Swiss K31

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Hi,

I found this rifle from a private seller that wants $500 for it. It's probably the nicest example that I have seen. I believe the serial number puts it at 1953. The stock is not refinished and there are no gouges on the butt. Is this rifle worth the price? The metalwork and wood seem very good. There's no P on the serial number, any idea if this rifle was ex-police or unissued or anything like that?

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At least it is not son of beech...

Originally the gun cost more than that to manufacture but that is at the high end of the market. I bought an early 1950's K-31 with a scope for $350 last year, but the stock is not that clean. I don't believe it will ever have much collectors value as there are at least tens of thousands of them here already but if you want to own the cleanest K-31 I have seen and YOU don't think $500 is too much then by all means buy it. I know they sure make me accurate....
 
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Found one just like it in really good shape about a year ago and consignment tag said $500...I thought way high...until in little letters on tag it said "With 800 rounds of ammo". Checked out ammo...440 of Prvi and 360 of GP11....SOLD. Good deal overall and superb shooter.
 
Last week purchased my first K31 for $300.00 , had been putting it off, but finally succumbed. SN puts it at 1941 production, butt is only moderately beaver chewed, metal bluing looks great and bore is mirror bright with sharp crisp rifling. Top of tang is stamped 53, which indicates it was rearsenaled that year. (possible was rebarreled at that time) Tag was still under butt plate and was issued to a air defense soldier born in 1934.

Does anyone shoot cast boolits in their K31? It is my intent to do so and it is my understanding the short throat of the K31 is will require a long ogive boolit similar in shape to the standard GP11.
 
I've seen a perfect condition beech K31 go for $800 on GB, so, $500 for one you get to check out up close is a fair deal. $300 seems to be the "floor" for one with a functional stock (less if you don't mind fixing a cracked stock). I paid $300/shipped for one and $335/shipped for another....both before $30 FFL fees. So, $500 out the door isn't outrageous at all (neither of mine are as nice as that one).
 
Wow !!!

These things have really gone way up in price. But then, what hasn't ?

I bought two of them about 10 years ago, both of them were under $100. I have shot one of them extensively. I used to compete in vintage rifle matches with it and was very successful. They are really great rifles.

I have handloaded for mine quite a bit and even used cast bullets at one point, but I really didn't know what I was doing and looking back, I was using a bullet that wasn't really appropriate for the gun. But, they worked pretty decent. I have also had a lot of fun with a cartridge adapter sort of thing with my K31.

I don't know if I would pay these kind of prices for one today, but based on how much guns in general cost these days, it might very well be worth it.
 
Didn't take long to better GP11 on accuracy. I used pulled M2 ball bullets and 4064 or 3031 powder. I don't remember which. Just follow the reloading manual and you will do just fine.....chris3
 
Any rifle; is worth what you are willing to pay for it. If you think you'll never see one that nice again, in your lifetime, then it's worth it !! I payed too much for my mausers (so I thought) when I bought them; but I don't feel that way now, 10 years later.
I have put hundreds of rounds through all of them, and I am quite pleased with these guns that are from 1924, 1931-32, 1941,1948 & 1951.
Some are exceptional shooters and some aren't, they are all fun !!
 
@ rondog
This site's pretty good for dating K-31's by SN, it also includes yearly production totals.
http://www.k31swiss.com/page1/page5/page5.html

@ dak0ta
Just to look at that $500 price from another perspective, back in the early to mid 70's, K-31's were over a thousand bucks a pop, IF you could even find one for sale.

I don't know about you, but I tend to buy milsurps mainly as shooting and hunting weapons with history generally coming in at third place. I've never consciously purchased a milsurp as an "investment", but I'm fairly certain that the "return" on my purchases over the years have probably exceeded the returns that I could have expected with most other investments.

While some people may feel that the 10's of thousands of K-31's imported will keep them from becoming "collectible", I tend to disagree. There were over SIX AND A HALF MILLION M1 carbines produced and at one time (IIRC), you could buy them for @ ten bucks apiece, check out the prices on them now...
 
I think the value of M-1 Carbines has more to do with the passing of the WWII Generation and the recognition of what that war represented to the modern world than with its value as a firearm. The gun grabber mentality of the left has also contributed to it but I do not believe the K-31 will ever approach the collectability status as the M-1 Carbine since it was not used by US troops, or for that matter, in combat.
 
Concur. That said, the K31 was sold for $79 back in the mid 2000's....those same batch of rifles imported by CAI go for $300-350 today.

I'd like to put the action from one of mine in a precision stock like a Manner's or something while keeping the other original.
 
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