What should I look for in a K31 to be a good collector piece? The older the better? #'s matching? Physical condition?

The K31s are currently thought of as better shooters rather than collectors.

Ammunition harder to get and more expensive than MNs, 8mm Mauser, .303 or even 7.62.  A shooter's rifle.

The Walnuts generally take a premium over the Beech.  Tiger stripes good.

Older usually a slight premium.

Stock quality very important.

Sling and muzzle cover usually worth an extra $10.

But you might as well know that they all suck and you should send them to me to get them off your hands.

Rick



edited for spelling

The big thing right now, as supply for these dry up, is to get a matching numbered original swiss magazine. These rifles are now starting to show up with "aftermarket" mags. Make sure they have that famous swiss cross.

First and last years of production seem to command a premium on the auction sites.

hey blue, you dont have one of these yet? you better get one pretty quick they seem to be drying up. this chart shows the numbers made for specific years.

http://www.radix.net/~bbrown/schmidt_rubin.html

I've got a 1934 production K31. Everything matches. I want to get more they're super nice but the ammo is $$$$$$$$!!!!

The ammo is expensive ? ? ?   I am getting rounds for .32 cents each. If you want expensive, try buying .50BMG rounds. I like the price of the currently available ammo.

Quoted: The ammo is expensive ? ? ?   I am getting rounds for .32 cents each. If you want expensive, try buying .50BMG rounds. I like the price of the currently available ammo.

Yea but look at the size difference! I feel connected to this rifle because we share the same name...."Schmidt"

Quoted: I've got 2 1934s and a 1955.  I need to join the 1933 club

You need to join the 1918 club...

Quoted: The ammo is expensive ? ? ?   I am getting rounds for .32 cents each. If you want expensive, try buying .50BMG rounds. I like the price of the currently available ammo.

.32 cents per round , where ????????

So did I make the right decision?

I had the choice between a pretty beat up walnut stock, or an excellent condition beech stock for $125.

Since the beech was absolutely the best condition K31 I've seen in person, I took it.

Would the walnut stock have been worth more even in worse condition?

I'd get the best one like you did.

I've got a spare walnut stock.  You might do that also.

Dennis Jenkins

Quoted: So did I make the right decision? I had the choice between a pretty beat up walnut stock, or an excellent condition beech stock for $125. Since the beech was absolutely the best condition K31 I've seen in person, I took it. Would the walnut stock have been worth more even in worse condition?

     I read somewhere that some have the Papal (The Catholic Pope's) seal or crest on them. From the Pope's Swiss Guards.



Those are rare, or maybe urban legend, but that would be cool.

The Swiss Papal Guard was established in 1506 by Pope Julian II.

It comprises just 110 men and is the smallest and oldest army in the world. Its existence is rarely called into question.

The pope's soldiers, in their Renaissance-style uniforms, are generally considered to be a symbol of the Vatican, as well as being part of Swiss tradition.

Source
article

And another article that mentions the K-31

VISITING DIGNITARIES
POPE PROTECTOR
by Ben McGrath
Issue of 2006-04-10
Posted 2006-04-03



The chief of the world’s oldest and smallest army, Comandante Elmar Theodor Maeder, arrived last week for a reception at the Union League Club, without the royal-blue-and-marigold-yellow striped knickers suit for which his regiment, the Papal Swiss Guard, is best known. (His hosts had asked him to wear the outfit, but he chose to leave it in Rome.) He wore a jacket and tie, with no hat or plumed helmet. A pin bearing the American and Vatican flags was affixed to his lapel. Maeder is a tall man with a sturdy chin and the countenance of a hockey player. When he says, with a sly grin, that his charges—halberdiers—are “not all choirboys,” it is easy to imagine forceful interrogations being conducted behind closed doors in the basement of St. Peter’s Basilica. (What he really means is that they have eyes for the Italian girls.)

Among those who had gathered to welcome Comandante Maeder, and to celebrate the Guard’s five-hundredth year of active military service, was Cardinal Edward Egan, the Archbishop of New York. Egan couldn’t stay long, but he fondly recalled attending the weddings of many Swiss guardsmen when he lived in Rome. “I don’t think it’s really seen as a defense force,” he said of the Guard.

That depends on whom you ask. Maeder and Robert Royal, according to the party’s invitation, were to speak about “the transformation of an ancient army into an élite special-forces unit highly trained to provide security to the Pope in a post-September 11 world.” Royal is the author of a new book, “The Pope’s Army: 500 Years of the Papal Swiss Guard.” He stood and addressed the crowd, noting that during the sack of Rome, in 1527, nearly a hundred and fifty guardsmen gave their lives to protect Pope Clement VII. “That explains to us that, from the very beginning, this is a military belonging to the Vatican,” he said.

Today, the force is a hundred and ten men strong. All recruits must stand at least five feet eight inches tall, be Swiss citizens, and, according to Royal, possess a rigor of spirit known as “the Swiss mentality.” They live in barracks, like regular troops, and attend basic training, in addition to taking karate and judo lessons. (The Swiss mantra: Defense first!) Unlike regular troops, they must also be practicing Catholics, and they are required to study Italian. They are rumored to have developed a psychological technique that is effective in quelling itches. (They are often obliged to stand still for long periods.) The question they are most frequently asked is “How do you get to the Sistine Chapel?”

Only the most experienced among the guards travel abroad with His Holiness (in plain clothes), and in those cases the responsibility for protection, strictly speaking, belongs to the host country. “We know when to say, ‘Now he’s tired, move him along,’ and whether or not he likes to do the handshakes,” Maeder said.

Maeder made some brief remarks (“I read some years ago in a magazine that the Swiss Guard brought the potato from Italy to Switzerland . . . ”) and, afterward, answered questions. A couple of military buffs, Dan and Ed, approached him. “What rifle do you use now?” Dan asked.

“A SIG,” Maeder said.

Dan and Ed were aficionados of the Schmidt-Rubin K31, a “straight-pull” rifle that the Swiss Army stopped using in 1958. “It’s a marvellous arm,” Ed said.

“It’s an example of a truly defensive arm,” Dan said. “It’s high-quality, and can hit things from far away: typical of Switzerland.”
Maeder said that his guards, though equipped with guns, rarely lift them. “The oldest Swiss Guard that I know cannot tell me any stories about Swiss Guards needing to use their rifles in service,” he said. “We are all equipped with pepper spray. But in my eight years serving, only once did I hear that a guard had to use his pepper spray.”

Faith Whittlesey, the Ambassador to Switzerland under Ronald Reagan, is a longtime champion of the Swiss Guard. “The Swiss are still the best marksmen in the world,” she said. “Did you know that the No. 1 sport in Switzerland is not skiing, it’s shooting? Pop, pop, pop! Our Second Amendment comes from the Swiss. And it’s not to go hunting but to fight tyrants, as a militia.”

A woman approached Maeder and asked if he had the authority to make battlefield commands without reporting first to a superior in Bern. “We are autonomous,” Maeder said. “Our commander-in-chief is the Pope.”

Quoted: “It’s an example of a truly defensive arm,” Dan said. “It’s high-quality, and can hit things from far away: typical of Switzerland.” Maeder said that his guards, though equipped with guns, rarely lift them. “The oldest Swiss Guard that I know cannot tell me any stories about Swiss Guards needing to use their rifles in service,” he said. “We are all equipped with pepper spray. But in my eight years serving, only once did I hear that a guard had to use his pepper spray.” Faith Whittlesey, the Ambassador to Switzerland under Ronald Reagan, is a longtime champion of the Swiss Guard. “The Swiss are still the best marksmen in the world,” she said. “Did you know that the No. 1 sport in Switzerland is not skiing, it’s shooting? Pop, pop, pop! Our Second Amendment comes from the Swiss. And it’s not to go hunting but to fight tyrants, as a militia.” A woman approached Maeder and asked if he had the authority to make battlefield commands without reporting first to a superior in Bern. “We are autonomous,” Maeder said. “Our commander-in-chief is the Pope.”

I really want to go there someday.

Quoted: The ammo is expensive ? ? ?   I am getting rounds for .32 cents each. If you want expensive, try buying .50BMG rounds. I like the price of the currently available ammo.

Hell, try buying 308 that shoots as well and you'll see that GP11 is a bargain.

I just took delivery of two very dirty K31's with walnut stocks and all matching numbers - the metal and bore are in excellent shape but the underside of them is filthy.

- Where can I find info on disaaembly.

- What method is best to clean the stocks?

Quoted: .32 cents per round , where ????????

    I bought 2 cases from Midwayusa last month and with my C&R discount it came to .32 per round. I live locally so I order it and  just pick it up at the door the next work day.

Quoted: I just took delivery of two very dirty K31's with walnut stocks and all matching numbers - the metal and bore are in excellent shape but the underside of them is filthy. - Where can I find info on disaaembly. - What method is best to clean the stocks?

www.surplusrifle.com/swissk31/index.asp

I just ordered my first  K31 from AIM, it is to be delivered in a few days and I cannot wait. Thanks for the info on disassembly.

There's a lot of good info and good people at SwissRifles.com too. I've just started posting over there under an old username that the EZboards system won't let me change to this one. But I've been learning a lot, especially about reloading the 7.5 round.