First K31! A project!!!

[DasBoost]

Either way, it looks good. The more you do the better you get. The tung oil (not tongue) is what I have been useing for years on various Mil-Surp rifles. Like Mosin-Ngants, K31 and the SKS for example. On the U.S. Mil-Surp of wood furniture is most cases I use Boiled Linseed Oil. Enjoy what you are doing and don't rush to finish a project. That's where we make mistakes. If you ever do a project for somebody other than yourself and that person is in a rush, DO NOT DO IT. In the meantime enjoy it and take pride in your work.

I used BLO and a little bit of copper wool for mine, didn't want it to have a nice shine on it. It's cleaned up and looks good now, nothing like OP's results though.

@OP: Looks great!! Enjoy shooting it. I love mine. I'm working on re-bluing the bits on mine as well.

[joefrank64k]

Looks great!

As for refinish/don't refinish...it's your rifle now; it wasn't a "collector" grade K31 to begin with; and you're gaining experience in refinishing that will serve you well for years to come.

Interested to see how the re-bluing goes!

[Latigo]

Congrats on the buy Hammertime. Almost looks like a Tru-Oil finish.
You're going to love shooting it.

Latigo

[Hammertime]

Alright, so a range report:

The internals work flawlessly. The bore is bright with sharp lands and grooves, and the sights seem to be in immaculate condition....
...howcome I barely got rounds on paper at 100 yards?

I'm not a bad shot. After putting 20 rounds down range, I switched to my AR15 to see if it was my shooting habits (it has been a few months since the range, but I have been shooting for YEARS now), but low and behold, I was getting 2 inch groups with irons, off hand shooting.

Is there something I should know about k31's that has escaped me thus far that would lend to an almost completely perplexing disability to make groups with a rifle that is praised to be almost 'of match grade workmanship'?

[five.five-six]

is it counter-bored? loose rear site?

[Latigo]

Ok, lets start at the beginning.
What ammunition are you using?

[Hammertime]

Wolf 7.5x55 gold.

The rear sight/front sight are both wobble free and I do not think it is counter bored...looks like the bore/crown has not been tampered with.

[Justintoxicated]

try GP11 ammo instead of PRVI/Wolf those are know to be inaccurate out of a K31. The Hornady 7.5 swiss is ok too, grafs sells that. Your best bet is to see how it shoots with GP11 though.

oh and that Beech stock didn't look too bad before you started the project, I have seen much worse on K31's.

Other than it being so shiny it looks pretty good though, you can still see the swiss car-touche on the side. Many of the better looking swiss rifles I have seen on GB have been sanded down so much you can not even see it anymore.

[Hammertime]

Wow, I did not know that Wolf sucks through K31's! Seeing as though I paid over a buck a round at my local Ammo Brothers for 20 of them, I thought that they would be worth at least 3/4's of a damn.

No one sells GP11 around me (Los Angeles) that I know of, unless maybe you know!?!

I don't like the shininess all that much....between coats of tung oil, I'd buff it with some 00 steel wool and it looks like the finish on a wooden m1a stock. Very sexy. Might opt to buff it out in a few months, but only if wear occurs on the stock. Might as well keep it as is for as long as possible .

[0321jarhead]

I will differ with the Wolf ammo. I have had and still do have very good results with it on my K31's. GP11 is very good also as well as Hornady. Take the rifle out again and start at 25 yards and try to follow the rounds as you further the target. Use the same ammo. Personally I like the GP11. Some ranges like USI in Concord will not allow that (GP11) type because a magnet will stick to the bullet. Its a fire hazard. Sparks upon impact of a dirt back stop. Even in the winter after a rain and things are green. (That's just one of my many perks with USI.)

[wellfedirishman]

That looks great. Try some GP11 or load your own. I have had excellent accuracy with handloads (Varget and 165 grain .308 FMJ) in a K31. I never tried Wolf.

And do start closer. The Euro style leaf sights can take a little getting used to if you haven't used them in a while.

[bruceflinch]

Looks pretty good. What you need is more practice.
Out of the goodness of my heart I may be willing to let you practice on two of mine. And then you can help me paint a fence....

Depends....can I have your rifles and fence when I'm done?

I think you should get at least one rifle!

Looks real nice. Didn't realize you could put Tung Oli Finish over stain. Also didn't realize how shiny tung oil finish could be. Does it get shinier with every coat?

[0321jarhead]

With my experience over the years, it does get shinier. But, there is a way to do it correctly. You just do not put one coat after the other. There are some things you need to do between coats.

[brassburnz]

I haven't been there is a year, but Martin B. Retting in Culver City had the GP11 60 round battle packs. Don't remember the price, but it was probably expensive or I would have bought some.

I bought a K31 from a fellow Calgunner several years ago and I still have not taken it out. Stocked up on ammo and even bought some reloading dies, but got sidetracked by another project.

Randy

Wow, I did not know that Wolf sucks through K31's! Seeing as though I paid over a buck a round at my local Ammo Brothers for 20 of them, I thought that they would be worth at least 3/4's of a damn.

No one sells GP11 around me (Los Angeles) that I know of, unless maybe you know!?!

I don't like the shininess all that much....between coats of tung oil, I'd buff it with some 00 steel wool and it looks like the finish on a wooden m1a stock. Very sexy. Might opt to buff it out in a few months, but only if wear occurs on the stock. Might as well keep it as is for as long as possible .

[Latigo]

Wolf is hit and miss with k31's. Get either GP11 or the PRVI from Grafs and do a few side-by-sides. Keep shooting and posting results here please.
I have yet to see any k31 inaccuracy problem that wasn't easily solved, and if it's not the ammo we have a few other things to cover.