swiss rifle help needed

sydandpaigesdad · November 21, 2008, 10:11 PM

Hi all, my brother-in-law and I found a swiss schmitt-rubin sportierized 1896/11 rifle in our father-in-laws attic. My brother in law has taken the time to ID it via the web and has gotten some good help and advice on swissrifles.com, a couple of questions though.

1) The rifle looks as if it was rechambered perhaps for .308 according to some people but we cant be sure. Does anyone here know someplace where we might be able to send this rifle to to have it inspected? Someone whos pretty good about restoring swiss guns?

2) When they rechambered it they really messed up the stock cosmetically. Where would be a good place to start looking or talking to about maybe getting a new stock rebuilt to replace the damaged one?

If anyone has any suggestions or any help at all please feel free because we are completely stumped as where to go next to get this thing restored.

Technosavant · November 21, 2008, 10:19 PM

I would ask first at swiss-rifles.com, they'd know much better than we would.

I would NOT be shooting full power .308 out of one of those. Due to the nature of the locking system, that model is nowhere near as strong as the action in the later K31.

Unfortunately, the rechambering and resulting stock damage has likely ruined not only the collector's value of the firearm, but also its ability as a shooter. Somebody with a bit more knowledge of that particular model may be able to help you determine if reduced loads are safe to fire out of it, but I'd hold off until I know for sure.

sydandpaigesdad · November 21, 2008, 10:25 PM

yeah we are checking everywhere to get as much info as we cab, thanks for the advice, was kinda afraid I be getting that type of answers, sort of what I was thinking.

Tamara · November 21, 2008, 11:16 PM

A blurb on my own 96/11.

I would recommend having a qualified 'smith do a chamber casting on your rifle. If it is still chambered in 7.5 Swiss and headspace checks out okay, then regular GP11 surplus should be fine, as it was developed specifically for this rifle.

Best of luck finding an un-bubba-ized stock...

James K · November 22, 2008, 07:57 PM

I know some importers had those rifles converted to .308 (7.62 NATO), but I don't know how. I am pretty sure they didn't rebarrel the guns (and sell them for $29!) and you can't just rechamber because the 7.5 Swiss chamber is already too big for the .308. They could have set the barrel back, but there are other tricks that are more problematical like a chamber sleeve, which I consider a bad idea.

Jim

Milsurper · November 26, 2008, 12:57 PM

I had one of these rifles in .308 and it was a great shooter. My stock was cracked and I took it to a gunsmith who made me a new one at a very reasonable price. He used a stock duplicator which ruffed out a new one. I also went to this site and talked to them about it and they were a big help.

[http://collectorguns35625.yuku.com/forums/1

genesguns · November 28, 2009, 11:38 AM

Hello all...I have just purchased a K-31. It has a red strip of tape around the fore-end. The gentle man that I bought it from that the red mark indicates that it was used as a target rifle...Any truth to this??

Moosie-20 · December 12, 2009, 04:10 PM

Hello all...I have just purchased a K-31. It has a red strip of tape around the fore-end. The gentle man that I bought it from that the red mark indicates that it was used as a target rifle...Any truth to this??

-----------------------------------------------------

Look under the buttplate of your rifle. If it hasn't been removed and lost, there will be a lot of good information on a tag under the plate, including the inspection history, the name of the person who had the rifle issued to him, etc.

As far as the red tape, I haven't heard anything of that sort. All K-31's are well built and quite accurate, and all the military ammo for them I have seen (all boat-tail solids with a very sleek profile) is highly accurate, comparable to the LC match ammunition built for the US 30-06.

madcratebuilder · December 13, 2009, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by genesguns

Hello all...I have just purchased a K-31. It has a red strip of tape around the fore-end. The gentle man that I bought it from that the red mark indicates that it was used as a target rifle...Any truth to this??

You should ask that question at
http://collectorguns35625.yuku.com/forum/view/id/1
or
http://theswissriflesdotcommessagebo....com/directory

Steph · December 14, 2009, 02:15 PM

Hello Moosie, well, that thing about your K 31 being a target weapon because of that red tape doesn't sound quite familiar to me ; there were other versions of the 31 especially designed for target shooting, such as the K 31/42 for instance. However, I remember buddy soldiers applying stickers, whatever colours but rather discrete ones on their Sturmgewehr/Fusil d'assaut 57 so that they could quickly and easily find their rifle among others.... it might be as simple as that, but I wouldn't swear it. Hope this helps a bit though

!

benogil · December 14, 2009, 02:54 PM

The swissrifles folks say the red striped K's weren't made as target varieties, but the red does denote they were used in competitions.

genesguns · December 19, 2009, 11:43 AM

Thanks for all the info here. It is greatly appreciated

November 21, 2008, 10:11 PM	#1
sydandpaigesdad Junior Member Join Date: April 20, 2008 Posts: 11	swiss rifle help needed Hi all, my brother-in-law and I found a swiss schmitt-rubin sportierized 1896/11 rifle in our father-in-laws attic. My brother in law has taken the time to ID it via the web and has gotten some good help and advice on swissrifles.com, a couple of questions though. 1) The rifle looks as if it was rechambered perhaps for .308 according to some people but we cant be sure. Does anyone here know someplace where we might be able to send this rifle to to have it inspected? Someone whos pretty good about restoring swiss guns? 2) When they rechambered it they really messed up the stock cosmetically. Where would be a good place to start looking or talking to about maybe getting a new stock rebuilt to replace the damaged one? If anyone has any suggestions or any help at all please feel free because we are completely stumped as where to go next to get this thing restored.

November 21, 2008, 11:16 PM	#4
Tamara Moderator Emeritus Join Date: March 11, 2000 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 16,002	A blurb on my own 96/11. I would recommend having a qualified 'smith do a chamber casting on your rifle. If it is still chambered in 7.5 Swiss and headspace checks out okay, then regular GP11 surplus should be fine, as it was developed specifically for this rifle. Best of luck finding an un-bubba-ized stock... __________________ MOLON LABE! 2% Unobtainium, 98% Hypetanium. The Arms Room: An Online Museum.

November 26, 2008, 12:57 PM	#6
Milsurper Junior Member Join Date: November 26, 2008 Posts: 2	.308 swiss rifle I had one of these rifles in .308 and it was a great shooter. My stock was cracked and I took it to a gunsmith who made me a new one at a very reasonable price. He used a stock duplicator which ruffed out a new one. I also went to this site and talked to them about it and they were a big help. [http://collectorguns35625.yuku.com/forums/1

November 28, 2009, 11:38 AM	#7
genesguns Junior Member Join Date: November 28, 2009 Posts: 2	Red mark on K-31 Hello all...I have just purchased a K-31. It has a red strip of tape around the fore-end. The gentle man that I bought it from that the red mark indicates that it was used as a target rifle...Any truth to this??

November 21, 2008, 10:19 PM	#2
Technosavant Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2007 Location: St. Louis, MO area Posts: 4,040	I would ask first at swiss-rifles.com, they'd know much better than we would. I would NOT be shooting full power .308 out of one of those. Due to the nature of the locking system, that model is nowhere near as strong as the action in the later K31. Unfortunately, the rechambering and resulting stock damage has likely ruined not only the collector's value of the firearm, but also its ability as a shooter. Somebody with a bit more knowledge of that particular model may be able to help you determine if reduced loads are safe to fire out of it, but I'd hold off until I know for sure.

November 21, 2008, 10:25 PM	#3
sydandpaigesdad Junior Member Join Date: April 20, 2008 Posts: 11	yeah we are checking everywhere to get as much info as we cab, thanks for the advice, was kinda afraid I be getting that type of answers, sort of what I was thinking.

November 22, 2008, 07:57 PM	#5
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	I know some importers had those rifles converted to .308 (7.62 NATO), but I don't know how. I am pretty sure they didn't rebarrel the guns (and sell them for $29!) and you can't just rechamber because the 7.5 Swiss chamber is already too big for the .308. They could have set the barrel back, but there are other tricks that are more problematical like a chamber sleeve, which I consider a bad idea. Jim

December 12, 2009, 04:10 PM	#8
Moosie-20 Junior Member Join Date: December 12, 2009 Posts: 1	Hello all...I have just purchased a K-31. It has a red strip of tape around the fore-end. The gentle man that I bought it from that the red mark indicates that it was used as a target rifle...Any truth to this?? ----------------------------------------------------- Look under the buttplate of your rifle. If it hasn't been removed and lost, there will be a lot of good information on a tag under the plate, including the inspection history, the name of the person who had the rifle issued to him, etc. As far as the red tape, I haven't heard anything of that sort. All K-31's are well built and quite accurate, and all the military ammo for them I have seen (all boat-tail solids with a very sleek profile) is highly accurate, comparable to the LC match ammunition built for the US 30-06.

December 14, 2009, 02:15 PM	#10
Steph Junior Member Join Date: December 7, 2009 Location: Lausanne, Switzerland Posts: 10	Hello Moosie, well, that thing about your K 31 being a target weapon because of that red tape doesn't sound quite familiar to me ; there were other versions of the 31 especially designed for target shooting, such as the K 31/42 for instance. However, I remember buddy soldiers applying stickers, whatever colours but rather discrete ones on their Sturmgewehr/Fusil d'assaut 57 so that they could quickly and easily find their rifle among others.... it might be as simple as that, but I wouldn't swear it. Hope this helps a bit though !

December 14, 2009, 02:54 PM	#11
benogil Senior Member Join Date: January 23, 2008 Posts: 131	The swissrifles folks say the red striped K's weren't made as target varieties, but the red does denote they were used in competitions.

December 19, 2009, 11:43 AM	#12
genesguns Junior Member Join Date: November 28, 2009 Posts: 2	Thanks for all the info here. It is greatly appreciated