K31
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The Schmidt-Rubin Karabiner Model 1931 is a magazine-fed, bolt-action rifle. It was the standard issue rifle of the Swiss armed forces from 1933 until 1958, though examples remained in service into the 1970s. It has a 6-round removable magazine, and is chambered for the 7.5x55 Swiss (also known as Gewehrpatrone 1911 or simply "GP11"), a cartridge with ballistic qualities similar to the .308 cartridge.
The name Schmidt-Rubin comes from the gun's designers, Rudolf Schmidt, who designed the rifle itself, and Maj. Eduard Rubin, who designed the ammunition.
Distinctions
The K31 is noted for its straight-pull action, meaning that the bolt is pulled directly back, then pushed forward to cycle the action between shots, rather than being turned and pulled back, as in Mauser pattern rifles such as the K98k.
K31s are also noted for their amazing accuracy. The Swiss considered individual marksmanship to be of utmost importance. Therefore, the K31 was made with tight tolerances and excellent overall craftsmanship. Many shooters are able to achieve one minute of arc with unmodified K31s. This means that a group of bullets shot at 100 yards will stay within a 1" diameter area, a group at 200 yards will stay within 2", etc.
Many collectors of the K31 have removed the butt plate and recovered a small slip of plasticized paper from beneath it. This slip contains the name and address of the Swiss citizen to whom the rifle was issued. Collectors have used the information to contact the previous owners in some cases, and have recounted the details of those encounters on a variety of collector's web forums.
Poor stock condition
The stocks of most K31s are almost always in poor condition, especially around the butt area. Most are very gouged and scratched. One theory for explaining this is that the Swiss soldiers would use the butts of their rifles as boot jacks for their cleated boots. They may have used the butts to clean snow and mud off of their boots as well.
Another explanation for the poor condition of the stocks is that the Swiss soldiers would stick the butts of their rifles into the snow when they needed to put them down. When it was time to move out, the soldiers would kick their rifles (with their cleated boots) to dislodge them, as they had become partially frozen and stuck in the snow. This would also explain the discoloration from water damage on many stocks in the butt area.
These theories, however, are all speculation, as there is no hard evidence to definitively prove any of them.
Availability
As a standard service rifle of the Swiss armed forces, the K31 was replaced by the SIG 510 in 1958. As of 2006, the K31 is readily available from most military surplus vendors. As noted above, the stocks are usually in average condition, but the barrel and bolt assembly are usually in very good condition.
Media
- A video of the K31 straight pull bolt in action: [media]
External links
- [Surplusrifle.com's articles on the K31]
- [Modern Firearms entry on the K31]
- [History and manufacturing information on Schmidt-Rubin pattern rifles]
- [chuckhawks.com article on the K31]
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