Eric H
NES Member
Howdy y'all,
As many of you guys know, these military surplus rifles tend to spontaneously show up in our collection , and this last Sunday I made an excellent addition to it as well.
Anyways, I picked up a Swiss K31 in 7.5x55 Swiss up at a LGS just over the border up in NH for what I feel was a very reasonable price considering I would probably have to pay a very similar amount if I had been lucky enough to purchase one up on AIM Surplus while they were available, plus pay for a "Best of 10", S&H, and then the final FFL transfer fee.
This is also my first Swiss milsurp. The intent of this thread is multi-faceted as I want it to showcase my latest acquisition, to educate others about the rifle with the knowledge I currently have, and I have a few questions that I'm willing to bet y'all could answer or lead me and others in the right direction to learn more about these fine instruments; they'll be found in the photo descriptions below.
If y'all have any questions, comments, or anything you'd like to add in relevance please feel free to comment, we'd all benefit from it!
Right-hand side view of my spontaneous milsurp purchase on a random trip to a LGS in NH. I found this out on the rack in the corner of the shop and just knew I had to have it. These photos were captured as soon as I walked into the house with it, you guys know the excitement of a new firearm purchase is, couldn't help myself . So these were taken before I got a chance to clean and oil the metal and give the stock a quick wipedown with some furniture lemon oil.
Left-hand side view. The stock is in VERY good condition in my mind, and in excellent condition considering that it's 70+ year old military surplus rifle. The wood cleaned up very nicely with some lemon furniture oil, and I find it to have a very nice grain, and the stocks finish is very smooth and pleasing to handle, although to me it seems "dry." Is the stock an example of a piece of walnut or a piece of birch they used post-war? It's difficult for me to determine this. What would you guys recommend to use to "condition" the stock and keep it in good shape?
A widely known icon of the Swiss military surplus rifles is the straight-pull bolt action designs used. The K31 also used a straight-pull bolt action design, and from a distance it can be quickly and clearly distinguished from earlier Swiss designs (such as the Schmidt-Rubin Model K1911) by the aluminum knob/handle on the charging rod for the bolt.
The Swiss crest stamping. I really do not know the official name of the stamp, if any of y'all could let me know it would be much appreciated. I am also curious about the stampings on the barrel shank, if anyone has any information on them please let me know, it appears that one of them is a "Hammer and Sickle," that's very peculiar considering that this is a Swiss-made rifle.
A potato quality shot of the barrel shank again and part of the rear sight assembly. The rear sight assembly is your standard "roller coaster" type sliding design commonly found on rifles of the era, it is adjustable for elevation between 100 and 1500m.
The rifle has all-matching serial numbers, and I found the blueing to be well done as well. You can catch a glimpse of the ugly "billboard' import stamping, I'll probably end up giving that a little bit of cold-blue. The rifle also has a matching troop tag of the Swiss soldier, of whom this rifle was issued to while it was in service, listing the individuals name, hometown, troop, and firearm serial number. Many of these Swiss military surplus rifles are known to contain one of these paper trooper tags beneath the butt-plate. I have not taken a picture of it, if anyone is curious and wants to see it, I'll grab one for y'all.
Here is the rear of the bolt assembly removed from the rifle. If anyone has any information on these stampings and proof markings, please let me know. I am assuming that the rifle was built and assembled in 1944 based on the "WC 44" stamping, am I correct?
The only mark/stamping I found on the exterior of the stock. It appears to be a Swiss proof mark.
The front sight assembly of the rifle appears to be lined up correctly as it were from 70+ years ago. I haven't touched it and I don't plan to as I have accumulated plenty of the surplus 7.5x55 Swiss GP11 ammunition it was sighted in with (presumably). If I believe, and I be wrong, the K31 is regarded as one of the most, if not the most, accurate standard issue battle rifle during WWII, and the military surplus ammunition it was paired with is also considered by many to be "match grade" furthering the precision of the rifle in the hands of a marksman of which Switzerland is also known to breed for their military.
Obligatory bore shot. I did not swab or clean the bore before the photo, I probably should have. The bore appears to be a little dirty with dust, or it hasn't been cleaned since it was last shot, but in very good condition with strong rifling. The crown is in very good condition as well. It was very interesting trying to get a shot of the bore without the aid of a bore-light, rifle vice/bench, and a tripod for my cellphone.
THANKS FOR LOOKING!
If y'all would like any other pictures, let me know and I'll happily oblige!
Happy Shooting!
As many of you guys know, these military surplus rifles tend to spontaneously show up in our collection , and this last Sunday I made an excellent addition to it as well.
Anyways, I picked up a Swiss K31 in 7.5x55 Swiss up at a LGS just over the border up in NH for what I feel was a very reasonable price considering I would probably have to pay a very similar amount if I had been lucky enough to purchase one up on AIM Surplus while they were available, plus pay for a "Best of 10", S&H, and then the final FFL transfer fee.
This is also my first Swiss milsurp. The intent of this thread is multi-faceted as I want it to showcase my latest acquisition, to educate others about the rifle with the knowledge I currently have, and I have a few questions that I'm willing to bet y'all could answer or lead me and others in the right direction to learn more about these fine instruments; they'll be found in the photo descriptions below.
If y'all have any questions, comments, or anything you'd like to add in relevance please feel free to comment, we'd all benefit from it!
Right-hand side view of my spontaneous milsurp purchase on a random trip to a LGS in NH. I found this out on the rack in the corner of the shop and just knew I had to have it. These photos were captured as soon as I walked into the house with it, you guys know the excitement of a new firearm purchase is, couldn't help myself . So these were taken before I got a chance to clean and oil the metal and give the stock a quick wipedown with some furniture lemon oil.
Left-hand side view. The stock is in VERY good condition in my mind, and in excellent condition considering that it's 70+ year old military surplus rifle. The wood cleaned up very nicely with some lemon furniture oil, and I find it to have a very nice grain, and the stocks finish is very smooth and pleasing to handle, although to me it seems "dry." Is the stock an example of a piece of walnut or a piece of birch they used post-war? It's difficult for me to determine this. What would you guys recommend to use to "condition" the stock and keep it in good shape?
A widely known icon of the Swiss military surplus rifles is the straight-pull bolt action designs used. The K31 also used a straight-pull bolt action design, and from a distance it can be quickly and clearly distinguished from earlier Swiss designs (such as the Schmidt-Rubin Model K1911) by the aluminum knob/handle on the charging rod for the bolt.
The Swiss crest stamping. I really do not know the official name of the stamp, if any of y'all could let me know it would be much appreciated. I am also curious about the stampings on the barrel shank, if anyone has any information on them please let me know, it appears that one of them is a "Hammer and Sickle," that's very peculiar considering that this is a Swiss-made rifle.
A potato quality shot of the barrel shank again and part of the rear sight assembly. The rear sight assembly is your standard "roller coaster" type sliding design commonly found on rifles of the era, it is adjustable for elevation between 100 and 1500m.
The rifle has all-matching serial numbers, and I found the blueing to be well done as well. You can catch a glimpse of the ugly "billboard' import stamping, I'll probably end up giving that a little bit of cold-blue. The rifle also has a matching troop tag of the Swiss soldier, of whom this rifle was issued to while it was in service, listing the individuals name, hometown, troop, and firearm serial number. Many of these Swiss military surplus rifles are known to contain one of these paper trooper tags beneath the butt-plate. I have not taken a picture of it, if anyone is curious and wants to see it, I'll grab one for y'all.
Here is the rear of the bolt assembly removed from the rifle. If anyone has any information on these stampings and proof markings, please let me know. I am assuming that the rifle was built and assembled in 1944 based on the "WC 44" stamping, am I correct?
The only mark/stamping I found on the exterior of the stock. It appears to be a Swiss proof mark.
The front sight assembly of the rifle appears to be lined up correctly as it were from 70+ years ago. I haven't touched it and I don't plan to as I have accumulated plenty of the surplus 7.5x55 Swiss GP11 ammunition it was sighted in with (presumably). If I believe, and I be wrong, the K31 is regarded as one of the most, if not the most, accurate standard issue battle rifle during WWII, and the military surplus ammunition it was paired with is also considered by many to be "match grade" furthering the precision of the rifle in the hands of a marksman of which Switzerland is also known to breed for their military.
Obligatory bore shot. I did not swab or clean the bore before the photo, I probably should have. The bore appears to be a little dirty with dust, or it hasn't been cleaned since it was last shot, but in very good condition with strong rifling. The crown is in very good condition as well. It was very interesting trying to get a shot of the bore without the aid of a bore-light, rifle vice/bench, and a tripod for my cellphone.
THANKS FOR LOOKING!
If y'all would like any other pictures, let me know and I'll happily oblige!
Happy Shooting!