Milsurps at the range

[xl_target]

I had a really good day today and wanted to share that with everyone here. I went over the my gun club and ran into a friend called Ed. He usually has something interesting with him every time I run into him. Today he had three pristine WW2 era military surplus rifles. I cannot begin to explain to you how clean these rifles were. No dings on the wood and the metal was flawless.

He had a Mosin Nagant rifle (hex receiver), a Kar 98k Mauser and a Swiss K31 rifle.
Ed is a very generous guy and always let me try a few shots with whatever he has.



Here he is shooting the three rifles.

[youtube][/youtube]

[essdee1972]

XL, you lucky .............!!!

[brihacharan]

So good to see the excellent condition of these rifles!
xl_target - Lucky you
Briha

[timmy]

XL, what did you think of them? I'm especially interested in your take on the K 31. They are even worse than the M98 for having a short pull (are the Swiss all midgets?), but they are supposed to be quite accurate. What was your impression?

[xl_target]

Not only were these rifles in close to perfect condition but they had apparently been given some serious TLC. These were not run of the mill surplus rifles. All three were a really treat to handle and shoot.

Of the three, I liked the Mauser the best, thought it was hard to choose. That bolt action on the Mauser was silky smooth. Once unlocked, I'd say that the bolt was as smooth as my Ruger M77.
While he had surplus ammo for the Mosin and the K31, he had hand-loaded ammo for the Mauser (maybe loaded down a bit). So the Mauser was the gentlest of the three to shoot.
The K31 was unique with its straight pull action but the action was not as smooth as I expected. Also you had to make sure that it shut all the way by bringing the bolt forward smartly. I think the K31 would easily be the most accurate.
The Mauser was no slouch in the accuracy department, though.
The hex receivered Mosin has also been worked on. The bolt is actually smooth (hard to believe) and it didn't take a sledgehammer to unlock it. Ed had worked on the trigger and the trigger was great (even harder to believe), better than many commercial rifles that I have fired. So, compared to other Mosin rifles, this one was great to shoot.


The 98K Mauser


The Swiss K31

[Sakobav]

Thanks really great guns Swiss one looks like its based on Mauser action

[timmy]

Navi, check out the video. The K31 is a straight-pull action, and it's a whole different feel than the AH M95, that's for sure. They pretty much rule the C&R competitions, as they are quite accurate and made like a watch -- a Swiss watch!

[Olly]

Wonderful !

[Baljit]

Wow!! very nice XL , thanks for shearing your thoughts about these rifles.


Baljit

[timmy]

XL, it is my understanding that the Swiss would more or less cup their hand, palm toward their face, and whack the bolt back, and the turn their hand and smack it back to close it.

I wouldn't consider them smooth, but they are very nicely made.

Regarding the Mosin, I have one barreled action that was roughly hogged out by dull tooling. There's nothing wrong with it strength-wise, however. As you might suspect, my M39 is quite smooth and the bolt will easily fall open and back into the receiver. I think the receiver and bolt steel has a fairly tough surface, and the machining is straight, so the bolt moves with little friction and no binding in any of them. The only rough spot in some I've handled is the cocking cam.