Thanks Tac, that's very helpful. The rest of our pieces and parts should be here by the weekend so hopefully we can get out and shoot it early next week.
Posts: 9551 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006
Finally got all the stuff we needed to make some ammo and take the K31 to the range. Of course we had to wait out a thunderstorm and shoot in the rain, even though it was beautiful all weekend before our components got here.
It's a really nice shooting gun. It shoulders nicely, the action is smooth, and it feeds and ejects very positively. No issues whatsoever with the reproduction magazine. The sights are also pretty darn good for a notch and post style...the front sight is the perfect width to leave some light on either side of it in the rear notch, yet wide enough to allow for some windage compensation if needed. Bottomed out, the sights were pretty much dead on at 100 using a six o'clock hold.
Grouping was about 4" at 100, but I think some of that was my load. Of all my books, only 2 have the 7.5 Swiss listed, and the only two powders I had that there were loads for were 4831 and H335. I ended up going with the H335 under a 143gr bullet, because I had a good supply of those, and I think that was a mistake. I plan to try a different powder next time, and a heavier bullet (IIRC GP11 was a 174gr bullet). If anybody has a good GP11 replica load, I'd love to hear it.
Posts: 9551 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006
I tried a 180gr load today over some Vitavouri N140 that I recently acquired. It's a new powder for me, but the gun definitely seemed to like that combination better than the 143gr pills over H335. The target below was at 100 yards off a bench with a 6 o'clock hold...basically lolipopping the black circle on top of the front sight post, with the rear sight bottomed out. It's hitting high, but I've found that that seems to be the norm with a lot of these guns as they were were designed for a 300 yard zero. I wish I had a 300 yard range to shoot it as intended.
Posts: 9551 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006
Originally posted by 92fstech: Finally got all the stuff we needed to make some ammo and take the K31 to the range. Of course we had to wait out a thunderstorm and shoot in the rain, even though it was beautiful all weekend before our components got here.
It's a really nice shooting gun. It shoulders nicely, the action is smooth, and it feeds and ejects very positively. No issues whatsoever with the reproduction magazine. The sights are also pretty darn good for a notch and post style...the front sight is the perfect width to leave some light on either side of it in the rear notch, yet wide enough to allow for some windage compensation if needed. Bottomed out, the sights were pretty much dead on at 100 using a six o'clock hold.
Grouping was about 4" at 100, but I think some of that was my load. Of all my books, only 2 have the 7.5 Swiss listed, and the only two powders I had that there were loads for were 4831 and H335. I ended up going with the H335 under a 143gr bullet, because I had a good supply of those, and I think that was a mistake. I plan to try a different powder next time, and a heavier bullet (IIRC GP11 was a 174gr bullet). If anybody has a good GP11 replica load, I'd love to hear it.
If you join with us over in Swissrifles.com, or gunboards Swiss firearms section, all will be revealed. Latigo and dad Pierre St Marie, founders of Swiss Products over in Kalispell MT, have around 500 Swiss rifles of one kind or another, and have done just about all the load development imaginable over the last 20+ years - a total of over 3000 combinations of real-time shooting experience.
Try and stick to as near the original bullet weight as you can - the Swiss settled on a long ogive 174gr BT bullet in 1911, and all they have changed was the powder, I bleeve, in 1923. At 2560 fps its a real counterpart for the .308 Win with heavy bullet, but, IMO, better. A pal of mine has converted his spare AI in .338LM to shoot a 200gr .308 bullet with this case. It's an easy 1 mile steel ringer.
Please note that these Swiss guns were NOT designed for any kind of yard zero - 300 metres, yes. 300 yards, nossir.
Posts: 11490 | Location: UK, OR, ONT | Registered: July 10, 2003
Please note that these Swiss guns were NOT designed for any kind of yard zero - 300 metres, yes. 300 yards, nossir.
Point taken. For my degree of precision, yards and meters are pretty much interchangeable, especially at the distances I have to shoot at. But you are certainly correct...the rifles were designed in the metric world.
I probably ought to consider joining one of the other boards, but I have trouble finding enough time to just keep up with stuff here and the few others I'm a member of, and this place usually has a broad enough body of knowledge to adequately cover most topics.
Posts: 9551 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006
Went to the range this morning to sight-in my K31 with the new Over-Bore Mount - OBM.
Having done just that, and fired two shots to see how near I'd got, knowing that it would be a couple of inches high because to the HAB of the scope axis, I then fired six shots into just under an inch at 100m.
Happy bear, me.
You can see it over on gunboards swiss forum.This message has been edited. Last edited by: tacfoley,
Posts: 11490 | Location: UK, OR, ONT | Registered: July 10, 2003
Peacemaker National Training Center in Glengary WV. Just outside Winchester and Martinsburg in the pandhandle. The ridge line that's the back-stop is the border with WV/VA
Posts: 3186 | Location: Loudoun VA | Registered: December 21, 2014
Originally posted by tacfoley: Went to the range this morning to sight-in my K31 with the new Over-Bore Mount - OBM.
Having done just that, and fired two shots to see how near I'd got, knowing that it would be a couple of inches high because to the HAB of the scope axis, I then fired six shots into just under an inch at 100m.
Happy bear, me.
You can see it over on gunboards swiss forum.
Nice looking setup, and good shooting!
Posts: 9551 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006
Originally posted by tacfoley: Went to the range this morning to sight-in my K31 with the new Over-Bore Mount - OBM.
Having done just that, and fired two shots to see how near I'd got, knowing that it would be a couple of inches high because to the HAB of the scope axis, I then fired six shots into just under an inch at 100m.
Happy bear, me.
You can see it over on gunboards swiss forum.
Nice looking setup, and good shooting!
Thank you, Sir.
Posts: 11490 | Location: UK, OR, ONT | Registered: July 10, 2003
I was able to put 40 rounds through mine today. What a wonderful rifle. 100 yard gong never stood a chance after 3 rounds to figure out where to hold it.
Thanks for all the input. A real keeper.
NRA Training Counselor NRA Benefactor Member
Posts: 2518 | Location: FL | Registered: May 07, 2009
I've had a few k31's over the years. Started in with them when AIM had ha d select rifles for $89. GP11 ammo was around $180 or so for a 480rd case. I have a parts gun that is my primary shooter now. It shoots extremely well out to 300m. That's as far as I've fired this particular k31.
Posts: 221 | Location: out of my mind. | Registered: June 11, 2000
