Picked up a K31 today

[ottoman45]

Well I've wanted one for years and wish I picked it up years earlier for alot less money but it is what it is...

Ser#23249X all metal and wood parts match numbers which puts it as a 1954 although under the butplate the stock is dated 10-44??? for some reason the beech stock is 10 years older but matches the number. There are no rebuild marks or private ownership marks.

The troop tag under the butplate is numbered to the rifle and I guess the birth year of the soldier was 1935. My daughter is going to put a letter together and look him up. Hopefully she can make contact as this is her rifle(yes she already claimed it) and she is going to Switzerland, Bavaria and Germany next spring for her senior trip.

After cleaning off LOTS of crud both inside and out it has excellent blueing(approx 80-85%) and an incredible bore. The trigger was so caked with gook and grit that I couldn't get a feel for it till I disassembled and cleaned it. There is alot of creep but breaks clean at around 4-5 lbs.

Overall an excellent rifle and I can't wait to take it to the range and see how she does.

$300 even with 60 rounds of Privi reloadable and I bought a brick of GP11 for another $40 bringing it to $340 total. I guess I can be happy with that price if she shoots as well as she looks.

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[Rob]

You should be happy with your new K31, they are great shooting rifles

[Calfed]

I agree with Rob..these things are incredible accurate. Post some pictures and a range report when you can.

[technova]

I thougth beech stocks started in 1948. ?????

[ottoman45]

I will take her for a spin when I finally get a day off with nice weather.

The stock is an orange color shillac(sp) with a straight grain. Doesn't look like my american walnut rifles so I assumed it was beech. Maybe when I get some pics up you guys could let me know

[ottoman45]

I just finished stripping off the old finish and was pleased to find a nice walnut stock under all of the orange finish and crud. Alot of the dents seem to not have penetrated the finish on one side but the side with the swiss stamp is pretty beat up and needs some ironing out.

I'm going to use tongue oil to refinish it since thats what I do with all of my other stocks...just makes it easier on me.

When my daughter finally brings my phone cable back to me I'll post some before and after pics.

[ottoman45]

So I finally got my cable back...

I let my daughter do all of the work. It was her first time and I think she did great!

We wound up using Citri Strip to strip the stock down.
She then decided that she didn't want to sand all of the character out of the stock so we took an iron and steamed out the big dents and gauges.
Then used a green scuff pad to get the grain back down.
Next she used a pre-stain conditioner then Minwax Red Mahagony stain. She wanted it dark (like my Garand)so she did 2 applications letting them soak in for 15minutes each.
Last was 3 coats of Tung Oil. It now has 5 coats of Tung but doesn't look too much different.
The photos are kinda out of order but 2 of them are before doing any work and the rest are after.

[ottoman45]

Finally took her out today... she shoots well with the Swiss ammo

I used a pice of paper with a 1" box drawn on it for 50 yards and a 100 yard target for 100 yards.

I only threw 20 rounds down range... had to sneak out when wife was at the doctor...last 6 round I was hitting a 4" steel plate with at 100 yards...

and yes I made it home before she knew I was gone... wink wink

[Calfed]

Good shooting, otto.

[Dakota kid]

There is alot of creep but breaks clean at around 4-5 lbs.

Just so you know the trigger is a two stage, it is supposed to have a bit of take up in the first stage. Happy shooting they are fun rifles.