cool system. Very cool rifle. Accurate as all heck. I've shot 1" (measured) 100 yd. groups off the bench with the iron sights and surplus ammo. I've also won a couple of our surplus rifle side matches with one, largely thanks to the cycling speed and reload speed. It has been (jokingly?) suggested that we aught to shoot three divisions instead of two: 1) scopes, 2) iron, and 3) K-31 -- just to keep things fair.

-Sam

 

[PT1911]

if ya'll keep this up you are going to talk me into buying this gun.... will be my first milspec rifle if that is the case.

 

[Sam1911]

Sheesh, you'll never regret buying a K-31. The level of craftsmanship is just unreal. The bolt is a mechanical marvel. Not complicated, exactly, but weird and cool.

The safety is the only thing about these rifles that's not (looking for the right word...) "optimized?" It doesn't matter much, probably, but it is not quick and simple to engage/disengage.

The triggers will put most modern factory rifles to shame. Crisp and LIGHT. (Careful with that first shot! It will surprise you!)

A real rifleman's rifle.

It's almost a shame that rifle design was evolving on toward the semi-autos by the time the K-31 was really in use. It feels, to me, like the pinnacle of fighting-bolt-rifle evolution.

They are a joy to shoot. Which, considering the Swiss people's love of shooting competition, is not surprising.

-Sam

 

[PT1911]

the more I read... the more I am seeing just that... a hell of a rifle... guess one is destined to be in my collection.. hopefully this one soon enough....

 

[HoosierQ]

Other than finding ammo (which is a bit of a challenge but not unsurmountable), I have never heard a bad word about them. Many consider the K31 to best milsurp wood and steel repeating rifle that money can buy.

 

[Snowdog]

From what I've heard, they're considered by the vast majority of folks as quite accurate and well put together for a surplus rifle.

Both mine and the one my buddy received looked like an angry Swiss who was tired of KP duty took a chain to the stocks (walnut, I believe). The metal, however, was in excellent shape with most of the blueing looking great. A little sand paper, linseed oil and elbow grease brought mine to a "like new condition".

 

[Publius1688]

K31's are among the best milsurps you can buy. I've never met anyone who regretted buying one.
Around the way, I've heard that the stocks get beat up around the buttplates because Swiss sentries set them in the snow....who knows, either way, they are wonderful rifles.

 

[PT1911]

the one that peaked my interest is seriously one of the best looking riftles I have seen... it is almost impossible to believe it is 70+ years old. there is not a scratch or ding anywhere on the stock, the metal and blueing is immaculate. and there is a case and a half of ammo to boot...


is this me about to buy this gun?

 

[jimmyraythomason]

PT1911,enjoy YOUR new K31!

 

[jd46561]

Good God Man!, dont catch the Swiss flu!, or this will happen to you and you will go broke!. ARRRGGG!.
Nah!, actually you made an excellent choice in a weapon. Buy it and enjoy it.

 

[MissouriCrowinMass]

I have three. I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of each one. If you buy one make sure to hit the Swiss Rifle Website. Many good tips. Reloading can be done w/ .284 or Prvi Brass.

I have since put a scope on this one with the Clamp On Side Mount. It requires no drilling/tapping or taking off any sights. Shoots great.

 

[chrissmallwood]

Most literature about the K31 says that the reason for the beat up stock near the but was because they would use the butt of the rifle to knock the snow off their boots. Thats why many K31's are rough around the butt area.

 

[PT1911]

so I am curious... with the straight back bolt design, (ingenious IMO) what sort of cycling are you capable of doing in comparison to a traditional bolt... almost seems unfair as sam1911 said above

 

[Sam1911]

so I am curious... with the straight back bolt design, (ingenious IMO) what sort of cycling are you capable of doing in comparison to a traditional bolt... almost seems unfair as sam1911 said above

It is very fast. A practiced hand can operate a conventional bolt gun very rapidly. Enfields, which cock on closing thus giving a spring action boost on opening, are about the fastest conventional bolt action.

Col. Cooper, I believe, wrote a bit about the proper fast action technique for a turn-bolt which involves a very smooth cupped-hand waving motion that, if you're practiced up, can be accomplished in well under a second.

The K-31 (and other straight-pull bolt guns) will shave some fraction of a second off that, and will do so while requiring a little less "finesse" because you don't have to change or rotate your grip on the bolt handle.

They are also fast because they're so smooth. Not that a good turn-bolt can't be smooth, but there's usually some "slop" in the bolt ways and the inherent extra banging around of the bolt lugs finding their way into the ways. The K-31's bolt feels like it's riding on rails. No slop -- just the smooth glide of a precision machine.

Having said that, I've never run side-by-side tests against a timer to see what my split times would be.

-Sam

 

[krs]

Don't you just pull and turn the finger ring to make it safe? That's what I do, and I wouldn't call it difficult at all.

PT1911,

If a K31 is to be your first milsurp it's a good place to start. Be careful that you don't end there though, as it seems that jdnumerals above may have allowed to happen to him.

There ARE other good ones...

 

[Sam1911]

Don't you just pull and turn the finger ring to make it safe? That's what I do, and I wouldn't call it difficult at all.

Yup! That's it. No, it is not difficult. But it is not in the same league of intuitive and easy as, say, the safety of a Garand or M1 Carbine -- or even an SKS, or an Enfield.

Now, when compared to the wing safety on a Mauser or Springfield, it's in the same ball-park, though still noticeably less-intuitive.

Like those two rifles, but a bit worse, it's not the kind of safety that you leave engaged until the last moment before a shot. You aren't going to flick it off in the split second as you raise the rifle to fire.

With that pulling, twisting, it isn't the sort of thing you want to have to do in a big hurry. Which is why I point it out. Everything else about the rifle is efficient, fast, and an an improvement over other bolt-action rifle designs. By that token, one would expect to find the K-31 to have a safety something like an SKS, or M1 Carbine, but better. Something smooth and positive, but effortless. Instead it seems like an oversight.

-Sam

 

[krs]

Yeah, I'll go along with it not being the quickest or even the easiest to operate.

I was afraid that maybe there was a safey that I'd missed on K31's. I sort of figured out the 'pull and twist' by accident and realized that it kept the rifle from firing so assumed it must be how it was supposed to be made safe.

 

[jd46561]

The safety is an easy one to master...(try a Mosin one once).
Here is the reason for beat up stocks...

 

[Sam1911]

I looked for a long time this morning for the best picture on the subject. Someone posted it a LOOOONG time ago, either here or at one of the other forums I (used to) read.

It showed a platoon of Swiss alpine troops all standing at parade rest outside their pup tents one beautiful Swiss morning at ~10,000 feet up some mountain. Their K-31s were all grounded next to that hobnail boot (like the soldier's stance in the second picture you posted) but they were all in about 2' of snow!

Beautiful rifles, but the butts all look like they were batting rocks with them.

-Sam

 

[LJ-MosinFreak-Buck]

The K31 IS my first mil-surp, and I've never regretted buying mine for 220 bucks in 2007. The only complaint I have is the fact that I'm having difficulty find ammunition. Otherwise, it's my favorite rifle.