Ammo availability vs. Coolness.

[benogil]

While they may not export GP11, depending on shifts in policies, the Swiss do have a bit on hand ( millions of rounds ). The USA is their best customer.
I would imagine the supply will continue for quite awhile. Money talks.

[Wrothgar]

Yeah, I may have to start stocking it up; it was cheaper per round than the wolf stuff!

Also, do they make stripper clips or extra magazines for the k31?

Further, no one answered my questions about cleaning the k31.

[johnwilliamson062]

I clean with an otis system. It is always better to go breach to bore. If you have to put a rod in the other way be certain to use a guide.

Extra magazines are available occasionally, but very expensive. Some simply buy an extra rifle to get a mag.
http://www.e-gunparts.com/DisplayAd....rSuperSKU=&MC=

Sportsmans guide has clips. I hate to buy surplus items from them as i have found their description of items to be terribly misleading/wrong.

[Wrothgar]

Soooo, what brush should I use? .308?

[Tamara]

Yup. A regular .30 cal bore brush is what you need.

[p99guy]

it is a true .308 bore, which is great for reloading purposes.

[FALPhil]

And even they shouldnt be shot with maximum load .308 winchester ammo-which has higher chamber pressures than military 7.62 NATO.

That is not a true statement. Pressures are nominally within 2KPSI. I posted the research on this board a couple of years ago.

[p99guy]

There ARE things such as the heavy 220gr and Norma Lite Magnum in .308 that I still wouldnt shoot though a converted No4 or a Ishapore.....I have a Enfield book that has a great section on locking lug damage and receiver headspace changes on the 7.62x51 Enfields. No, not going to blow up...but will batter things on the upper end of the pressure side.

Now,If you talking about a Ruger M77 or Winchester M70, Remington 700 its not a consideration at all, and you are correct.

[Wrothgar]

Alright, stop talking about reloading; this thread is supposed to be about my awesome new rifle that should be here by Friday :-).

[jsmaye]

Also, do they make stripper clips or extra magazines for the k31?

I've not seen any traditional stripper clips for it. The Swiss used what's more considered a 'charger' than a clip - it sort of looks like an upside-down magazine with a slot for your thumb to push the rounds down into the rifle.

[p99guy]

Yes they make stripper clips...and on occasion you can get a spare mag(the soldiers only used strippers)

[FALPhil]

Yes they make stripper clips...and on occasion you can get a spare mag(the soldiers only used strippers)

They look like this. Waxed cardboard and foil. Meant to be used once and discarded.

[p99guy]

they are overengineered for single use in typical swiss fashion, so they acually
last quite a while if you don't step on them ect.

[Wrothgar]

I got the K-31 in today; its got something in the barrel, looks like some kind of greese, but I don't thin its Cosmoline; anyone know what it is and how to get rid of it? I dont' think its cosmoline because it seems to be a bit more, i dunno, grease like and less glue like.

[Ignition Override]

benogil:

As long as the Swiss, with so much ammo to export, don't cave in to the recent insane British/European desire to destroy more old rifles and ammo,
our K-31 fans could be in luck.
"Classicarms" (in NC) now sells a number of Swiss rifles, surprisingly along with Lee-Enfield #4s and Czech Mausers (8mm), which have the lion crest/emblem.

Yesterday I watched two videos in German (understood little), which were posted at either 'Gunboards' or 'Surplusrifle'. It was probably a Mauser 'thread'.

In one, the police in Bern, Switzerland invited citizens to turn in old guns for destruction. People were line up in front of the police bldg.
The second, also showing people in a 'Schlange', was in the German state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) with the same thing, maybe just in one city. There seemed to have been no compensation for the reception of so many guns and knives in either video, which were posted by a guy in Germany.

A friend here who left Germany twenty years ago told me that it is the terrible trauma of two world wars which creates the German desire to get rid of weapons.

But the Swiss have been neutral for so long, due to the mountains and their huge militia/Army Reserve. In '77 I saw a guy riding his bicycle on a Zurich street, with a military rifle strapped across his back. Riding around with it is much cooler than just Having fancy gear on an AR-15/10.

[gyvel]

if somebody took a canadian .303 receiver and put a .308 barrel on it I wouldnt touch it If it were free!!!!!! kabooooom!!!

Since only No. 4 rifles were manufactured in Canada, and in relatively peaceful conditions (as opposed to the Brits who were being bombed on a regular basis), and those very same No. 4 rifles were converted to .308 by the Brits who held them as a reserve arm for the L1A1s, I don't see where this "kaboom" is coming from.

[Wrothgar]

Where can I find an article about interpreting the numbers and symbols on a K31? I want to find out where and when mine was made. I checked surplusrifle.com and it didn't have anything.

[madcratebuilder]

http://collectorguns35625.yuku.com/forum/view/id/1

http://theswissriflesdotcommessagebo....com/directory

[MagnumWill]

Gawd, that Simpson Ltd. site is off their friggin' rockers. $195 for a normal CAI Mosin Nagant!?! Big 5 sells 'em for $89.95! I would take my chances with J&G instead.

[sonick808]

domain info lists joesalter contact info as

joesalter /AT\ joesalter

dotcom

[steelman762]

I have both the enfield 2A and the swiss K-31. The swiss was a good choice. There not going to stop making ammo for it. Too popular. I noticed when I first received the 2A it had a warning tag NATO AMMO Only. I have realy only shot reloads in it. I don`t know what factory loads would do? I don`t want to try. Also the enfield was a cosmoline mess and the metalic parts were originaly painted with some kind of enamel paint. I had a lot of cleaning to do. Good shooting with the K-31.

[Cheapshooter]

Hey Rothgar, has anybody mentioned the little "prize" in the buttstock?
Remove the buttplate and you should find a plastic tag with the name, town, and military unit of the person the rifle was issued to. There are a lot of sites on the web with ways to find the information on it. Some people have even contacted the original owners who were amazed how much iinterest someone had in their old rifle.

[Wrothgar]

Cheapshooter; I tried to get to it, but My screwdriver started striping the, uh, place you put the screwdriver into the screw? I don't know what part of the screw that's called. I didn't want to cause permanent damage, so I stopped, but I want to find it SO BAD!!!!!

Another question; underneath the barrel is something that looks like a bayonet mount or a hook or something; what in the world is that? Its not the bayonet lug, I know where that is, cause I've got the bayonet.

[tater134]

Another question; underneath the barrel is something that looks like a bayonet mount or a hook or something; what in the world is that? Its not the bayonet lug, I know where that is, cause I've got the bayonet.

Thats a stacking hook.Its used for stacking rifles together in those little tee pee looking things when they arent in use.Kind of like this:

[Wrothgar]

Sooooo, any ideas on getting the buttplate off my K31?