LOVE mine. I paid $195 for it 8 years ago but the best part is I was able to locate the soldier on the troop tag under the butt plate with an international phone book. I wrote to him and sent him a picture of the rifle asking if it had been his when issued in 1956. He wrote back and confirmed it was his and even sent me pictures with him holding it that year. It's an amazing shooter, as well.
Stories like this are a part of the surplus buying experience. Never owned one but I did shoot them on a couple occasions and they are SUPERB rifles! Easily my Top 3 with Lee-Enfield and Mauser.
Greetings from Switzerland! I really enjoy seeing how much you people appreciate those fine rifles. I'd say that the good performance in precision that many of you see when on the range with that gun is at least as much the result of your dedicated research, your interrest for and attention to every little detail in appropriate arms maintenace and safe, correct weapon handling and your overall superb skill as riflemen than just the high quality of Swiss guns. What amazes me the most is how much a lot of you understand that every K31 is a genuine and authentic little piece of Switzerland, and I feel honoured seeing they are owned and held in high esteem by intelligent educated men, that are passionate shooters who know how to get every bit of entertainement and satisfaction there is possibly to be found playing around with boomsticks.
Greetings from Idaho. I own a K31 as well. Indeed, the original Swiss owner's name is handwritten on a slip of paper under the butt plate. It's definitely the finest piece in my collection - past & present. The level of engineering & craftsmanship is such that if you ever used this rifle in battle you'd never fire a shot.. Your enemies would simply die from embarrassment after comparing the K31 to the abomination of rusty plumbing pipe and stamped sheet metal they riveted together.
Greetings from Poland! This rifle is no so popular in my country - probably because, we haven't any opportunity to cooperate or fight against your country. So Schmidt - Rubin carbine is not connected to our history. But - I really admire it. I was going to buy a Mosin and was looking for a nice piece of it - when I accidently saw The S-R. After just a few reviews, I would like to have one 1911 or K11 with this magical piece of paper and be able to contact with the previous owner :) This firearm is a masterpiece, and in this time of cruel aggression on the East, I rather would like to have something connested to West and Freedom.
I found one of these about ten years ago in the basement of an antique mall for $200. I could tell right away that it was a high quality rifle. After I managed to find ammo for it and I fired about twenty rounds it quickly became my favorite rifle. At 100 yards it shot about six inches to the left but they were all in a 2" group and that really impressed the hell out of me!
I was buying these for $69 maybe 15 years ago. I have 5 of them and 2 of them are set up as my 200yd off hand match rifles. I have the Swiss diopter sights on them. Buy far the best military rifle ever made and I own most of them. I compete against modern day AR match rifles and have no problem.
@@ericvantassell6809 sounds like you don't believe me? Well you can read threads of other people who got them. I bought mine C&R from AIM Surplus. thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-579358.html
Thanks for the video on the K31. My son surprised me with one a few weeks back. It is in great shape also. I have not tried it out yet but will be going to the range soon.
I own a K11 built in 1930. Our oldest shooters put the rifle on cushions for 300 meters of shooting. The younger ones shoot lying down with the belt on their arm, without a pillow. It is absolutely fantastic to see what precise results are being shot in almost all age categories. Just a great rifle!
Great video, got a 1937 K31 about a year ago,payed $400, in excellent condition, thinking about selling it until I see a video like this convinces me to keep it!
I love my swiss misses! got the vetterli, 96/11, k11, and just got a k31 for 500 (stock is rough, but it is all matching and metal parts are in excellent condition). Quality and accuracy, best milsurp rifles ever. Second to me will be Swedish Mauser, 3rd is Finnish M39.
I bought one of these back in 2015/16 for around $350 (taxes in). Which I think was a good price for here in Canada. I think mine was produced around 1943. I'll have to check by the serial number again to be sure. The thing is a mix of beauty and beast. The butt of the stock is slightly chewed up (as are most) and I have no intention of ever refinishing it. Those dings, dents, and scratches give it character.
Greatest first gen bolt action ever made! Hands down. I do like a lot of other rifles so don’t get me wrong, but on top of function and accuracy it’s also a true work of art. Also that straight pull bolt is just cool!!!
at home I have 2 long k11 (1 was my grandfather's personal weapon) and 3 k31 purchased during sales in the military arsenals 20 years ago for 50 dollars each ..... they are wonderful, nice video congratulations ;-)
Some old dude who bought one for $100 a few years ago is laughing at you somewhere. Not me though, you got a great deal if it is mint! I paid $500 for a pretty good condition with considerable bluing loss on the crest back in January 2018. I lost a bid on one last year when it got up to $900. There is a ratty piece in a pawn shop near me that is missing its magazine and they want $500 for it. Prices are what they are and they aren't going to drop. Not a fan of the sights though, they give me trouble trying to focus on them properly.
@@ghostuscoyote that's why I am going to get some diopters. They cost about 300$ depending on what company you use. I just bought a nice K11 this week as well.
@@CovenantElite1117 Yeah, I would love to try some diopters as well, or a scope on that St. Maries mount or whatever. The problem is that they cost just about as much as the rifle so I have a hard time justifying it instead of a different gun on my list.
I don't have a K31 but I do have the previous generation; The K11 Carbine (all matching-including bayonet) def one of my fav guns in my collection (picked it up from Simpsons, LTD a few years ago-when they had a bunch of them). Another youtuber (I believe it was iragveteran8888-but don't quote me) said if they made these guns today it would cost $2,000 to make just because of the quality that went into these rifles.
The K11's are great. I recently had to sell mine unfortunately :( But when financial stuff stabilizes, I definitely want to start my Swiss rifle collection! Starting with the K31 :)
When I bought my K31 and took it home to clean the first thing I noticed was just how cleanly machined and finished each and every part was. The craftsmanship on these rifles is fantastic
Fine pieces of work and excellent shooters to boot. I have one that I bought in 2002 when they were being imported. Another bolt gun in the same class are the Swedish Mausers.
@@stefanh.5543 yes, when you're operating the safety you're literally grabbing the firing pin assembly. So in the safe position its essentially impossible for the gun to fire
I have the grandfather (1896/11) of that weapon system and I find them superb. I used the military surplus ammo the other day at the range and I put 20 rounds all within a 5 1/2 inch group, and 80% of the bullets were within a 3 inch group.
If you like the k 31 then you will go crazy for the Swiss AG42 also my favorite the 510 AMT. The 510 has a special trigger just for snow. The craftsmanship is incredible.
By far the best value in military surplus. I have the K31 and a 96/11. They shoot better than all my other surplus and even better than new rifles. Just don't get yourself in the eye with the safety ring.
I bought mine here in Canada last year for $300 CDN or about $230 USD and that seemed to be the normal going price for them last year but already they seem to be going up! Glad I got mine when I did it's a really nice rifle for sure.
Thanks for the video! Indeed a great rifle! My dad had one in the military, my brother in Switzerland has it now. I found a perfect version with darker wood here in the US! A beautiful and very precise rifle! I do also own a Sturmgewehr SIG 510, the predecessor of the K31 for the Swiss army, using the same ammo. I was a sharp shooter in the Swiss army and while we were allowed to take our service rifles home after the service, they did not gave me the sharp shooter rifle. My infantry rifle I was given for the initial training was in bad shape after using it for weeks to shoot grenades. The pristine sharpshooter rifle I was not allowed to take home. Only a selected number of precise SIG 510 ended up as marksmen rifles. But I got lucky and found a unused one about 8 years ago. Unfortunately i have not been able to import it to the USA and it is still at my sisters house in Switzerland😡! Hopefully I can unite the two rifle someday! When it comes to beauty, nothing beats the K31!
@Run, Jack. Run. Arisaka 99s had sights with an anti-aircraft setting. I believe on later models it was removed, presumably to give planes a sporting chance.
Enjoyed your review. I have the Schmidt-Rubin model 1911, a predecessor to the K31 from World War I. It's very similar and equally beautiful. The model 1911 is also pretty readily available for about $500, though most that I've seen at that price don't include the bayonet. I had the good fortune of finding a bayonet for mine on eBay, though the bayonet serial # doesn't match the gun, which is otherwise a complete matching numbers gun, including receiver, bolt, and magazine. It's a joy to shoot and is also a work of art.
The quality of these rifles is unmatched. I bought mine several years ago at a gun show for $99, best gun buy I ever made. It was made in 1936 and never fails to shoot great, as long as I do my part.
I own one. Bought it many years ago for under $100. I describe the rifle as, "One slick gun." As in... SMOOTH! The straight pull bolt works much smoother than the Austrian M95. I recommend it for those who like old surplus army rifles.
Love my K31, my first one I had to sell in Europe, BATF would not let me bring it as personal property since it was originally a military rifle. Picked up a nice one 20 years ago shortly after arriving back in the USA. Have my match diopter and all the fitting accessories I kept from competition shooting in Switzerland and Germany. Just not many 300mtr ranges near by to use. Take it to the local 100mtr range a couple times a year.
When I lived in Geneva a friend of mine got 6 of these for next to nothing like 40 bucks each at a flea market, the knob on charging handle was made of Bakelite or something similar if i remember correctly. I liked the ring pull safety.
Very nice looking stock. As you stated solider ID tag in butt plate. which really adds to the history of the weapon. Looking at my K98s I can only guess fired and dropped only once? However using the ID tag from my k31, which was in French. I located on google earth the town where the soldier was from which I thought was kind of cool.
I have owned one of these for a couple of years now. As an ex-military rifle it is superb. But mine is not ex-military. Mine was a privately owned gun from new. It was made in 1943, right in the middle of WW2. You can tell that it was privetely owned because the serial number starts with a P. Paid £250 pounds for it, but they regularly go for quite cheap money at Holts auctions here in the UK.
Absolutely love this rifle, they serialised bayonets to them. Near impossible to find your matching bayonet. I actually just made a video about it on my channel, the swiss M1918 bayonet
I know, it may look odd to you with that strange operating handle and big ring sticking out of the back end but it is one slick rifle to operate. The only other surplus rifle that I have seen that has the novel diagonally movable front sight is a Finish M39. This is far better than the usual method.
I believe bloke on the range shoots with a k31 in shooting competitions. With iron sights. And he wins. Its crazy. I want to get a k31 I'm hoping before the price goes crazy high.
FantaFuture92 In one video he participates in the Feldschiessen using only iron sights and wins a medal. It wasn't with the K31 though. It was with the K11 which is even more impressive since it's less accurate than the K31 and is considered to be the least accurate rifle allowed in official Swiss shooting competitions
I have a k31 and a 1911 long rifle. The older 1911 model recoils a bit more. Both are a pleasure to shoot. Would like to add another k31 to the collection. Just wish I could get my hands on some more gp11 ammo :( it's unobtainable right now
hi, i cold never get around finding a powder that really works for this cartilage. mine beautiful as it gets but found it to be little heavy for hunting. spent $300 on scope mount but again, i couldn't make a load that really gives the accuracy that i wanted. tested almost all powders. any ideas? also tried 175 gr bullets, 168 gr, 165 gr, 180 gr. shoot well tho.
From watchmaking, hotelier profession to the banking industry. Swiss is famous for their excellent quality & precision. And so their standard issued weapon.
banking by banksters is an industry, since they are printing the money themself. Prior to that, is was an even more serious business branch....worldwide.
I like the G11 rifle better then the K31 carbine.i have a K31 made in 1947.i also have a G11 rifle made in 1916 I can not wait to try them both out to see which is better.
I guess I overpaid for mine I paid 800-900 for a tiger stripe like that one with all matching numbers in excellent condition. But I just had to have it and the secret is already out the prices are shooting up.
Bought a K31 a few years ago at my local Canadian Tire. A very interesting rifle and ,for a Swiss design, quite easy to maintain when doing a field strip. Have to get it out to the range again. Nice that surplus ammo isn't overly expensive (even for here). Just hope it continues to be made and imported.
The Swiss Army actually still uses the GP11 round in some of their vehicle mounted machine guns, so the round should be around for awhile, though I don't think they've released any lately, Prvi makes it also new, though that's fairly expensive (about $1.50 per round via Prvi).
If you go to Switzerland it is around .20 cent per round at the range. I reload and it is no more expensive that 30-06, after you get good Norma or RWS brass cases. Never used the cheaper stuff. From time to time the original ammo is found surplus, has been maybe a year since I saw a large supply.
I've owned a few, best.... probably not but ONE of the best bolts. Very accurate and fun to shoot but it isn't a 03A3 Springfield but almost. The round very much parallels a 7.62x51 and that's a good thing.
