My First Swiss Rifle - Infantriegewehr 1911?

[Hcompton79]

I have owned a number of milsurps, but until this point I had not added a Swiss rifle to my collection. However, I have heard nothing but good things about them. So, when this rifle showed up at my local gun shop I knew I had to have it.

It was clear that the shop was not was not knowledgeable about these old guns. It was advertised as an IG 96/11, however I believe it to be a IG 1911 since the pistol grip is an integral part of the stock and the butt plate is flat and not curved. Can anyone confirm this?

Also, one of the gunsmiths told me that if I fired modern 7.5x55 ammo through it, that I would blow up the gun since the older Swiss rifles can't handle modern ammo. It appears he was confusing his facts with the 1889 rifle.

It did include both an original leather sling and brass muzzle/sight protector. It was initially pretty dirty externally, perhaps having sat in a closet for a few years. There is a bit of wear and surface corrosion to the exterior metal surfaces, particularly at the front of the receiver, but this seemed to clean up nicely with some oil and 0000 steel wool. The inner workings and barrel were, however, in very good shape. The rifling and muzzle are clean cut, sharp and shiny with zero pitting.

I ended up paying $350 for the rifle, which considering where the market is going with these seems reasonable.

One thing I noticed after I bought it, is just how long this rifle really is. It puts a Mosin to shame. I had brought my longest gun case in anticipation, and found the muzzle would stick about 1" out the front.

I did have to do one thing after I bought it other than cleaning, which was to replace the bolt handle, as the original Bakelite one had cracked in several places and was wobbly on the bolt op rod. I bought a new one from Northridge international and it went on very nicely. The original will be kept with the gun of course.

Apart from that the rifle cleaned up very nicely, I cleaned the stock with a 50/50 mix of turpentine and linseed oil, unfortunately didn't find a troop tag under the butt plate.

Even though this rifle is old and used, the quality of its craftsmanship is still evident. The way the cartridges click into the magazine, the way the magazine fits into the rifle and the smoothness of the bolt as it is pushed home have a certain feel about them that tells that this rifle was made by skilled hands with quality in mind.

I took it to the range, but only had 50 yards available since the 100 yard range was closed due to flooding. Using PPU 174gr FMJ, I was able to shoot this nice group. I put the first four a little high, then applying some more hold under, was able to shoot the two in the red. I'm not the best shot, but this rifle just oozes accuracy.

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Information

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[Aragorn243]

Very good price for one of these today.

[Aragorn243]

Didn't have a lot of time this morning. These are great rifles and probably the most accurate of the Swiss Rifles and all of them are more accurate than most others. This is primarily due to the length of the barrel which gives a superior sight line for aiming. Most people prefer the K11 or K31 because they are shorter and easier to handle. It is also much less common than the other varieties.

Did you check under the butt plate for a name tag?

I paid $400 for mine several years ago when prices were lower. Mine has a matching number bayonet to go with it which is why I paid over "list" at the time. Plus it was all from copper scrap that I turned in the day before so not really out of my pocket.

[Hcompton79]

Thanks for your input, I have heard that Swiss rifles in general are particularly accurate, but the IG11, which as you have said has a longer sight radius and barrel, is more so. Due to the weight the recoil is not very severe either.

Unfortunately, there was no troop tag under the barrel. However, I have come to learn that the "P25" marked on the barrel means that the previous owner bought the rifle out of Swiss service in 1925.

Now that you mentioned it, I may go looking for a bayonet for this rifle. The common variety seem to be available, but the 1914 pioneer bayonet would be quite impressive on this unit.

[neoisprettycool]

Beautiful G-11! I own the G-11, K-11, and K-31 and the G-11 was my first Swiss rifle. Word of warning: be careful as to the diameter of the bayonet. The G-11 has a muzzle diameter of 15mm, most other bayonets have a diameter of 14mm. It is pretty difficult to find a bayonet for the G-11. I believe the Model 1889 bayonet is really the only option. I spent a decent bit of money on a nice bayonet with a diameter of 14mm before I had acquired a K-11 and K-31. I was not very happy, but I had saved it long enough to be used on my new rifles. Here is a good resource:
Bayonets of Switzerland

---------- Post added at 04:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:36 PM ----------

- The M1899 bayonet also will fit it, but it comes in two diameters. Just use a caliper to make sure it is the correct 15mm width.

[Patrick Chadwick]

It was clear that the shop was not was not knowledgeable about these old guns. It was advertised as an IG 96/11, however I believe it to be a IG 1911 since the pistol grip is an integral part of the stock and the butt plate is flat and not curved. Can anyone confirm this?

Not quite so.
The inlet pistol grip was a feature of G89/96 rifles upgraded to G89/96/11 = G96/11. But some rifles had the stock replaced, so the integral grip is not a 100% indicator of a G11. However, looking at the buttplate, I would also say that you have a G11.

For more accurate information, look up the number on the Swiss Rifles website.
SwissRifles

Get some GP11 ammo, and you have one of the most accurate "out of the box" combinations you can get.

BTW, if you remove the barrelled action from the stock and find a strip of something like cloth or felt, do not discard it, but note the position and put it back carefully on reassembly. This was a trick used to "tune" the rifles by ensuring that the barrel did not contact the sleeve, and someone probably spent quite some time getting it "just so". My GP96/11 had a piece of felt to keep the muzzle end free-floating. I had to strip the rifle down as this sleeve had developed a solid mass of verdigris that glued it onto the barrel, and it was only after removing the green gunk and freeing the barrel that I realised the cunning purpose of the cloth strip.

[Ovidio]

Very nice rifle and good price for it. Congratulations.
You can’t but love these Swiss models.

[Hcompton79]

Patrick-

Thanks for backing up my assumption on this being a 1911 and not a 96/11. The swissrifles.sr website liked to above gives a page not found error for the manufacture dates page.

This website I found however:
http://oldmilitarymarkings.com/schmidt_rubin.html
says that IG96/11 production was stopped after they ran out of 89/96 rifles to convert of which production had stopped at 349,000. Thus my rifle would be a IG1911 produced in either 1912 or 1913 (a little confliction info given there).

GP-11 seems to be scarce these days, I have not seen any widely available on the net as most places are sold out, however I shall be on the lookout at the next gun show for both some GP-11 and chargers as I hear that it is one of the most accurate military cartridges ever produced.

I pulled my rifle out of the stock to clean a bit of surface rust off the barrel. I did not find a felt strip but I did find the sleeve had developed a layer of green verdigris as you describe. it cleaned off easily with mineral spirits and some steel wool.

As to bedding, I assumed the design was a semi-free float and that the barrel should not touch the sleeve. What I did was when I replaced the rifle in the stock was to play with the tension of the action screws, and was able to get the barrel centered in the sleeve with everything being reasonably tight. You can give the barrel a little push up, down left and right and it will contact the sleeve, but otherwise stays centered.

neoisprettycool-

Thanks for the info about the bayonet socket sizes, I knew that the K-31 had a different sized muzzle but did not know that the K-11 did as well. If and when I come across a Swiss bayonet I will ensure that I measure the muzzle ring for proper sizing.

Ovidio -

Thanks for the complement, I have a feeling I'm going t like this rifle a lot and it probably won't be my last.

[rcathey]

Great looking rifle and a hell of a deal!
FYI, SG Ammo has 480 round packs of GP-11 for about $240.
It’s hard for me to stomach buying bulk sometimes but that’s a pretty great deal for such high quality ammo. And it’s not like it’s gonna go bad

[Hcompton79]

FYI, SG Ammo has 480 round packs of GP-11 for about $240.
It’s hard for me to stomach buying bulk sometimes but that’s a pretty great deal for such high quality ammo. And it’s not like it’s gonna go bad

Unfortunately, it appears they are out of stock. A shame too because I have ordered 8x56r from them before and they gave great service.

480 round case - 7.5 x 55 Swiss GP11 174 grain Ball type ammunition | SGAmmo.com