Gun stuff

Here's some things I need to catch up on...

I had posted previously about the Swiss K31 rifle. Back in middle of November, I was able to order one along with my buddy Dexter. Here's mine:



It was built in 1937 and is in great shape considering its age. The metal all looks like it came from a modern machining process - it's like clockwork. Dexter and I took them to the range but that's the only time I've shot it so far. It's fun to shoot and appears to live up to all of its reputation. I am very pleased with it so far.

In January I took the prerequisite class for an Oklahoma conceal carry license. As with trying to buy guns or ammo at the moment, the new administration has inspired a deluge of applications for CCL and the processing (which isn't normally fast) is backlogged. My application went in almost three weeks ago, but I expect it to take at least the "minimum" 90 days if not longer.

At the CCL class, the instructors tried to add some more real-world value by giving help with pistol techniques. I've been working on those and I am seeing a real improvement on my groups with both of my pistols.

Speaking of our new president, his plans to revive the failed policies of the past (to use one of his favorite phrases) in the form of the Brady weapons ban has served as quite the unintended stimulus package in the part of the economy related to guns and ammunition. I've decided to start my own AR-15 build project and have begun collecting parts before they are (unconstitutionally) banned again. It's amazing how difficult it is to find them now.

The cool thing about the AR-15/M-16 is that it's a modular system, so you can mix and match parts to build the gun however you like or need. There are literally unlimited variations possible. I'll post about that more later.

Finally, I started taking the kids to the range near our house to learn to shoot my .22 rifle. We spent some time learning the Four Rules of Gun Safety and practicing them. We set up a spinning steel target which makes it rewarding to hit.

Here are some pics from the range:


We had a lot of fun and will be going more often in the future.

Swiss K31

I've been reading about military surplus rifles on and off for a couple of years. Lately, I've come back to this again and rediscovered the rifle that I'd really like to own sometime. It's the Swiss Karabiner Model 1931 (K31) rifle chambered in 7.5x55mm.



The K31 was in use by the Swiss Armed Forces from 1933 through 1958. It is unusual in a number of respects. It is a bolt action, but unlike most bolt actions, it pulls straight back rather than rotating up and back. They have a reputation for being one of the most accurate production military rifles ever produced - often shooting groups of less than one MOA (minute of angle - 1" at 100yds). There were around 580,000 of them made and many have card under the butt plate that identifies the person to whom the rifle was issued.


In addition to the good reputation, interesting history, and affordable price (currently available from $150 - $450), one thing I find attractive about the K31 is that the ammunition is relatively cheap, fairly widely available, and the surplus Swiss stock (shown above) is all match quality. The ballistics of the 7.5x55 are very similar to the .308 Winchester so it's a good general purpose upper-mid range round.

For more info on the K31, see:

• Swiss Rifles page on the Schmidt-Rubin Series
• Wikipedia page for the K31
• Surplus Rifles section on K31