I AM WEAK!!!!...I now own my first military rifle.

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PT1911

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A K-31!!!!

I gave in after quite some time of pondering and stewing. It came down to several things.
1st.It is inevitable that the Old military rifle bug will bite me.. may as well get an early start.
2nd.This gun design is just plain unique and incredible for the time... even for now! Also, the straight pull bolt is just neat!
3rd.In all of the K-31s I have seen whether in person, magazine, or online, I have NEVER seen on in such great condition! If I had continued to pass on it and eventually lost my chance to get it, I certainly would have kicked myself.


I am curious though. What cartridges have similar ballistics to the 7.5 Swiss?....whether factory or reloading possibilities. Searches have shown it to resemble the .308 and some even reload using 308 bullets.... I did get 60 rounds of GP11 with the gun and there are a few options for factory loaded ammo so that is a plus, but I MAY reload for it in the future...


I will post a picture in the very near future.
 
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Great rifles. I have 2 and bought them when they were $79 a piece. I actually bought 2 lots of 5 and kept the best 2, sold the rest. Should have kept them all...would have trippled my money.

7.5 Swiss is essentially a .308. And yes, you load with 7.62 bullets.

Careful...milsurps have a way of growing on you...

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US military rifles - late 1800’s through WWII

1944 Springfield Armory M1 Garand, .30-06
1941 Springfield Armory M1 Garand, .30-06
1939 Springfield Armory M1 Garand, .30-06
Remington 1903A3, .30-06
Eddystone M1917, .30-06
Inland M1 Carbine, .30 Carbine
Springfield Armory 1898 Krag, .30-40
Springfield Armory 1873 Trapdoor, .45-70


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British, French, Swedish and Swiss WWII rifles

Ishapore Enfield 2A, 7.62x51mm
Savage Enfield No. 4, Mk I*, .303 British
Fazerkly Enfield No. 4, Mk 1/2, .303 British
MAS 36, 7.5x54mm
Berthier Mle 1892/27 (32 ?) (Mosqueton d'Artillerie Mle. 1927), 8x50R mm
Swedish M1896 Mauser 1900 Oberndorf, 6.5x55mm
Swedish M1896 Mauser 1903 Gustav, 6.5x55mm
Swiss K31, 7.5x55mm
Swiss K31, 7.5x55mm


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Yugo, German, Japanese, Russian, Finnish military bolt actions

Yugoslavian M48 Mauser, 7.92x57mm
Mauser K98k, 7.92x57mm
Mauser K98k, 7.92x57mm
Type 99 Arisaka, 7.7x58mm
Mosin-Nagant M38, 7.62x54R
Mosin-Nagant M44, 7.62x54R
Mosin-Nagant 91/30, 7.62x54R
Finnish M39 Sako, 7.62x54R
Finnish M39 B-barrel, 7.62x54R
 
The 7.5 Swiss, in its 1911 incarnation, was essentially a .308 two wars ahead of its time. These rifles do tend to have a pretty restrictive diet though due to very precise engineering. The closer you get to GP-11 with handloads, the better.
 
There is likely to be an Enfield as well as a Garand in my not so distant future.
 
If you ever want to see just how well you K31 will shoot, the St. Marie clamp on scope mounts work very well without any alteration to the rifle. I have shot sub MOA with a Weaver K6 and GP11 ammo.

gary
 
+1 on the clamp on mount, work great. GP11 is great ammo and the Swiss have millions of rounds in surplus. Most of these rifles are in very good or better condition but some may have shot out barrels, a new muzzle would measure 7.51mm and shot out at 7.64mm.

The K-31's big sister, the Zfk55.
sniper01.jpg
 
Beautiful milsurp collections guys. Iamkris, so many nice specimens that it is hard to pick one out. As a Krag owner, the Krag stands out, but then so does the M39 pair that you have. Interesting looking stock on the Krag, slightly sportered, but where is the trigger guard? I haven't been on THR in a while, I must come around more often.
 
Interesting looking stock on the Krag, slightly sportered, but where is the trigger guard?
Click to expand...

Ah...I'm in process of restoring it. That's a Boyd's stock that I'm (slowly) getting to.

Here's a few pix of my progress on inletting, cutting the finger grooves and fitting the bottom metal. Those are HARD to do well...not completely happy but they are better than nothing. The barrel inletting tool helps a lot.

25plbbo.jpg

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The final picture shows the buttstock with some water on it...it is a nice piece of wood and should be pretty when complete.

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I am curious though. What cartridges have similar ballistics to the 7.5 Swiss?....whether factory or reloading possibilities. Searches have shown it to resemble the .308 and some even reload using 308 bullets.... I did get 60 rounds of GP11 with the gun and there are a few options for factory loaded ammo so that is a plus, but I MAY reload for it in the future...
Click to expand...

7.5mm Swiss has .295 lands and .308 grooves. .308 Win, .30-06, and most of the other American .30s have .300 lands and .308 grooves. .308 diameter bullets are perfectly fine in a K-31. The deep rifling may preclude the use of monolithic solids, I guess. ;)

I hear that 168 gr Hornady A-MAX bullets loaded to the same velocity as GP11 tend to give incredible accuracy in K-31s, and regulate with the sights. 168 gr A-MAXes would also be a great hunting bullet for pretty much anything in North America.
 
Kris and MachIV nice collections im jealous

kris i think you have my dream collection of war rifles lol

oh and 1911 nice job getting a K31 happy shooting
 
well, here she is!!!...

not the best pictures I have ever taken but enjoy anyhow!!!:D

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not a bad start to the mil surp portion of my collection... IMO... BUT.. I have a long way to go!... as you guys are continually reminding me!!!
 
I recognize that this is a bit of a silly question, but i have seen where some have "looked into" the information provided on the tag under the butt plate.... obviously I am curious as to the origins of my newest addition... any ideas as to how one could successfully go about such a thing?...other than the obvious use of GOOGLE... unsuccessful btw.
 
I recognize that this is a bit of a silly question, but i have seen where some have "looked into" the information provided on the tag under the butt plate.... obviously I am curious as to the origins of my newest addition... any ideas as to how one could successfully go about such a thing?...other than the obvious use of GOOGLE... unsuccessful btw.
Click to expand...

http://theswissriflesdotcommessageboard.yuku.com/directory

Guys have had verying degrees of success contacting the original owners. You can use one of their form letters in German or French and try to mail the original owner.

Some have been pretty lucky and gotten pictures mailed back and other neat stuff.
 
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