New K31 -- I am impressed with this rifle!

M

MEATSAW

New member
Well Mr. FedEx dropped me off this gem. Its a Swiss K31 with a serial number that puts it being made at 1944. The stock is walnut with a fairly light finish -- it is also in very good condition. It has the cartouche and the matching serial numbers which tells me that this hasn't been sanded down and refinished by anyone. I am very impressed with the workmanship on this rifle. The bluing is very nice, and everything just feels good. The straight pull action is really quite cool. Its pretty stiff to unlock (heavy spring?) but other than that its smooth as silk. The trigger is amazing! I now know why everyone who owns one says to get one!

EDIT: I also wanted to add that based on the markings everything (stock too) was manufactured by SIG which I find interestingly cool. There are some markings that I'm finding that are not on the Swiss Rifle Markings web site.
Edit 2: Just figured out that the magazine was made my Swiss camera maker Bolex. It keeps getting more interesting by the moment.

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And here are the titans of military surplus: Finn M39 and Swiss K31. The Finn has a prettier stock and the action is faster, but the Swiss has better handling, and better sights. I'm taking them to the range on Monday for their first grudge match :)

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Got it from Simpsons. If it was refinished the cartouche on the stock would either be gone or would be clearly sanded neither of which are the case.
 
Swiss rifles are speced with a 30 year combat lifespan. One of the reasons behind the propertary cartridge is so that the ammo cannot be purchased outside normal ordance channels or sold on black market. The quality of thier rifles exceedes that of all commercial Mausers. The average K31 will have about 1-3000 rounds fired but will also have perfect maintance, with an expected 10,000 rnd life span.
One cannot find a better service rifle, it exceedes the Mauser and all other MBR's in quality and accuracy. Enjoy
 
Here is the picture of the cartouche on the stock. If you believe it has been sanded and refinished I like to hear it

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Well they could have just sanded around it knowing that the cartouche is important part of the rifle's history/value.
Click to expand...

I would think this would be hard to pull off. Matching and blending the finish and texture would be very tough. Also the serial numbers on the inside of the stock are unsanded and wear the same finish. Seriously guys, I really don't think this has been refinished. Is it really too hard to believe that I got a good condition stock?
 
Well if it isn't refinished, it is beautiful. If it is refinished, it is beautiful. the only reason that I have trouble believing it is original is because pretty much all k31 stocks are beat to death. Yours is not unissued because it has slight wear on the bluing. If it has worn bluing but a perfect stock, it makes it seem like it has been refinished.


Even if it has been, It is still a very nice looking gun :)
 
Thanks for the comments. I understand your reasoning, but believe me that the stock is not perfect. No its not beaver chewed but it has lots of wear marks notably right near the front sling, the small area right in between the front sight and the front barrel band, and on the right side around the trigger/bolt handle/bolt release. There are also the typical dings and scratches around the buttplate. All these correspond to wear on the bluing in the same places. Apparently the pictures make it look better, the slight blurriness (cell phone camera) hides the imperfections.

Also I noticed that the front sight is windage adjustable but how are you supposed to move it? A hammer and a punch? Seems crude for such an UN-crude weapon.
 
the front sight is windage adjustable but how are you supposed to move it? A hammer and a punch?
Click to expand...

There is a front sight tool you can purchase, or carefully use a punch.

Do some reading here.

http://theswissriflesdotcommessageboard.yuku.com/directory

Your rifle is typical refinished K-31. Nothing wrong with a refinish, it appears to have been done correctly using the original shellac. The metal looks normal for a issued K. Very nice looking, you need about 500 rds of GP11 and your are all set.
 
Yes, they did.
Give me a close picture of the finger grooves and I'll tell you if it's a refinish.
(Note that there are no unissued k31s)
44 was the last year for walnut till around 1953. The war made finding walnut almost impossible for the Swiss.
Note that the factory that made the k31 in Bern is (now) SIG, RUAG and Dynamite Nobel.

PS: Actually SIG never made the k31.
http://theswissriflesdotcommessageb...walnut-stocked-K31-PICTURES-ADDED#reply-43322

Latigo
 
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This is one of ours from the Bern Armoury.

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This is one you can make from a nut splitter. Just flatten the point.

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Latigo
 
Not on all k31s, and there's almost no real control with a punch compared to a threaded adjustor. We've seen front sights so tight that a drift has to be hit hard enough to move the blade and ends up marring the sight blade anyway. We do have a few that will drift, but six specifically that it takes such a smack it makes you think you'd break that blade.
Nut splitters are cheap and takes just a minute to flatten the tip. Toss is in your range bag and you're ready. Drifting a blade back and forth at the range is a bit awkward.
 
If you haven't already done so, remove the butt plate and look for the issue tag. It should have the year of manufacture and who it was issued to on it.

My K31 was made in 1943 and issued to a fellow in the engineers corp. The steel is perfect but the stock is beat up. It looks like it was carried a lot and shot only a little...

Tony
 
zfk55: here is a close up of the finger groove

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Thanks for the information regarding SIG, All my parts where made by SIG but assembled at Waffenfabrik. Maybe later I will post some pictures of some other marking that I can't figure out what they mean.
 
Nope. Its not a refinish. The edges are sharp and the finish is correct. It could have been mostly in private hands. Is there a "P" in the serial number, front or back? It will appear to be not quite straight or even a slightly different font.

Forgot to ask............. If you remove the bolt, does the Op-rod have any bluing on it or is it shiney?

Latigo
 
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I'm thinking of re-refinishing my walnut K31. Somebody refinished it with a dark stain that covers up all the grain. Should I use stripper to remove the stain? And afterwards, do I need to sand before applying BLO? Or once the stripper is cleaned off, just put on lots of coat of BLO? Anybody try Tung-Oil?
 
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