My Swiss K31 from AIM

[SBF]

I had a visit from the BBT yesterday but since nobody is home during the day I got a notice instead. Well I picked this up at the UPS location near my house this morning.
The UPS lady (and man) behind the counter asked what it was. I told them it was a C&R Rifle. They wanted to know more so I explained a little about C&R firearms to them. There were 4 other customers in the pick-up room (all older folks ~55+, they all commented that they would be considered C&R's!) The UPS lady asked if they could see it. I asked if it was O.K? The manager said sure go ahead! So I opened it right there. They all thought it was pretty cool. When I told them that some Swiss rifles have the original soldiers name and stuff written on the inside of the butt plate and an old gentleman grabbed his Leatherman and handed it to me. "Well lets have a look!" he said. Thankfully the tag was under there and legible. They were all amazed. It was pretty neat talking with these older folks and seeing them get excited. :D

The woods not in the best shape, but the metal seems pretty good and the bore seems real nice. BTW - This is an AIM $89.00 special with the sling and muzzle cap for an extra $10.00

Anyways here's some pics.

http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data/500/18907K31-1-med.jpg
http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data/500/18907K31-Action-med.jpg
http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data/500/18907K31-Muzzle_Cap-med.jpg
http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data/500/18907K31_Name_Tag.jpg

If anyone can give me more info on the name tag it would be appreciated. The full name is "Raisigl Blan"

Thanks

[Richard Simmons]

Very nice and most likely very acccurate. The soldier to whom that was issued was a member of Mountain Army Corp. Mine was issued to a member of a mounted supply company. Here's some really good info on your's and other Swiss Rifles. Some previous owners are still alive and have been contacted by the new owners of their rifles. Pretty neat.

http://www.angelfire.com/oh2/manowar/prices.htm

[Gyakusatsu]

I recieved my K31 from AIM today. The metal was in fair condition but the barrel has a light but constant pitting along the grooves. I was just curious if this is common from AIM or if I need to take further action to resolve this issue. I would expect an excellent bore to mean no pitting. Thanks for any info you can help me with.

[SBF]

Personally I would contact them about sending it back, they advertised excellent bores, your don't sound like it matches that description.

[zouavexx]

looking good, Smallbore Freak! The wood on yours is better than mine.
:)

[SBF]

Thanks, although the wood is a little rougher than the pictures show. I just completely disassembled the gun a few moments ago, what a neat rifle! The bolt assembly is really neat, first time I've dealt with a straight pull style. I pulled the action/barrel from the stock and was able to see the "free-floated" barrel, pretty cool! I'm going to work on cleaning up the stock, nothing drastic just using some purple power to try to get the grease/grime/cosmo out. The wood on the inside is very blond, I hope to at least get the exterior a few shades lighter than it is currently. Being my first C&R purchase I've very pleased, plus it gives me something to do on these cold, crappy nights. I'm already getting the itch for another one, maybe i'll have to change my moniker to C&R Freak :D

[Schuetzenman]

Frankly a stock in that condition can only be improved by refinishing if you try and duplicate the original finish. Which is pretty much unstained but simply varnished. Stocks are sort of yellow in color. Sometimes a little orange shaded.

[SBF]

Yeah I've seen some beautiful Swiss K31's as you have described them, very "blonde". Given the condition of the stock on mine I decided just to clean it throughly and finish it with BLO and Tung Oil. I would have had to do a lot of sanding which I didn't want to do because it would have altered the shape of the stock (the buttstock portion was in really bad shape). This being my first C&R purchase I didn't want to get too crazy with it. I wanted a shooter and that's what I have. Maybe later I'll find a real nice one to keep as a looker.

[Patriot.45]

Yes but how does it shoot at a 100 yards?
I want to know what 'great accuracy' means that they are advertised for and.... where your gong to find affordable ammo.
Either way I want my own.

[smittylite]

Originally posted by Patriot.45
Yes but how does it shoot at a 100 yards?
I want to know what 'great accuracy' means that they are advertised for and.... where your gong to find affordable ammo.
Either way I want my own.

They are extremely accurate. A guy at our club shoots one and I have seen him shoot groups less than an inch across at 100.

Unfortunately, you won't find affordable ammo unless you reload. AIM has pretty much the best price on the GP ammo at $3.95/box of 10.

[SBF]

Originally posted by Patriot.45
Yes but how does it shoot at a 100 yards?
I want to know what 'great accuracy' means that they are advertised for and.... where your gong to find affordable ammo.
Either way I want my own.

I'll find out how it shoots in a couple of weeks, according to other owners it supposed to be one of the most accurate curios out there, of course the shooter has to do his part too. ;)

AIM has GP11 for $22 per 60 round battle pack. Not cheap but not too bad. This would be a good canidate for reloading, which I hope to start soon. You can size .284 brass for cases or buy factory ammo and save the cases.

Either way, I really like the history and the action of the rifle, pick one up while they are still inexpensive, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

[zouavexx]

My K31 is the most accurate open sighted rifle I have ever fired. I won the first Gunsnet postal match with it!


http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data/500/5457k31-target-med.jpg

[smittylite]

Originally posted by zouave
My K31 is the most accurate open sighted rifle I have ever fired. I won the first Gunsnet postal match with it!


http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data/500/5457k31-target-med.jpg

Zou - did you do 10 rnds at 100 for the postal match?

[UGACherokee]

Great rifle, and great story, sbf! :up:

You might want to see what some plain old lemon oil will do; with one of my K-31s, a few weeks worth of every-other day lemon-oiling pulled the grime, dirt, oil out leaving a well worn, but more than acceptable looking stock.

(and lemony fresh smell :D )

[SBF]

Here is my K31 after I cleaned it up. It was my first attempt at cleaning up a curio, I did o.k and learned a few things. The picture makes it appear darker than it really is though.

http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data/500/18907K31done-med.jpg

About the story about picking it up at UPS... I always miss the BBT so I always get my guns the day after they try to deliver at the main facilities a couple miles from my house. I went to pick up my Numrich MAS 36 and the older lady and man behind the counter remembered me and asked about my K31. They then retrieved my latest purchased and asked if they could see this one too! So I'm standing there in the pick-up room showing off the MAS 36. They think it's pretty neat. I don't mind getting my guns there even if I do have to wait an extra day.

[Patriot.45]

What a kicker timing can be.
The day after I posted that question as to its accuracy I found in one of my guntests magazines where they had reviewed a K-31.
They loved it stated that it had great accuracy small grops of around an inch and large groups of no larger than 2 inches.
Ofcourse this is opensighted but Ive now forgotten whether it was 50 or 100 yrds ....let me check on that tonight.
Dont know about you guys but most human eyes begin to fail at 100 yards against a black and white target.
But its obvious to me that it could be all the more awesome with a nice long range scope on it.
Ill probaly have to buy two so Ill have one to leave undrilled and tapped.
Yes the original sniper guns are waaaay too much for me.

[KThirtyOne]

You don't have to drill or tap either, clamp on mounts are available although they are offset.

[Schuetzenman]

KThirtyOne,
:welcome: to the forums. Your advice is sound. I hope to see you posting with us frequently.

[KThirtyOne]

Thank you Schuetzen, ironically I just picked up another AIM K31 last night and I believe it is better than my first.

I haven't shot it but if it shoots as good as the first one I'll be more than happy.

Now if I could just figure out how to set up a photo album

[awp101]

Originally posted by KThirtyOne
Now if I could just figure out how to set up a photo album
Look at the top left corner of you screen.

See the red "photos' button? Click that and it will take you to the gunsnet photo album.

The album will walk you through what you need to do from there. Best of all, it's free.:up:

Wilkommen!:D

[KThirtyOne]

Maybe I need cookies turned on or somekind of scripting enabled that I don't allow. I've been there several times though and don't get "walked through" anything. I've got my browser setup to prompt for most scripting though and it doesn't ask for that.

Thanks.

[KThirtyOne]

Finally got to post a picture. Here's the first 5 shots from my first K31 from AIM.


http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data/500/209581st_five_100yds-med.jpg