The K-31, designed in 1931 and produced from about 1935 to 1957, (someone correct me if I'm off by a couple years) was the culmination of many straight-pull bolt designs dating back to the late 1880's. It is MAGNIFICENT; the Swiss watch of battle rifles, complete with the Swiss cross and crest engraved in the receiver ring. The rugged, simple, super smooth and super fast straight-pull bolt is fun to operate. It loads from a 6 round detachable magazine.
Its cartridge, commonly refered to as 7.5x55 or 7.5 Swiss, has a case capacity slightly larger than the .308 Win/7.62 Nato, but standard operating pressure is slightly lower, so performance is right on par with the .308 Win, with less noise and recoil. Groove diameter is actually .308 inches, same as typical American .30 caliber rifles, hence a reloader could make this rifle highly versatile using the many .30 caliber bullets available. Common Swiss mil-surp ammunition, designated GP-11, known for its consistency and accuracy, employs a match-quality 174 grain FMJ boattail projectile. Only downside is that Swiss brass is Berdan-primed, so if one wishes to handload they need to hunt down Boxer-primed brass made by Norma or Hornady.
Significant numbers of these rifles have recently been imported to the U.S. and are currently a bargain at around 200 bucks. Since nobody had the nerve to invade the Swiss during WWII, and the Swiss were smart enough to never make corrosive ammunition, most all of them are in remarkably good shape. They're known for their accuracy, fine triggers and fine metalwork.
My Grandma came from Switzerland and will celebrate her 90th birthday this coming New Year. Wonder if I could get her to shoot my K-31?
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