Is this a K31?

P

physikal

New member
My grandfather recently passed and he left me this gun. I know that it shoots 7.5x55 and it looks VERY similar to a K31 but it doesn't have a lot of the key features that I notice on most K31's when searching google. One being the massive swiss symbol on top of the gun just in front of the breach, which makes me think it MIGHT be a Model 1911 Carbine ("K11").

I know 100% all the wood is custom (not standard) because most K31's don't leave the entire barrel exposed like that.

Anyone have any ideas of what this may be? Were there any other straight through bolt look-a-likes made that are not official K31's?

Reason I'm so curious is because if I'm going to reload the 7.5's I'd like to know exactly what rifle I'm reloading for. Thanks!

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What I think you have is a sporterized Schmidt-Rubin 1911. Should be okay with 7.5x55 but you should probably have a smith check it out. I bought a similar looking sporterized 1889 many years ago (pre-internet) and it took a long time to figure out what I had. The first firings were with a lanyard standing behind a tree.
 
Does sporterized compromise the accuracy or anything like that? What would something like this go for? (I would never sell it since it was handed down from my grandfather, but I'm just curious.)
 
this rifle is not a K31 and it is not as good or as safe because the locking lugs are at the back of the bolt unlike the K31 which is at the front of the bolt.
chamber pressures are less than for K31 too.
 
Sporterizing will only effect the resale to a collector. I would simply shoot it. I suspect the sights will have it printing 6-8 inches high at 100. You could probably not get more than $150-200 for it, if that.
 
^^^^^^

+1

Sportered Schmidt-Rubin 1911, $150+/-, can be a very accurate rifle. Not as nice as the K-31's but still has a following. You can learn more at the Swiss rifle forums. Very nice wood on it, if you reload make up some light loads and go shoot it, you well be surprised how well these old rifle shoot.

It was your grandfathers rifle, keep it and cherish it, when you get to be a grandfather you can pass it on.
 
Says you.

Not as nice as the K-31's but still has a following.
Click to expand...

Some of us just think of the K-31 as a cheaper, easier to mass-produce descendant of the 1911 S-R. Locking lug location? The 7.5x55 Swiss round wasn't intended to be a high-pressure .308 Winchester clone, last I heard...

What your gun began life as, Physikal - my own 1911 in as-issued original military condition:

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Enjoy your sporterized 1911 rifle, and shoot it - often! :D
 
Thank you all for your extremely helpful comments. I am very excited to shoot it, as well as pass it on to my kids/grandkids.
 
"Some of us just think of the K-31 as a cheaper, easier to mass-produce descendant of the 1911 S-R. Locking lug location? The 7.5x55 Swiss round wasn't intended to be a high-pressure .308 Winchester clone, last I heard..."


Nope. The k31 was, and still is obtainable in 30-06, 300 WinMag, 7.5x55 and .308 from Haemmerli. Its certainly not cheaper to manufacture and was a world apart from being an ersatz 1911.
Beginning with the 1896/11 and through the 1911sr, the k11, the k31, the zfk55 Sniper and (as we know it here) the PE57, all were manufactured to handle the GP11 cartridge for which they were designed and even .308 chamber pressures.

Sometime in the 60's through the 70s, Golden State Arms imported, sporterized and converted thousands of 1911s into .308s. and sold throughout the US. They easily handle the .308 chamber pressures and make excellent hunting rifles. Most were drilled and tapped on the left side of the receiver to accept a scope mount. They were often advertised and referred to as Alpine Carbines.

zfk55
 
A problem with all those rifles, including the K31, is that they don't handle stray gas very well, and a leaky primer can send gas straight back through the bolt to the shooter's face. Fortunately Swiss ammuntion was always of the highest quality, but with folks now making cases from other calibers and reloads being used, there could be problems the original users never experienced.

So just a reminder to always wear eye protection when shooting any firearm.

Jim
 
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