Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Swiss K31 question

We don't have a Military Rifles forum so maybe one of you guys can text Mike Venturino real quick and get the answer.

On a Swiss K31 7.5x55, the rear sight markings go down to 100 yards. My question is how far above the point of aim does the bullet impact at 100 yards? Is it right on top of the front blade or some distance higher? Same question for the 200 yard marking - how far above POA is POI?

Just got a very nice K31 Monday and taking it out for initial trials this afternoon and the answer to the above will save me some ammunition and maybe prevent some damage to my target frame.

Example of one, but my K31 shoots an inch or so low and left for me at 100 yards with Swiss military ammo, and the rear sight set on "1". I seem to recall the 1 means 100 meters, not yards, but am not totally sure if my memory's correct, especially at this point in life.

I would, however, bet the 2 setting would be pretty close at 200 yards as well.

Thanks for the quick reply, that'll be close enough to get me on target at 100 meters without blowing holes in the wooden frame like I did with my Yugo Mauser. Just didn't know whether to use a 6 o'clock hold or where???

I should have figured the Swiss would be precise about that.


FWIW, these are pretty neat rifles although they sure look different. The trigger pull is excellent and everything inside is nicely polished. I took the bolt apart for initial cleaning and even though this rifle was made in 1941 it looks brand new. The nice thing for me as a left hander is that the straight pull bolt with that big handle is really easy to use from the left shoulder.

Yep, they're really good rifles. But as you suggested, that's typical of Swiss stuff.

Does it still have the slip of paper under the buttplate, with the name of the citizen it was issued to?

I'm not at my computer now but i have a 150 grain load that prints dead on but 1.5" high at 100 w/the proper sight setting. I think I was using re19. Mine shoots phenominal w/open sights...wish it were ez to slap a scope on for a real test...bet it would be ez under moa!
I wish it weren't such a big ox.....I'd love to use it for Wis whitetail...carrying it through brush would get old fast!

Yeah, they're pretty phenomenal. If only McMillan made a stock....

I tried a bunch of handloads in mine for a magazine article, without changing the sight setting. A couple shot dead-on, one into just a little over an inch.

Unfortunately, no. The dealer would guarantee one with the ID tag under the buttplate for an extra $20 but I decided to gamble on it. I did pay extra for a hand picked "best of 10" where they will look over 10 rifles and pick the best one cosmetically and make sure it came with a sling. I also asked for a walnut stock which I got, they switched to beech sometime in the mid to late 40's. Exterior condition is really good for military surplus, dings and dents but the finish is in good shape, light years ahead of my M24/47 and a 1915 Swede 96, and the wood is a nice piece of walnut. Apparently most K31's have the butt area torn up badly from the ice crampons Swiss soldiers slung over their shoulders but this one seems to have escaped that fate for the most part.

Have been getting interested in these old military surplus rifles even though the prices are rising and the availability is decreasing at increasing rates on both sides of that equation. I buy these as shooters, not lookers, and the K31 has a reputation as a strong action with excellent accuracy and that bolt operation appealed to my southpaw affliction.

Have a look at the MOJO sights for it. I have a set on mine and the accuracy at long range is very good, despite my aging eyes.

IIRC mine shot pretty much to point of aim with the surplus ammo.

And the K31 is the carbine version. They don't sporterize very well but I have seen some attempts to do so. Think I'll leave this one in issued condition.

With a Merit disc the open sights are usable for older guys and if a fellow needs more Mojo makes a very nice fully adjustable aperture sight that directly replaces the issue ladder sight, it pops right into the hinge and uses the issue hinge pin. You'd think a peep sight that far forward wouldn't be very useful but I put them on the Yugo and the Swede and they work very well, especially when you use them with a clearly defined bullseye target. They aren't expensive either, only about $49-70 IIRC which is the same or less than a new Williams FP.


Added: We think alike. I was typing as you were replying.

Wow, I didnt know that! First thing I'm going to check when I get home..

Mine doesn't have the paper under the butt plate, but it is an excellent and accurate rifle.

One of my favorite rifles.....not much to look at they sure are accurate! This was a group (3-shots) I fired at 50 yards when I was sighting in with diopter sights.



Well built rifles that are accurate - what more can you ask for (besides a McMillian )

PennDog

Well, the first outing with untested loads went okay. I was working up a pressure series with 43, 44, 45 and 46 grains of IMR4895 and Hornady 150 grain Spire Points at the book OAL of 2.875".

The 100 meter sight setting was spot on for elevation but printing just a touch to the right. Even with a merit disk on my glasses the rear sight is just a bit too close to my eyes and it's hard to get the top of that rear blade good and sharp. It was easy to keep the horizontal grouping good but I strung the groups vertically a bit more than I like. Looks like this one gets a Mojo sight. That rearward placement will actually work better with an aperture sight.

Here it is, standard issue K31, date of birth 1941. I think I'm going to like this one.




This is two four shot groups with one grain of powder difference between groups. It's not hard to keep the shots together horizontally although vertical dispersion could be improved, that's 2 1/2" between the top and bottom shots. But that's the fault of my eyesight, not the rifle. Still, for a first try it's not disappointing. At least the POI was right at the POA for elevation. I held back five rounds of the starting load for plinking at the end of the formal shooting. The backstop on this particular range is about 250 yards away so I set the sights for 200 meters, held on a rock about as big as a small melon and popped it five times in a row from the kneeling position. Whee.

Larry Racine, a 'smith known for his competition work, from Keene, NH, does K31 accuracy work. He makes a receiver sight base that might interest some folks.

www.lprgunsmith.com

Great shooting Jim! I need to work up so hunting loads in this rifle (I've always just shot GP-11).....any load suggestions would be appreciated!

PennDog

p.s. Thanks 260Remguy the link!

A few years ago I saw a K31 advertised for sale with two bolts, one being left hand. I never saw another quite like it but I see now there's a left hand conversion kit available.

Pretty neat. I just tracked it down and apparently that left hand op rod, or LHO as the Swiss cognescenti call it, is a fairly rare item. They have promised a run of 200 more sometime in the near future but that was January of this year.

In the meantime it's not hard to operate with the left hand. Just keep the rifle shouldered and give it a quarter turn counter clockwise, reach over and pull/push the operating handle. That orientation also keeps the empty cases from flying straight up and landing on your head, an idiosyncrasy I discovered in the first four rounds fired.

You get attatched to the looks.
Like Savages at first ain't the most attractive but hold and fire one at a range for a day and they grow on ya.
If they weren't so accurate, most would never give them another look

Left handers are not unique in the Swiss military but they all shoot right-handed.... think about it

Well I learned something new today, and found mine still had the paper mule deer spoke of..pretty cool!