Swiss Schmidt Rubin 7.5 straight pull bolt action.

[makdaddy03]

Hi, I found a Swiss Schmidt Rubin 7.5cal. Straight pull bolt action in "Excellent" condition. For sale for $150+ tax. Would this be a good price? and is there ammo available? Was marked down from$220 down to $150 due to gunshop closing down this fall.

 

[GrantLee63]

Well, I bought one in December from a local sporting goods store here in SE Michigan (Dunham's) for $119.00. I have a C&R and know that I could get one - or several - from several sources for as low as $89.00 .....

The Schmidt-Rubin K31 is an excellent rifle that is incredibly accurate. I read an article that said if the K31 was being manufactured today, it would cost about $2500 to manufacture, so I guess $150.00 is not a bad price !

Check out this forum for answers to all your Schmidt-Rubin questions:

http://pub125.ezboard.com/fcollectorguns35625frm1?page=1

Good Luck !

 

[cratz2]

I've had one for a few months but I don't think I've shot it yet.

They're supposed to be very accurate and they have good sights which helps out too. Ammo can be had but it will be more expensive than the cheapest military ammo.

Nice guns, along with the Enfields, probably the best value in military rifles right now.

There's another good forum over at www.milsurpshooter.net

 

[IMtheNRA]

Depends on the model.

The S-R K-31 carbine can be had for 99.95 plus shipping from FGS with a sling and muzzle cover. A lower grade of this carbine is available from AIM for just 89.95 shipped.

If you're looking at some of the other models of S-R, then $150 may be a great deal, as some sell for $250-$350. Check out the forum that GrantLee63 had recommended. There are some real experts there and you can look up the serial number for model and year of manufacture confirmation.

The K-31 may well be the most accurate mil-surp rifle of all time. It really IS built like a Swiss watch.

If you get one, don't forget to check for the surprise under the butt-plate!

 

[makdaddy03]

Cool! Thanks for the info.

 

[HarryB]

One more link 4 ya

http://www.swissriflewebsite.com/

 

[Tamara]

I have a Schmidt-Rubin M96/11, and it is absolutely delicious.

Maybe the nicest chunk of machining of any rifle I own.

 

[0007]

Go over to assaultweb.net and look under the mausers and moisins thread. There is a long discussion on the Schmidt-Rubin. I decided to "K31" thinks that's cloe to sacrilege...

 

[BenW]

I have a Schmidt-Rubin M96/11, and it is absolutely delicious.

I've never seen one of the 96/11s in person. If yours was not reconditioned, what was the condition of the stock when you got it? I don't know what the heck those Swiss did with their K31s, but every one I've ever seen has had excellent steel mounted on a stock that looks like it was used to drive tent pegs.

 

[BHP9]

For those of you that might not yet of purchased one of these K31's I suggest you act fast and get a least one and if your smart buy two of them. I am not joking. Before the large import of these rifles they were selling for $450 dollars and up and will do so again when this supply is gone.

I have collected and shot military rifles all of my life and the K31 is one of the most accurate rifles ever made. Trigger pulls are the best ever put on a military rifle.

Bores are all excellent but stocks are al little scuffed up but if this bothers you they could be refinished.

Do not worry about ammo. Norma makes it and I also bought some Portugese boxer primed ammo, non-corrosive of course and it was accurate out of this world. I would stay away from any corrosive ammo. These guns are too nice to screw up and ruin with corrosive ammo.

If all this ammo drys up you can use .284 Winchester brass and neck it up to 30 caliber and use .308 caliber bullets.

 

[Don Gwinn]

You don't have to buy that one, but you have to get one. Don't try to fight it.

 

[BenW]

Do not worry about ammo

Graf's is supposed to be getting some brass in soon as well. I haven't started reloading for mine yet, but ordered the dies from Midway this week. Though the ammo is somewhat scarce, if you stock up on brass now you can shoot a long time.

 

[Gewehr98]

Tamara's 96/11 predates mine by a few years...

But my 1912-vintage 1911 has some of the prettiest wood I've ever seen on a European service rifle. And that was a LONG stock blank to cut out of one piece of wood:

 

[Tamara]

BenW,

If yours was not reconditioned, what was the condition of the stock when you got it?

I don't think my stock's been reconditioned. All the cartouches amd stampings are exceptionally nice and clear.

It is not only a beautifully-figured piece of wood, but the fit of the add-on pistol grip would shame any piece of furniture in my house. Were it not for the different orientation of the grain and the hairline joint around it, you'd think it was all one piece. Nice, nice rifle. (...and the only rifle I own that's actually longer than my Martini Henry! )

The only downside is that the metal has that old brown patina of age. Thanks to HarryB's link, I was able to determine that the rifle was made in 1900, so that's kind of to be expected.

(Thanks to this thread, I pulled it out and spent some time oiling it down; it's a pleasure to handle such a fine piece of machinery... )

(Oh, and as a 96/11-owning snob, I can say: Remember, a K31 isn't really a Schmidt-Rubin! )

 

[Gewehr98]

Hey, that's right!

I almost forgot!

(Oh, and as a 96/11-owning snob, I can say: Remember, a K31 isn't really a Schmidt-Rubin!)

Think I can justifiably say the same, as a 1911 S-R owner...

 

[cratz2]

Seems like a lot of these Swiss rifles are in pretty good condition all these years later... My lowly 'not-a-real-S-R' K31 is just about perfect except for one little crack in the stock.

Haven't had a chance to take my own pics but here are some from the previous owner.

 

[BenW]

Oh, and as a 96/11-owning snob, I can say: Remember, a K31 isn't really a Schmidt-Rubin!

Now see ,all that statement does is make me wanna go and buy one. And once I buy one, there goes the neighborhood, just like Rodney Dangerfield and the country club in Caddyshack

I still wanna know what the deal is with the K31 stocks though. After your post Tamara, I did a quick search on 98/11s for sale and all the pictures I saw looked like really great condition rifles. If you look at Cratz2's images, you can see discoloration on the butt. All the K31s I've seen, mine included have had good to great wood and finish until you get to the butt. Then they are anything from severely discolored to being dinged and scraped up. My first analogy of driving tent pegs was somewhat inaccurate. It's more like somebody used them as a broom. Just wondering if there were some kind of drills the Swiss had to do with them that would cause such common damage.

 

[cratz2]

Here's a closeup of the stock...

 

[Tamara]

Odd, mine isn't like that.

Was there a flood in an armory where the K31s were stored? Did they have the butts wrapped with tape for some reason? I wonder what the deal is...

 

[swingset]

There are soooo many theories on the buttstock damage. Everything from flood/water damage to using them for leverage when scaling mountains!

Do a search on the swiss rifles forum and you'll find there are more theories than rifles!

I've read a couple guys who were Swiss owners who claim it was their training regimine that did it, mainly the soft beech wood combined with ground-up/ground-down shooting maneuvers that was hard on a lot of buttstocks. I've seen that funny, rutty damage all over some of the guns, not just the buttstock so it's hard to say for sure or that there's a common cause for all the damage.

 

[BenW]

There are soooo many theories on the buttstock damage.

That's why it's of such interest to me. You hear lots of theories on the C&R boards, and I've seen posts where people said they were going to contact the soldier who carried the rifle to ask him, but I've never seen a firsthand report from any Swiss soldier on the cause (and the name on my rifle's tag is partially worn so I can't contact that person myself to ask what he did with the durn thing). I DO like some of the theories though, a couple of my favorite being:

They were used as chew toys for Saint Bernards.

Bored soldiers used them to play ice hockey on their downtime.


Macdaddy -- Sorry to have hijacked the thread with this. Don't let chewed up buttstocks stop you from getting one or two or three or four K31s.

 

[HarryB]

Here's my K-31

I love my Swiss Army Rifle...

the receiver and bolt takes some getting used to...

some of the wood is sweet...

but my butt has nicks and some water damage--possible from being tripoded in the snow(?) or those spiked Swiss boots

Mine is in really nice shape overall, but mine belong to a radio telephone operator in artillery HQ according to the tag. Sadly I have not been able to find a contact address to personally inquire.

 

[Adventurer_96]

My gunsmith is from Switzerland, and he made the barrels at Hammerli for his apprenticeship. He had no answers as to why the stock was in such a condition, he said that if anyone showed up with a rifle with a beat-up stock for annual inspection they'd be in trouble!

I sent a letter to a man who has the same name, and lives in the same town, as my rifle's previous owner, but I haven't heard anything. Maybe I'll need to buy another one...

Check out www.whitepages.ch to see if you can find the previous owner.

 

[HarryB]

Thanks for that link AD96! I got a hit this time. Now to write a letter with some pics and a copy of the tag. Much appreciated...

 

[Tamara]

Whaaaaa!

I see all these cryptic messages about a "secret toy surprise" under the buttplate and think, "Hmmmm... Mine's absolutely cherry, all matching numbers (even the buttplate)... Hey! The widest screwdriver bit on my Leatherman Juice fits these buttplate screws perfectly!" *twirltwirltwirl* Nothing. Denied. How bitter am I?