The other 1911--Schmidt-Rubin

[Cosmoline]

I just picked up an 1896/1911 Schmidt-Rubin long rifle for a bargain price. I've had good luck with the K-31's before but this one looks like a real cut above even those excellent carbines. The action is butter smooth and the bore is perfect. I'm amazed a rifle with a 19th century receiver and other parts from the first world war can look so good. The rifle is heavy, but balance is perfect and I actually notice the weight less than on the somewhat dense K-31's.

 

[Cosmoline]

Gonna do some test shooting tonight as soon as I can get out of the traffic hole known as Wasilla. Why does everyone come up here for the weekend?

 

[Cosmoline]

Wow! I'm bumping this thread up to post my 300 meter results from today's shoot

Bang...... GONG!
Bang...... GONG!
Bang...... GONG!
Bang...... GONG!
Bang...... thwap (my fault)
Bang...... GONG!
etc.

What a rifle! With GP-11 I got a very tight 1 1/2" group semi-rested from the bench at 100 meters, about a foot hight. Still close to a foot high at 200 meters, then dead on at the 300 meter iron targets. The tangents start at 300 meters, so it's hitting right where it should.

I'm going to put a custom high-sight on the front and make the first tangent 100 meters.

Extraction was smooth as butter, and recoil was minimal. A real pleasure to shoot. I felt much less bashed about than I have with K-31's. As usual the detachable magazine is a nice feature, and everything is made like, well, a Swiss watch.

Not bad for an antique.

My advice--GET A SWISS WHY YOU STILL CAN! These 1911 class long rifles are getting harder to find, and soon the K-31's won't be going for $100 each. Between this one and the K-31, these are the finest c&r rifles I've ever shot.

 

[Jaywalker]

Cosmoline,

I'm always there to help a guy pump up his thread count.

I'd never really considered these things before, but I'm starting to. I talked to a couple of Schutzen (sp?) at the range today, and one of them showed me a 7.5 Swiss cartridge. I was expecting a kind of 30-30 look-alike, given whe it was designed, but that could have been designed at the same time as the .308! Sharp shoulder, short round and all.

Would you be able to point me to a short description of the differences between the 1911, the K-31 and others?

Jaywalker

 

[Cosmoline]

The 7.5 Swiss functions as a .308 improved, with a sharper shoulder angle and more capacity. That fact is downright amazing, when you consider it's one fo the oldest smokeless powder cartridge in existence, going back almost to the ancient 8mm Lebel. Granted, the pre GP-11 Swiss ammo was made with shorter brass and a heavey RN bullet. But it was still way ahead of its time. The Swiss basically came up with improved .308 prior to the first world war.

Check out
www.swissrifles.com

It has a good deal of info and links to the other forums.

BTW, I'm currently posting from an internet cafe where I'm busy looking up new recipes for the ptarmigan I nailed this AM with the 96/11 shooting GP-11 FMJ. Gonna catch a king tonight and feast! Maybe add a hare or two if I get back during the 1 AM Alaska dusk. Life is good when you have a good rifle and tasty things to shoot at.

I think most people still harbor a mistrust of these straight-pulls. I've seen a lot of info on line suggesting the S-R's are inherently weak or prone to failure in rough conditions. Of course this is not the case. I've rarely fired a bolt action rifle, new or curio, which gave the same combination of accuracy and reliability.

 

[Jaywalker]

Thanks, good info.

Jaywalker