Swiss K11/31 Rifles

[Raptor3000]

Please educate me on these rifles, i see there are atleast 3 variants of these. Are these rifles any good? what to look for while buying these?

Please advice.

thanks

[gun toting monkeyboy]

They are well-built and accurate. They run like, well, Swiss clocks. There are several varients. The one from the 1890s uses a slightly different cartridge, and is not designed for the more modern ammunition. Fortunately these are fairly rare. The K11 and K31s are nice. You can often find them in really good condition. Under the buttplate (assuming nobody has messed with it) you will normally find a small slip of paper with the previous owner's name and address written on it. It terms of power, think .308. Brass and dies are available. It uses .308" bullets for reloading. And the Swiss surplus ammo is basically match-grade target ammo.

-Mb

[pro-nra]

K11 is the shorter version of the 1911 long rifle. The 1911 is a true Schmidt Rubin design while the K31 is a variant of the Schmidt Rubin. IMO you need both but for shootability, the K31 edges the K11 by half a hair due to longer sight radius. There are more than three variants: 1889, 96/11, 1911, K11, K31, IG.89, CADET RIFLE, ZFK 55 SNIPERS RIFLE just to name a few.

[Raptor3000]

Which one is more desirable? K31? K31 is the rifle used during WWII right?

thanks

[gun toting monkeyboy]

Which one is more desirable? K31? K31 is the rifle used during WWII right?

thanks

None of them were used in WWII.

[Raptor3000]

None of them were used in WWII.

I mean used or issued during WWII era, you are right swiss didn't fight WWII.

thanks

[glennsche]

youre missing the best part about the swiss rifles, the bayonets.

specifically, the 1914 pioneer bayonets



i also just picked this up (and will be selling it shortly), the incredibly rare and 'spensive 1889/1892 bayonet:


more info on this site about everything swissy shooty stabby.

[glennsche]

I mean used or issued during WWII era, you are right swiss didn't fight WWII.

thanks

yep. If the swiss had been invaded in 1940, the wehrmacht would've faced men armed with these.

K31=karabiner 1931. Just lik K98 is Karabiner 1898... G11 Gewehr 1911 etc etc.

[mitchg233]

K31's were issued from 1933ish to 1958.

None were ever fired in anger; Swiss bankers did the dirty work.

They are very well made rifles with an odd bolt design which can very rarely fail with bad results, and sometimes does. Ammo is half a buck each.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

As far as I know, almost all of their guns were issued during WWII. Remember, when men finished with their military rotation, they normally took their rifle with them as part of their being in the reserves. So the K11s weren't just sitting around in an arsenal somewhere. Not all of them. They were in people's homes, ready to be used if needed.

-Mb

[Cowboy T]

These rifles do look interesting, no question. If the 7.5 Swiss round had been based on the Mauser cartridge design, like the .30-06 and .308 as two examples, I probably would've bought one.

[OldShooter32]

Get a K31. Stronger action than the 1911, but also fits in the vault better! The K31 will impress you with the accuracy, even with GP11 surplus ammo. There are scope mounts and other goodies that are screw-on (no drilling or tapping) and are solid. Did I mention they are accurate?

[Raptor3000]

did any one bought a K31 from classic arms? how are the K31s from them?

thanks

[glennsche]

Get a K31. Stronger action than the 1911, but also fits in the vault better! The K31 will impress you with the accuracy, even with GP11 surplus ammo. There are scope mounts and other goodies that are screw-on (no drilling or tapping) and are solid. Did I mention they are accurate?

Agreed with the k31 vs g11/k11 assessment.

also the bolt on the g11 is so huge, its like a doorknob in a rifle.

found this pic when i was searching for ... well.. exactly this.

[Guisan]

K31's were issued from 1933ish to 1958.

None were ever fired in anger; Swiss bankers did the dirty work.

They are very well made rifles with an odd bolt design which can very rarely fail with bad results, and sometimes does. Ammo is half a buck each.

The Israeli defence used some 200 of these in anger in the late 40's and these did perform well.
Examples can be found in the Israeli national museum or on our website.

Guisan..