Here in Ohio we have a wonderful organization called the Ohio Gun Collectors Association or OGCA for short. Every two months they hold a "meeting" up in Wilmington and these meetings are actually extremely high quality gun shows. The show content is highly controlled, only members or their guests are admitted, and the signal to noise ratio is extremely high. We have members from every state and from all over the world.
For this past weekend's meeting, I set the goal to find a really nice Swiss K31. I arrive about 10:30 Saturday morning and had forgotten that it was Display Show weekend so I spent about half an hour ogling the various exhibits vying for top honors. There was some seriously cool stuff and I could have lingered longer, but I had a goal so I voted (History of US Military Rifle Grenades) and went down to Aisle A.
Usually it takes a while to find your treasure as the show is huge, but I spotted a straight pull action on an upright rack in aisle G and asked the owner if I could examine the rifle. And there she was! It didn't take long to decide that this K31 was The One. Beautiful, straight grain walnut stock. Bright, unmarred metalwork. Matching numbers. Muzzle cap in place. She had been used, but only slightly. Her condition was better than I had hoped for and the price was right. I paid the ask, filled out my paperwork, shook hands with the dealer and away I went to look for some ammunition.
I walked to the end of aisle G, turned the corner into H and there was another K31 lying on the table next to a few 10-packs of GP11 ammunition. Compared to Beatrix (I named mine after a beauty I know who lives in Zurich), this old girl was homely. Her beech stock was marred and scarred and her metalwork was dinged and scratched. The seller wanted to know what I had paid for mine and was surprised that it was the same as his ask. He inquired if I needed ammo and before long I added 100 rounds of 1979 vintage GP11 to my haversack. Now all I needed was a sling...
As I wound my way through the show with Bea in the crook of my arm or shouldered when she got heavy, everybody was looking at her. I got over a dozen offers to purchase her, but many just wanted to stop and talk about K31s. A really interesting conversation was with Rodney James who authored "The ABCs of Reloading". He was very interested in the rifle and the cartridge and while we talked another fellow came up to offer some reloading advice and point out a few other guys at the show who are K31 fans and experts. Everyone remarked on how beautiful my new girl was.
At the very end of the aisle I found a nice leather sling made in 1962. (I later found that Beatrix is 74 years old, but she doesn't look a day over 39.) With that I called it a day and went home to marvel at my new rifle.
This weekend I will fire Beatrix for the first time in the Butler County Sportsmen Club's monthly service rifle match. It is very similar to an AQT:
All shooting is done at 100 yards, but the targets are scaled down to simulate
200 yards for offhand slow fire--10 rounds in 10 minutes,
200 yards for standing to seated rapid fire--10 rounds in 60 seconds with a mandatory reload (+10 for bolt action),
300 yards for standing to prone rapid fire--10 rounds in 70 seconds with a mandatory reload (+10 for bolt action), and
two prone slow fire--10 rounds in 10 minutes at a simulated 600 yards
I have another magazine ordered for her and am hoping it arrives by Friday.
My only question, if you've read this far, is this:
A USGI sling will work on the K31's side mounted sling loop, but it's not optimal. I saw in previous threads there was mention of replacing that barrel band with one from another rifle that has a normal bottom mount swivel and loop, but I could not discern which one they were talking about. Do you know?
Thanks for reading. I have attached a few pictures.
WOW. I can see why you fell.
:F
Beautiful K-31! You want a Schmidt Rubin 1911 barrel band and swivel, I believe. A friend of mine has one on his K-31, and I should pick one up for mine before they go extinct.
http://forums.thecmp.org/archive/index.php/t-200531.html (http://forums.thecmp.org/archive/index.php/t-200531.html)
Thanks and thanks. I will look for one. Seems the screw is harder to find than the band itself. Let me know if you have a source.
The K31 is an awesome firearm. Especially the machining of bolt.
I have had mine for about 8 years but is probably not as nice as yours as I bought it from Aim Surplus for about $120. The stock is beech and will not win any beauty contest but is still a very accurate rifle.
I bought the front swivel band with the bottom swivel from Numrich Gun Parts but I don't think they have any in stock anymore. I also used a 1903 military leather sling with it for the Vintage Military Match a Camp Perry. I did have a scout scope and a mount from S&K but took it off when I wanted to use it in the National Matches.
I would be interested in joining the OGCA but I am looking for existing members to sponsor me. I believe you need 2 existing members to vouch for you.
Good luck and good shooting.
I think Numrich has the band but not the screw that closes the band. It seems to be an oddity.
I can get another member to sponsor you into OGCA. My friend Dave and I are usually there. Not sure about the July meeting. That's going to be a busy day, but I'll definitely try if you're game.
I'm in a similar spot with my much less pretty K31. I have the band, but no screw.
Instead, consider adapting to the rifle and sling you have?
https://youtu.be/rUQKs-7kR6A
Also a nice primer on k31 sights
https://youtu.be/XTgET4rZjnY
Thanks for the info. I'll check it out. I've got a good understanding of the sights. I made a front sight tool this week for a grand total of $5 and it works like a charm.
Took her to the range for the first time today. Shot a 97-4X off a sandbag at 100 yards! Definitely in love. She barks loud and kicks like a mule, but I like it.
Glad to hear you've got the sights down. I was confused at first by the shift from dead hold at 100 and 200 meters to 6:00 hold at 300 and beyond. Makes sense once the bloke explained it, though!
Yep, the Bloke is a great resource for all things Lee, Swiss, etc.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC9k2WzcJ1kUMl4KIwNQwrFA
Hopefully YouTube quits their shenanigans & leaves him alone.
Quote from: Nashville Stage on May 26, 2018, 04:55:43 PM
Yep, the Bloke is a great resource for all things Lee, Swiss, etc.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC9k2WzcJ1kUMl4KIwNQwrFA
Hopefully YouTube quits their shenanigans & leaves him alone.
Yes, I discovered him quite recently and got my K31 sight info from his video. I'm not up to speed on his fights with YouTube, but he seems harmless to me.
A few days ago, his entire channel was terminated & deleted without warning. His appeal was also quickly denied via a form letter with no explanation or recourse. Thankfully, many of the larger firearms channels took up his cause & started questioning their contacts at YouTube about it. A day or two later, his channel mysteriously reappeared. Hickock45 had the same thing happen to his channel not too long ago. YouTube is becoming an increasingly hostile place for anything that they as a company don't like.
Quote from: HammBone on May 22, 2018, 11:11:23 AM
Here in Ohio we have a wonderful organization called the Ohio Gun Collectors Association or OGCA for short. Every two months they hold a "meeting" up in Wilmington and these meetings are actually extremely high quality gun shows. The show content is highly controlled, only members or their guests are admitted, and the signal to noise ratio is extremely high. We have members from every state and from all over the world.
I need to make it to an OCGA show one of these days; I have a few co-workers who have been, and have unanimously great things to say about it (for the exact reasons you list in your third sentence).
The K-31 is a great rifle; congrats on picking her up!
Quote from: Rattlehead on May 27, 2018, 04:45:09 PM
I need to make it to an OCGA show one of these days; I have a few co-workers who have been, and have unanimously great things to say about it (for the exact reasons you list in your third sentence).
The K-31 is a great rifle; congrats on picking her up!
The shows are very interesting. There needs to be an infusion of youth somehow or they will not be as large as they are for very long. Lots of 70 and 80 year old guys there.
The K-31 is a hoot. In the rapid fire stages of the match I was able to keep up with the Garands and AR15s, but the ejected cartridges seem to go straight up spinning right in the middle. They were dropping on my arms and head and back. I was wearing a shooting coat so didn't have to worry about the burns. I finally got to where I could eject, catch them in the air and set them in a little pile.
Ref sling. I use a gi web sling. Got the 96/11 front band assembly from numrich. Ebay has them sometimes. Note CMP rules do allow this change for vintage match.
I use the Swiss sling clip on the rear sling bar and then attach the gi sling clip to that.
Comes off and on much easier when sling up for match use.
Swiss stripper clips can be found, funny cardboard things. Plastic aftermarket strippers are on ebay and work. Mosin 7.62x54 clips work as well.
If not previously mentioned, unscrew the buttplate, some rifles have the soldiers name and address on a card.
GP11 is great ammo as well. Buy all you can, swiss govt has quit making issue ammo. Hope that helps.
Ref sling. I use a gi web sling. Got the 96/11 front band assembly from numrich. Ebay has them sometimes. Note CMP rules do allow this change for vintage match.
I use the Swiss sling clip on the rear sling bar and then attach the gi sling clip to that.
Comes off and on much easier when sling up for match use.
Swiss stripper clips can be found, funny cardboard things. Plastic aftermarket strippers are on ebay and work. Mosin 7.62x54 clips work as well.
If not previously mentioned, unscrew the buttplate, some rifles have the soldiers name and address on a card.
GP11 is great ammo as well. Buy all you can, swiss govt has quit making issue ammo. Hope that helps.
Quote from: HammBone on May 22, 2018, 10:46:09 PM
I think Numrich has the band but not the screw that closes the band. It seems to be an oddity.
I can get another member to sponsor you into OGCA. My friend Dave and I are usually there. Not sure about the July meeting. That's going to be a busy day, but I'll definitely try if you're game.
I was thinking of more in the fall or winter range. PM me when you are going and I'll check my schedule and let you know.
Quote from: astroturf3040 on May 28, 2018, 04:13:28 PM
Ref sling. I use a gi web sling. Got the 96/11 front band assembly from numrich. Ebay has them sometimes. Note CMP rules do allow this change for vintage match.
I use the Swiss sling clip on the rear sling bar and then attach the gi sling clip to that.
Comes off and on much easier when sling up for match use.
Swiss stripper clips can be found, funny cardboard things. Plastic aftermarket strippers are on ebay and work. Mosin 7.62x54 clips work as well.
If not previously mentioned, unscrew the buttplate, some rifles have the soldiers name and address on a card.
GP11 is great ammo as well. Buy all you can, swiss govt has quit making issue ammo. Hope that helps.
I am going to find one of those bands. It's my new mission. That side mounted swivel is way too futzy. Also, I noticed a thing at the match Saturday. When I sighted the rifle on bags, I corrected the windage and all was good. In the match using the sling I noticed that everything was grouping left of bullseye. I assume that the sling is pulling the barrel a bit left. It would still have a tendency to do that with a bottom swivel, but hopefully not as much. I was seeing around 1.5 MOA shift.
I have a couple of those stripper clips coming. A guy on eBay in the Netherlands had them. I'm guessing they will be here this week.
No name under my buttplate. I checked it in the car right after I walked out of the gun show.
I definitely need more GP11. I only had 100 rounds and it's all gone. I checked Cabela's for some PRVI, but they had none.
Finally, I found a really nice bayonet for it. It's from 1942 and appears to have been only slightly used.
As Smoak always says when he brings out his K31 , that rifle will make you feel like a hero.
Quote from: HammBone on May 29, 2018, 08:15:58 AM
I definitely need more GP11. I only had 100 rounds and it's all gone. I checked Cabela's for some PRVI, but they had none.
SGAmmo has a decent-ish price on PPU. That's all I've shot in my K-31, since GP11 is Berdan primed (and it was unavailable when I bought my rifle).
https://ammoseek.com/ammo/7.5x55mm-swiss (https://ammoseek.com/ammo/7.5x55mm-swiss)