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Text Box: This rifle is one of the few weapons with a straight pull bolt action and has always intrigued me. The main battle rifle of Switzerland in one form or another for many years, it evolved from its inception by Colonel Ruben in 1889. The main changes in its evolution was the shortening of its action to facilitate production simplicity and ease of operation. Due to the neutrality of the Swiss over the years and its relative scarcity, it was not in the forefront of the weapons scene to most American shooters and collectors. With the bad reputation that the Ross rifle had in this country, a straight pull action rifle at best was suspect. I must admit that the first time I fired the weapon I did so with some suspicion. Well, I found the weapon to be most reliable and due to the fact that it cannot fire with the action partially open I have all confidence in it now. The cartridge for the K-31 is the 7.5 MM Swiss (7.5X55). Being another of the many .308 family of military calibers, it is not unlike the 7.62 X 51 (.308 NATO) and is becoming easier to obtain on the surplus market and from Portugal.(INDEP) Lee makes dies and you use any of the many .308 bullets available to hand load. Lee gives good data for loading and it is similar to .308 NATO. The rifle itself is not your daddy's K-98, It has a large ring on the back of the bolt which is a combination cocking piece and safety. Pull it back to cock and rotate to apply safety. The bolt handle knob looks like a small aluminum beer keg and is attached to the flat bolt handle. The bolt release is in front of the bolt handle and it is easy to remove the bolt for cleaning. The magazine release is located on the the same side as the bolt release and is actually part of the magazine. The magazine capacity is 12 rounds. It is top loaded by six round stripper clips. The rear sight is pretty much the norm for a European military rifle with a slide adjustable for elevation from 100 to 1500 meters. There is no rear sight windage adjustable and must be adjusted by a drift slide on the front sight. This front sight is unusual as the windage slide is at an angle which would allow more minute adjustments. There is a tool issued to accomplish this. An aluminum and steel muzzle cover is supplied and there is a oddly shaped stacking swivel and a bayonet lug attached to the front barrel band. The stocks were furnished in either solid beech or walnut. They have a "nearly" free floating barrel channel but the barrel is held at the muzzle end by the upper barrel band. With the accuracy of the rifle the barrel bedding must work. The butt plate is stamped and in most cases (not mine) they will have a plastic card under them with information on the person of issue. You can contact some of these people as the address is on the card. Another thing about the stock is the almost universal mysterious "dings" all over the butt around 3-4 inches up from the butt plate. I have heard many stories as to why including the cleats on the ski boots, vehicle rifle racks, and water damage from the snow. Who knows? One of the really great things about the K-31 is the trigger. I think that the trigger is a big factor on the inherent accuracy of this weapon as it is on any target rifle. It has a two-stage takeup and is fairly long in the first stage. Then comes the good part. It breaks like a dream and you have to be careful to factor that in your trigger squeeze. It will go too quick if you are not careful. Firing the K-31 at the range is fun! It has fairly light recoil and as I have mentioned, a great trigger. If your eyes can handle fine open sights this weapon can get l to 2.5 MOA. I wish a military scope mount was more available and affordable as the thing would be unbeatable. There is a "scout " long eye relief mount for sale in the after market world and I have not tried it. For the price on the market, it will out perform a lot of modern plastic and stainless things out there and has a lot more historical interest. ps. Mine was manufactured by SIG ...can't be all bad! JIM BROADUS