K31 Schmidt Rubin

[Barlow]

A friend of mine brought over a couple of his Dad's (deceased) rifles for me to look over this afternoon. One was a Schmidt Rubin K31, 7.5x55 full military. Wow, what a beautiful piece of machining. It looked unfired. The bolt face was pristine and the bore looked the same. It had some kind of heavier oil on it and in it but not goobs of the stuff. The rear sight had been changed to a peep, which led me to think it had been fired, but maybe not.
The other was a 98 Mauser marked 1944 DOT, that had been sporterized, (restocked) with a decent piece of walnut. The stock was pretty nice with a cheek piece and good fit and finish. The barrel was military, and the action was not well finished. I compared it to my 1917 Danzig and it looked rough in comparison. Sorry no pictures, but it was a fun couple of hours. He's going to start handloading, as his Dad had loaded for many years and all of his equipment is just sitting. I'll get him started in the next few weeks. Barlow

 

[watercam]

That K31 would make a great Vintage Sniper rifle....

 

[joshb]

I picked up a similar duo a couple years ago. I found a K31 at a gun store in lower Delaware. I put a scope on mine and it shoots. About a month later, I bought a German marked 98 war bring back from an older gentleman that got it from his uncle who fought in the war.
Tell your friend to look for surplus gp 11 ammo. It's good ammo!

 

[retired]

good ?? heck it is great ammo.
the rifle itself is probably the most accurate issue rifle ever made.
if he reloads get a k31 die, not a 7.5x55 set..they are different.
the 1911 and k31 both shoot gp11 but the chambers are different.
brass will last longer with the k31 die.
been there done that.

I picked up a similar duo a couple years ago. I found a K31 at a gun store in lower Delaware. I put a scope on mine and it shoots. About a month later, I bought a German marked 98 war bring back from an older gentleman that got it from his uncle who fought in the war.
Tell your friend to look for surplus gp 11 ammo. It's good ammo!

 

[steve123]

A friend of mine brought over a couple of his Dad's (deceased) rifles for me to look over this afternoon. One was a Schmidt Rubin K31, 7.5x55 full military. Wow, what a beautiful piece of machining. It looked unfired. The bolt face was pristine and the bore looked the same. It had some kind of heavier oil on it and in it but not goobs of the stuff. The rear sight had been changed to a peep, which led me to think it had been fired, but maybe not.
The other was a 98 Mauser marked 1944 DOT, that had been sporterized, (restocked) with a decent piece of walnut. The stock was pretty nice with a cheek piece and good fit and finish. The barrel was military, and the action was not well finished. I compared it to my 1917 Danzig and it looked rough in comparison. Sorry no pictures, but it was a fun couple of hours. He's going to start handloading, as his Dad had loaded for many years and all of his equipment is just sitting. I'll get him started in the next few weeks. Barlow

Buy that K31!

 

[simo hayha]

I miss my k31s....had five at one time

 

[JSH]

Ditto on the K31 comments and dies.
I tried about every die set known for mine. I did have a set of Redding K31 marked dies. I suspect the seller I got mine from may have switched dies in the box, as they were not much if any better than the ones I had before.
I ended up with a set marked 30-284. Several guys swore they would not work. It is all I have used for the last 20 years with zero issues or brass loss.
Jeff

 

[Barlow]

Buy that K31!

I'd like to have it, but it's not for sale. Barlow

 

[Sniper338]

k31s are stupid accurate for what they are. Fun to shoot too!! open sights is all you need.

gp11 ammo... OR.... What I do... and fairly closely replicates the gp11 ammo... Berger 30 cal175 vlds, norma brass, and reloader 17. I forgot my charge weight, but its stupid accurate for that gun

 

[Sniper338]

cosmoline is the thick oily substance your referring to... guns were drenched in it and stored... needs to be cleaned out best you can.

 

[Sniper338]

I use redding 7.5x55 swiss dies... havent had a problem yet... shoots great.

 

[velocette]

Buy that K31!

The correct reloading die set is the Redding 80235. Always full length resize,
Test for seated depth very carefully as most K31s are throated for bullets with a long
ogive.

 

[suasponte]

I have three K31's. They are all tack drivers. Great Rifles.
I shoot a NOE mould 180gr K31 bullet with 16.5gr of 2400. Will shoot in the 10x at 200 all day long.

 

[jonbearman]

I always wanted one of the K31's but most I encountered were not pristine however I have a DOT44 and the machining isn't all that bad but it is a complete numbers matching rifle. Your friend got 2 very cool rifle's and I hope he take's great care of them because they don't grow on tree's anymore.

 

[joshb]

Suasponte: That one's in good shape. Mine did a lot of boot cleaning. The nicest thing about these old gems is the price. I bought three for $4-450 a gun. The other neat old gun on my list are the Swedish Mausers. They're great shooters too.

 

[suasponte]

Very nice Sir,
May I ask what year it is?
May I ask what is that stock Berchwood?
I always wondered about the large safety ring and why the straight pull and it was pointed out by a old timer that they were designed for cold weather and heavy gloves.
Made sense to me.

Not sure what year it is. Got it at a gun show for $75. Had Cosmoline all over it. Took a month to get it cleaned up and refinished. I do believe the stock is birch.
Sent a letter to the guys name plate under the butt plate and got a response back with a picture of him holding that rifle. Pretty frigging cool. I will look to see if I can find that picture.
Terry

 

[suasponte]

Been looking for a aperture sight for the one. Holy shit they are more then I paid for all three of them.
Terry

 

[normmatzen]

I, too, have a K31 that I bought to shoot Vintage Sillouette as well as in Garand matches. And, yes, they are great shooters! I reload for it but also bought some G11 Swiss ammunition and it is like match grade.

I also bought one of the made in the U.S.A. diopter sights. They are a thing of beauty!
I couldn't shoot any better with the diopter than I could with the standard sight. Then I found out that was not a deficiency with the sight, I was getting cataracts which turned the nice round view of a proper diopter into what looked like a multi pronged star! Now I am waiting till my eye physician thinks my cataracts are bad enough to get new lenses!
Actually sold the sight and got what I paid for!
They are an excellent sight with superb design and machining.