#K31

Edelweiss Arms specializes in importing cool and expensive foreign guns, generally of Swiss origin. They also now import a new production 10-round magazine for the legendary K31 rifle. This is a major upgrade from the standard 6-round magazine historically used in that rifle.

I recently came across the work of Marcel Thalmann, a Swiss gunsmith, who has been crafting pistols from worn out K31 rifles. As many readers will know the K31 has a reputation for being a beautifully made service rifle used in Swiss service for over 40 years. The K31 is was a refined version of the earlier Schmidt-Rubin Models 1889 and 1911. The straight pull rifles are also renowned for their excellent accuracy so when I saw what is essentially an Obrez K31 I was taken by surprise.

The Karabiner Model 1931 (K31) was the standard issue rifle of the Swiss armed forces between 1933 and 1958. Technically it’s a is a 6 round magazine, straight-pull bolt action rifle in 7,5×55 mm Swiss, which has similar ballistics to a .308 Winchester.

In a surprise move KRISS USA, best known for their Vector line of pistols, carbines and submachine guns, has announced the launch of a new premium import division, Edelweiss Arms.

Back in the days of the fighting bolt action rifle, clever small arms designers came up with  a number of minor but ingenious features to make the soldier’s life a little less hard when trying to cycle their rifle’s action by hand as they faced down the enemy. Many of these special features have since made their way into many of the world’s modern hunting rifles, but they were pioneered by designers coming up with new and better weapons of war.

The STGW57 was the standard issued rifle for the Swiss Military Service from 1957 to 1990. It is a select fire rifle chambered in the same cartridge as this rifles predecessor, the K31. The SIG SG510 was chambered in 7.62×51. Along with sharing the same cartridge as the K31, you will notice the STGW57 has a similar T-shaped charging handle on the right side of the receiver.

Czech company  Sureshot Armament Group has introduced a new chassis for Swiss K31 rifles. It is a one piece construction, CNC machined from a solid 7075 aluminum block. The chassis allows free floating the K31 action. It is also extremely lightweight weighing little over 2 lbs 12 oz (1268 grams). Interestingly, it is even lighter than the original K31 wooden stock.

Most small arms development is seen as being forward thinking, with new designs leaving the older ones in the dust. But for some, the complete opposite is the case (such as the FNC and SCAR). In this example modern day riot police in Switzerland are using chopped K31 straight pull rifles converted to fire tear gas grenades or rubber bullets against uncooperative protesters. The designation is Trnengas Werfer 73 ( Tear Gas Thrower), or TW-73 for short among the police that utilize it. It is also designated as the Mehrzweckwerfer (General Purpose Thrower) MZW 73/91.

The history of modern small arms is in part so fascinating because of how many firearms have been developed even in obscure circumstances, and how many of those obscure small arms still exist in museums and private collections around the world. Even though I make learning about obscure modern small arms my hobby, I am continually surprised by the new and unique weapons I uncover both on the Internet and in real-life excursions to some of the aforementioned collections.

Myths may come from many places; one of the most common sources of myths is the gap between languages. Translations, no matter how good, are imperfect, and this is especially true when concerning delicate works like poetry or technical documents.

The Shmidt-Rubin rifles are a series of legendarily accurate firearms. The Swiss are famous for maintaining their neutrality by keeping one hand free and the other on the hilt of a sword, and for many years the wonderful K31 was that sword. These straight-pull rifles are made with unparalleled craftsmanship, but how will it fare on the run and gun course?

Here is a video about Swiss civilians and their firearm ownership. I find it interesting that the Swiss Goverment hands out practice ammo for these special range days for all armed citizens to practice with.

Tam at The Arms Room has written a very interesting post about the 40+ years evolution of the Schmidt-Rubin rifle that was adopted in 1889 by the Swiss and evolved into the K31 Carbine.