Author Topic: want to buy a K-31  (Read 840 times)

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Offline sachel.45

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want to buy a K-31
« on: August 07, 2005, 07:54:52 PM »
big-5 has a sale on K-31 for 89.99 i was just wondering if this was a good price and what to look for when buying one, also what class of cartidge is the 7.5 swiss. are they a good rifle? just want something to beat around with and throw in the back of the truck
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Offline jh45gun

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2005, 09:09:51 PM »
Once you shoot one you may consider it a real keeper and decide you want some thing else for a truck gun. 90 bucks is about average in price. They are a excellent rifle. A lot of folks my self included prefer the walnut stocks over the beech but you take what you can find. If you find one with good blueing and the stock is not all chewed up that is a good one some dents and dings are normal. The bore should show strong rifleing and shiny. I have not heard of guys getting any with a bad bore yet. Get one you will like it and they really do shoot well. The 7.5 Swiss is 30 Caliber and probably around the 308 power range  from what I have read on the net. But then I have not shot any factory ammo so it could be more I have reloaded cast bullets for mine. Not knocking the Mosin Nagants I really like them too but if it was me I would buy a K31 for shooting Targets or Hunting and a Mosin Nagant 44 or 38 for a truck gun. as they are shorter and really robust and cheaper so if some one grabs it out of your truck it will not be hard to replace. I know if some one grabbed my K31 I would  not be happy. Of course I would not be happy if they took any of my Mosins either but I have less money in them and would not lose a rife that had a semi expensive scout mount and scope on it either, Jim
Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline Jack Crevalle

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2005, 01:14:47 AM »
For a "truck rifle" the K31 would be a poor choice. Soft point ammo is not readily available and is usually expensive. The "safety" on the K31 is the cocking ring that has to be pulled and turned 90 degrees. Besides these reasons it would be a shame to waste such a well made rifle as a throw away. Prices are very low now but fewer numbers were built than other milsurp rifles.

Mosin Nagants are in the same price range or cheaper and ammo is much more readily available.

Offline sachel.45

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2005, 10:00:18 AM »
well then i might just buy a K31 for hunting and buy something else as a truck gun. where can i find ammo for one is there a factory loading(remington,federal,etc). how are the sights?
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Offline Jack Crevalle

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2005, 11:01:44 AM »
Quote from: sachel.45
well then i might just buy a K31 for hunting and buy something else as a truck gun. where can i find ammo for one is there a factory loading(remington,federal,etc). how are the sights?


http://www.grafs.com/ammo/233

The sights are open, elevation adjustable to 1500M. No windage adjustment except for slewing the front sight blade.

Offline jh45gun

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« Reply #5 on: August 08, 2005, 11:10:11 AM »
Jack and I agree on the Mosins would make a great cheap truck gun. I would buy a K31 though while you still can as they only made a half a mil of them and they are selling fast in this country. For way under 200 bucks you can have your truck gun in a Mosin Nagant and a excellent well made accurate K31 for Target or Hunting. Scope mounts that are excellent are also available if you want to scope the K31 later and they are no gunsmithing but work excellent. You can see them at Grafs too or go to Parralax's web page to see Darrells scout mounts for the K31 and the Mosin Nagants. Jim
Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline Longcruise

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2005, 06:32:07 AM »
I took advantage of the Big Five sale and purchased one at 89.99.  I can buy them for the same price all day long with my C&R lic, but they had a decent rifle with a walnut stock and my other two were beech wood.  Sooo...  I found myself walking out the door with another k31 :grin:

Hornady sells hunting ammo in 165 grain loading at about $20 a box.  FNM sells ammo at a somewhat cheaper price but not sure if they have a softpoint.  Milsurp ammo sells for about $190 for 480 rounds.  It's great ammo and is a fine choice for varmints/predators, paper shooting and match shooting.  And, the k31 is capable of shooting winning scores in any match with any comparable milsurps :-)

The k31 is actually a reloaders dream once you get past the acquistion of cases.  I bought 200 from Graf and have found it to be good brass but am not sure about current availability.  Prior to that I formed .284 winchester brass into 7.5X55 and it performed very well.  The milsurp cases are high quality and reloadable if you want to deal with Berdan priming!  Other than that, you can use any of the commonly available .308 caliber bullets for reloading.  Mine all favor the 165 to 180 grain bullets.  The issue round shoots a 174 grain bullet at about 2550 to 2574 fps.  My hunting loads with 180 grain bullets chrono at about 2600 to 2650 and may be a bit warmer than the sammi max.

As far as hunting goes, my k31's have accounted for one hog and two elk.  My "new" k31 will probably accompany me during my elk hunt this fall.

The issue sights may or may not suit your sight in requirements for hunting and I've found that the MOJO sight gives the adjustablity that you need for a usefull sight in in the field.  

So, if this all sounds like a "buy it" recommendation, well, it is. :)

Offline sachel.45

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2005, 07:42:42 AM »
i think that i'm defenitly going to buy a k31 (or 2) and possibly a mosin for later. anyways i was looking around a swiss rifle forum and i read something about rechambering the K31 for 30-30. is this possible? is it really expensive? that would be perfect for what i need/want. sorry for all the questions
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Offline ajj

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2005, 08:32:19 AM »
I like Mosins. They're durable, powerful, most are accurate, plinking ammo is cheap, and so on. But putting a K31 beside a Mosin is like parking a Ferrari next to a farm tractor. It's two different worlds.

Offline Jack Crevalle

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2005, 09:20:36 AM »
Quote from: sachel.45
i think that i'm defenitly going to buy a k31 (or 2) and possibly a mosin for later. anyways i was looking around a swiss rifle forum and i read something about rechambering the K31 for 30-30. is this possible? is it really expensive? that would be perfect for what i need/want. sorry for all the questions


Never heard of rechambering it to .30-30 but on the swiss rifle website they discuss the difficulties of rechambering to .308. The main problem seems to be the bolt face and they estimate it would run around $500 to do this.

As to using surplus GP11 ammo for hunting, in my state at least, shooting anything (other than humans) with FMJ is verbotten. Another thing someone brought up is that the jacket of the GP11 ammo is mild steel and apparently where he shoots, this is also outlawed as a fire hazard.

Offline jh45gun

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« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2005, 10:02:39 AM »
Just buy a standard K31 and load for it. You do that and you can shoot 30/30 type loads by just loading down to 30/30 type levels. These guns make excellent cast bullet shooters too for milder loads. Get one and reload for it you will not be sorry. DO not reload? Well now might be the time to start. Lee makes reasonable loading gear. You could get set up easy for under a 100 bucks with just the basics and that includes the dies. Jim
Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline kevin.303

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #11 on: August 09, 2005, 10:59:13 AM »
these never appealed to me until i started reading everything about them here. problem is they cost $350 Cdn and ammo is pretty much unavailable. well cheaply anyways. still, it would be worth it to jump through the hoops and import one, i know a guy who does this all the time through a FFL'd dealer in warroad minnesota. just a case of applying for the paerwork and waiting. for the amount i shoot, 480 rounds would last me at least a year.
" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline jh45gun

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #12 on: August 09, 2005, 02:46:43 PM »
If you can afford it Kevin go for it they are fantastic rifles. Consider this when they dry all up which they will soon as they only made a half a mil the prices will go up here to just as they did with the Swedish Mausers. Jim
Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline kevin.303

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #13 on: August 10, 2005, 12:15:10 PM »
yep i'm going to do it, just have to start on the paperwork. a K31 and 480 rounds of ammo comes out to $312 Cdn before taxes, still cheaper then buying just the rifle here in Canada.if AIM isn't willing to sell to me, where else can i find them, gander mountain? ifi understand correctly once all paperwork is filed,it will be shipped to the FFL holder, pre-registered, then i just drive across and pick it up. seems simple enough.
" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline Longcruise

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #14 on: August 10, 2005, 12:28:11 PM »
I just bought one at Big Five at their 89.99 sale price, but hey are not always on sale!

If AIM will let you pick up they would be a good source.  $79.95 last I looked and charging another $10 for a walnut stock.  FGS sells the gun with muzzle cap and sling for $99, but I don't know where they are located.

Offline jh45gun

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« Reply #15 on: August 10, 2005, 04:08:40 PM »
I am sure any dealer will sell to a FFL holder you just have to find one that is close to you. does that mean you have to come to the States or can they ship it to a dealer there?? I do not know how that works, but I am sure you could find a dealer in the states close to the border. If you buy one in the states how hard is it bringing it back???? Jim
Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline kevin.303

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« Reply #16 on: August 10, 2005, 04:44:07 PM »
not as hard as ithought it was. a local guy does it fairly often.i got the info for a FFL dealer in Warroad, which isn't very far. he charges $40 handling fee, the gun is sent to him and the info for the registry is submitted. once it's bee nregistered i jusr drive across and pick it up, and declare it at the border. i have to apply for the proper permits but that shouldn't take more then a few weeks.
" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline jh45gun

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« Reply #17 on: August 10, 2005, 05:42:58 PM »
Good Luck let us know what you get. I hope you have a decent selection in a couple of weeks. I would see if you can get the money to the FFL holder and have him get you one while the paper work is being done so you can get a one while they are still available who knows what a few weeks may bring their may be more in the country or they may be few and far between like they were in April. In April AIM was out and so were some others. I got one of the last ones at SOG and they were out then every one got some more in so that was cool. Century is selling some the have cracked stocks now and other blems that were not being advertised before so I have no idea what the market will be later if we are seeing the last of them or Century is just weeding out the worst ones. I do know at the way they are buying them according to the milsurp sites and you got to figure some are going to stay privately owned in Switzerland and that they only made a half a mil they are going to dry up a lot faster than the Mosins and Mausers.  I can say you will be very happy the way they shoot. They also shoot cast excellent for cheap shooting and mild hunting loads. Jim
Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline NRAJOE

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #18 on: September 12, 2005, 11:26:38 AM »
I have 2 K31's...one beech stocked...one walnut stocked.

Both had the previous owners nametags in them and both returned my letters!

That was very cool... 8)
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237th Combat Engineers
Wharton Barracks
Heilbronn, Germany


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Offline NRAJOE

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want to buy a K-31
« Reply #19 on: September 27, 2005, 06:32:38 AM »
Went to the range yesterday and put 60 rds of Swiss surplus through the walnut stocked one...beauty!

75 yards...group could be covered by a quarter!  8)
U.S. ARMY 1976-79
237th Combat Engineers
Wharton Barracks
Heilbronn, Germany


NRA Patron Life member