Hunting with a Swiss K31?

C Philip · May 5, 2006, 03:56 PM

I will soon be getting a K31, and was thinking of using it to hunt whitetail deer in PA. I have two questions;
1) Is the 7.5x55mm caliber enough for deer? If so, what is the effective range?
2) The only ammo I can find in this caliber is FMJ. I don't reload so I'm stuck with commerical ammo. Would the FMJ be ok to use for hunting as long as I only take shots where I know I can hit a reduced kill zone very well?

sindiesel666 · May 5, 2006, 04:08 PM

I'd say K31 is on par or more powerful than .308 Win.
I'm not sure of the legal issues pertaining to use of FMJ, I guess you'd have to check with your state's Fish and Game guys. But I see no reason that the FMJ would not take down an animal cleanly with good shot placement.

jhgreasemonkey · May 5, 2006, 05:39 PM

I'd say youve got a great rifle for deer hunting. Plenty of people have taken deer with much less like 7.62x39, 30-30, .243 etc. From what I have read your caliber is pretty close to 30-06 ballistics with excellent acuracy.

2rugers · May 5, 2006, 08:21 PM

Get yourself a bullet puller, unload the fmj. and then add whatever .308 bullet you want.

solvability · May 5, 2006, 08:40 PM

Hornady and Hotshot make soft point hunting ammo - also it is reloadable. I would hesitate to just to swap bullets of the same weight - the bearing surface on the Swiss bullet is less than the norm so you will get higher pressures with most .308 bullets of the same weight, also you will need to seat the bullet deeper than usual and that too will increase pressure. I might swap a 150 grain bullet for the 170 something Swiss bullet.

MEDDAC19 · May 6, 2006, 10:50 AM

C Philip

The rifle is legal and more than adequate, regs require manually operated centerfire only, so the K31 is OK. The bullet must be all lead or designed to expand on impact, so the FMJ would not be a legal round for deer in PA. Hope this helps.

**Rich Lucibella** · May 6, 2006, 11:34 AM

I bought one of these for about $200. With iron sights, in the right hands, I watched a shooter consistently bust bread-box size rocks out to 600 yards. I was so impressed, I transferred the rifle to him.

I think you've found a real sleeper...a real winner.
Rich

C Philip · May 6, 2006, 02:21 PM

Thank you for all the good responses. I just found that Wolf's new Gold line of ammo makes the 7.5x55 in both FMJ and SP, although the SP is significantly harder to find. I also checked up on the PA hunting laws, and you were correct MEDDAC19, it can't be FMJ. I'll get a few boxes of the Wolf SP and be good to go. Thanks again!

kidvillain41300 · May 11, 2006, 11:54 AM

With the Swiss K-31 make sure you do a excellent barrel cleaning prior to getting your zero........being alot of these were fired and then put into storage packed in cosmoline and never cleaned. Alot of the military 7.5x55 ammo had corrosive primers and once you get the cosmoline cleaned out do a good barrel inspection. You will be scrubbing for awhile. What you'll want do is to purchase the SP bullets and make sure you zero at 50yds then at 100yds to get your bullet rise.........K31's are notorious for bullet drift and erratic shout groups.........put alot of rounds on paper,write down everything and you should be ok.............FMJ are pretty much a no-no everywhere for hunting purposes.....good luck

solvability · May 11, 2006, 02:30 PM

A good clean barrel is a good thing, but NONE of the GP11 was ever corrosive - one of the reasons we have such excellent barrels on the K31s - if you have older ammo than Gp11 save it, it is for collectors.

UniversalFrost · May 11, 2006, 03:08 PM

Other than sniper models this is a very very accurate rifle. Also use Soft points even if you could use FMJ the bullet would go through the body of the animal and it would eventually bleed out (deer can run a long way before dying). Shot a yote' once (center mass right through the heart) with a 174 grain FMJ .303 british round and the sucker ran for about 500 yards before dropping. Hit another with a 150 sp .303 british and the sucker dropped in his tracks (kinda blew him in half

) .

The K31 is on my list of guns to buy. I would definately take one hunting.

May 5, 2006, 03:56 PM	#1
C Philip Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2005 Location: USA Posts: 784	Hunting with a Swiss K31? I will soon be getting a K31, and was thinking of using it to hunt whitetail deer in PA. I have two questions; 1) Is the 7.5x55mm caliber enough for deer? If so, what is the effective range? 2) The only ammo I can find in this caliber is FMJ. I don't reload so I'm stuck with commerical ammo. Would the FMJ be ok to use for hunting as long as I only take shots where I know I can hit a reduced kill zone very well?

May 5, 2006, 08:21 PM	#4
2rugers Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2005 Location: texas Posts: 762	Get yourself a bullet puller, unload the fmj. and then add whatever .308 bullet you want. __________________ Pain Is The Quickest Teacher 2RUGERS AKA "HALFCOCKED"

May 6, 2006, 11:34 AM	#7
Rich Lucibella Staff Join Date: October 6, 1998 Location: South Florida Posts: 10,229	I bought one of these for about $200. With iron sights, in the right hands, I watched a shooter consistently bust bread-box size rocks out to 600 yards. I was so impressed, I transferred the rifle to him. I think you've found a real sleeper...a real winner. Rich __________________ S.W.A.T. Magazine Weapons, Training and Tactics for the Real World Join us at TFL or at AR15.com or on Facebook

May 11, 2006, 03:08 PM	#11
UniversalFrost Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,300	probably the most accurate normal issue WWII weapon Other than sniper models this is a very very accurate rifle. Also use Soft points even if you could use FMJ the bullet would go through the body of the animal and it would eventually bleed out (deer can run a long way before dying). Shot a yote' once (center mass right through the heart) with a 174 grain FMJ .303 british round and the sucker ran for about 500 yards before dropping. Hit another with a 150 sp .303 british and the sucker dropped in his tracks (kinda blew him in half ) . The K31 is on my list of guns to buy. I would definately take one hunting. __________________ Lifetime member VFW and NRA "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (when all else fails play dead) -Red Green

May 5, 2006, 04:08 PM	#2
sindiesel666 Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2004 Location: San Antonio Posts: 270	I'd say K31 is on par or more powerful than .308 Win. I'm not sure of the legal issues pertaining to use of FMJ, I guess you'd have to check with your state's Fish and Game guys. But I see no reason that the FMJ would not take down an animal cleanly with good shot placement.

May 5, 2006, 05:39 PM	#3
jhgreasemonkey Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2006 Location: Pacific Northwest Posts: 2,238	I'd say youve got a great rifle for deer hunting. Plenty of people have taken deer with much less like 7.62x39, 30-30, .243 etc. From what I have read your caliber is pretty close to 30-06 ballistics with excellent acuracy.

May 5, 2006, 08:40 PM	#5
solvability Member Join Date: March 5, 2005 Location: HSV Posts: 98	Hornady and Hotshot make soft point hunting ammo - also it is reloadable. I would hesitate to just to swap bullets of the same weight - the bearing surface on the Swiss bullet is less than the norm so you will get higher pressures with most .308 bullets of the same weight, also you will need to seat the bullet deeper than usual and that too will increase pressure. I might swap a 150 grain bullet for the 170 something Swiss bullet.

May 6, 2006, 10:50 AM	#6
MEDDAC19 Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2005 Location: Endless Mts,NEPA Posts: 379	C Philip The rifle is legal and more than adequate, regs require manually operated centerfire only, so the K31 is OK. The bullet must be all lead or designed to expand on impact, so the FMJ would not be a legal round for deer in PA. Hope this helps.

May 6, 2006, 02:21 PM	#8
C Philip Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2005 Location: USA Posts: 784	Thank you for all the good responses. I just found that Wolf's new Gold line of ammo makes the 7.5x55 in both FMJ and SP, although the SP is significantly harder to find. I also checked up on the PA hunting laws, and you were correct MEDDAC19, it can't be FMJ. I'll get a few boxes of the Wolf SP and be good to go. Thanks again!

May 11, 2006, 11:54 AM	#9
kidvillain41300 Member Join Date: May 10, 2006 Location: Prescott,AZ & Middleburg,FL Posts: 16	With the Swiss K-31 make sure you do a excellent barrel cleaning prior to getting your zero........being alot of these were fired and then put into storage packed in cosmoline and never cleaned. Alot of the military 7.5x55 ammo had corrosive primers and once you get the cosmoline cleaned out do a good barrel inspection. You will be scrubbing for awhile. What you'll want do is to purchase the SP bullets and make sure you zero at 50yds then at 100yds to get your bullet rise.........K31's are notorious for bullet drift and erratic shout groups.........put alot of rounds on paper,write down everything and you should be ok.............FMJ are pretty much a no-no everywhere for hunting purposes.....good luck

May 11, 2006, 02:30 PM	#10
solvability Member Join Date: March 5, 2005 Location: HSV Posts: 98	A good clean barrel is a good thing, but NONE of the GP11 was ever corrosive - one of the reasons we have such excellent barrels on the K31s - if you have older ammo than Gp11 save it, it is for collectors.