Tell me about the K31

EddieCoyle

EddieCoyle

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I bought one tonight because the bore and metal were near-perfect, I thought it looked cool, and I've read that they are great shooters. It'll be the first non-US milsurp rifle that I've owned. I'm picking it up on Tuesday.

The (birch) stock is kinda beat up. Does anybody sell replacements?

How about ammo? Sources and recommendations are appreciated.

Does anybody here reload for this?

I like the sights although they look to be a bit small. Has anybody here used the diopter sights? Are they worth the money?

Thansk in advance.
 
Welcome to the world of non-US milsurps! You'll find the K-31 to be scary-accurate, shooting most any brand of ammo. I've had good luck with both the Prvi Partizen (however you spell it) and the Wolf Gold. I also went out and grabbed the RCBS dies and some brass and will be handloading soon - ammo prices are going way out of sight.

Most of the K-31 stocks look "beaver-chewed" - supposedly from the swiss soldiers using them to pound in stakes and fence posts. Don't know if that's true, but I do know a number of them have a small slip of paper under the buttplate. Be sure to check. Because these were brought home and basically "owned" by the Swiss, they often put their names and addresses on these slips. Many folks have actually been able to contact the former owner (or family of the owner) in Switzerland, and become pen pals!

I would leave the stock as is, and don't try to replace it. Just clean it up, give it a good fine steel wool scrubbing, and finish with the treatment of your choice. Tung oil works great for me, but I believe the original treatment was an orange shellac of some type.

Lots of Swiss info on the internet - Google and you will find it. Another great reference is the book by Joe Poyer, "Swiss Magazine Loading Rifles" published by North Cape Publications - strongly recommended.

Happy shooting!

Ken
 
I don't have one yet, but it's on my list.

I hear that the K31 and the Mosin 39 are about the most accurate milsurps out there.

The K31 is built like a swiss watch....very very well.... and I guess the reason they are so cheap is that the ammo is so expensive and hard to come by.

If you find a cheap source of ammo, don't let me know, as that will light the fire under me, and I can't afford another gun right now !
 
I've got 3 and I enjoy shooting them. I pick up a brick of surplus GP11 ammo when I get the itch. I know a source for it ($23 for 60 rounds) and will PM you a link.
You might find a replacement stock off the swiss forums Jack listed. I think one of them has a member that actually imports original stocks. I know some have group buys and import their own rifles. Now thats hardcore collecting.
The butt stocks take a beating from resting in snow, being exposed while carrying in a back pack, being used ti beat down barbed wire fences in training, and just about any other winter region abuse you can think of that could happen to them. I read somewhere Swiss soldiers would rapid fire mutiple rounds, stack their rifles in 3s using the stacking swivel near the muzzle, stand around them and warm their hands from the heat coming off the barrels.
The tag under the butt plate can be better understood through a story I posted about in this link: http://northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=14882
Not all rifles have a tag though.
As far as the sights go, I have seen models with diopter sights and they're big bucks. You can probably swap out yours for modern production ones. I'm pretty sure there are a few different kinds out there now for the K31.
Only other advice I can offer is don't put the sling on because the side mount keeps it directly against your cheek when shooting. For me they're just a little uncomfortable, but they look cool.[grin]
 
It is actually the beech(not birch) stocks that usually look the worst. Beech gets dark when dinged and is really hard to get those marks out. Most of the "beaver chewed" comes from the hobnail boots that the mountain troops wore; doing the manual of arms would tear em up quick, as well as banging into rocks.

Do check out swissrifles.com; everything you ever wanted to know about
K31's and the other Swiss firearms is there, including reloading.
BTW did you know you can use .284 Win cases to make 7.5 Swiss?
 
By all means get the GP11; while standard Swiss mil issue (174 gr VLD FMJ), it is match-grade in performance. The K31 is optimized for this round which means you really have to work at it to equal it with reloading.
 
Thanks for the info everyone. I picked it up today - along with 120 rounds of GP11 ammo. Thanks for the ammo source Ray, I'm going to order some from them soon. I paid waaaaaay more than $23/60 (but it beats waiting to shoot it).

The stock doesn't look too bad; I should be able to clean it up some. I'll post before and after pictures.
 
Even though it is frigid outside, I shot it today before work. I'm very impressed with the accuracy. The thing is built like an American railroad watch.
 
If you decide to try handloading for it, 284 Win brass works very well. All you're doing is expanding the neck from 284 to 308. My second batch of 100 I did had no neck splits. The first batch, that I did not lube inside the neck well enough split about 15 of 100.

It's a little fussy on bullets, doesn't like long ones. I have yet to equal GP11 accuracy, though. I really like the rifle - bought a left hand bolt handle for it from a Swiss smith, so it's my only lefty mil-surp!

K31_lefty.JPG
 
I am thinking of buying a K31 in the next week or so - I know a number of the local gun shops have had them in stock. When I am looking at them what if anything should I be looking for as far as wear and tear etc? I am not that familiar with the grading systems used for guns - what I am wondering is what signs of obvious abuse or too much wear should I be looking for?

Also what is a good price - in this area. Anywhere from $179 - $199 has been what I have seen the local shops selling them for.

I have looked online but by the time I pay the transfer fee at the shop I am going to be darn close to the shop prices.
 
calsdad said:
.... When I am looking at them what if anything should I be looking for as far as wear and tear etc? I am not that familiar with the grading systems used for guns - what I am wondering is what signs of obvious abuse or too much wear should I be looking for?.....
Click to expand...

Remaining finish on the metalwork, matching serial numbers on the parts.
Walnut stocks are easier to restore than beech stocks.
I've never seen one with a bad bore, but it pays to check anyhow.
 
Walnut stocked models will always command a higher price because the wood is nicer looking. Check out some sites mentioned in this thread and try and determine if the stock on what ever K31 you look at is walnut or beech. If you can get a walnut stocked model for the same price as one with a beech stock in the same condition, go with the walnut. More collectability and just better looking IMO.

95% of the K31s I've seen have a mint bore because the Swiss didn't use corrosive ammo. Most have nice sharp muzzle crowns too because they were taught how to take care of their rifles. Check out the crown and make sure the rifling is nice and sharp right to the end.

A rifle with matching numbers is also a factor in price and collectability, along with accessories like a sling and muzzle cap.

Buggest thing people are looking for these days is a tag under the butt plate. Most any shop worth shopping at will let you get a look under the butt plate to check for a tag. Takes a minute to undo 1 screw and half way on the other to slide the plate aside and check for a tag.

Pricewise unfortunately is correct from what you said. High end online dealers will sell for that price and discount dealers sell for about $149 plus shipping and like you mentioned transfer fee that you'd pay.

Now I get a chance to sound like one of the old timers and say "I remember when these things were $79 dollars" cause at a few years ago, I do. [smile]
 
Last edited:
Tell me about the K-31

EddieCoyle said:
Does anybody here reload for this?

I like the sights although they look to be a bit small. Has anybody here used the diopter sights? Are they worth the money?

Thansk in advance.
Click to expand...

I Reload for the K31 and there are two guys that shoot with Diopter
sights at the Woburn Sportsmans Club Sunday mornings (200 Yds) and
shoot in the high 180s, i have four of those rifles and i usualy take one to florida to play with Cast Lead bullets but i have had good luck loading
surplus 147Gr fmj. the more you play with that rifle the more you are going to love it Sheriff Dudley
 
I have 2 of the K-31's. First one I bought was in " panic " mode because they were starting to disappear. The positive is it has a tag... negative is the metal does have some pitting from storage on it. The bore is great and the gun shoots like a champ. The second one was purchased at Northeast Trading and the metal was in much better condition than the first one. Accuracy is the same as the first one. I'll probably take the first one and let Larry Racine make a match rifle out of it, maybe one day.

Noises happening with reloading the K-31 is the chamber and reloading dies. One of those forums list that the Redding 7.5 dies are the only ones that are " correct " for the K-31. I don't know this myself as I don't reload for it but others have stated that the other brand of dies are workable. It's just something to think about...

K-31's are starting to make a good showing at the Vintage Match at Perry. First year I shot the match was 2004 and I beat the pants off of the Swiss rifle guys easily with my Persian Mauser ( took 37th overall - 3rd place foriegn). The lack of a good sling swivel seems to me to be what hurts these rifles. The GP-11 ammo is damn good and it's nice to see these give the Springfields a run for the money ( now we need to get the 6.5 Swedes...)

Joe R.
 

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