Smidt-Rubin K31 usage in WWII?

[Capt.Marion]

Searched but couldn't find it...
Was the Smidt-Rubin K31 used by any other nationalities besides the Swiss during WWII?

http://world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl15-e.htm

I was curious because I noticed its production dates were from 1933 to 1958.

 

[User Name]

No, not to my knowledge. The Swiss were neutral and never exported there rifles. Well, not until recently anyway. The K31 has never been battle tested so we'll probably never know how it would have done in a real battle situation. It is a very accurate rifle though and if a country had invaded Switzerland they would have paid a very high price for it.

Oh, and the action on the rifle in that website is not a K31. I think its a K11. This is what a K31's action looks like.

 

[Capt.Marion]

Makes sense.

 

[{YBBS}Sage]

It's wierd to me that the K31 is basically a piston away from being semi-automatic...

 

[Anubis]

That's a rather unique rifle, I would love to get my hands on one when I reach the proper age.

 

[[CoFR]BooBoo]

For years I had a 1911 Schmidt-Rubin as part of my collection. One of the most finely crafted weapons I've ever seen. The fit and finish were more what I'd expect from a fine hunting rifle rather than a military longarm. It just so happened to be an extremely accurate rifle as well. What is really impressive is that it used a cartridge that had ballistics just as good as the 7.62x51mm NATO (.308) almost 50 years before that cartridge came to be.

 

[[CiA]Stiletto]

.308 can be argued to be slightly inferior to .30-06 (in terms of power, anyway), actually.

7.5x55 (54? 53.5? WTF) Swiss is more along the lines of 8mm Mauser and .30-06 in power factor than .303, .308, and 7.62x54R. At least, that's what my shoulder tells me.

 

[necropimp]

.308 can be argued to be slightly inferior to .30-06 (in terms of power, anyway), actually.

7.5x55 (54? 53.5? WTF) Swiss is more along the lines of 8mm Mauser, 7.62x54R, and .30-06 in power factor than .303 and .308. At least, that's what my shoulder tells me.

fixed

 

[[CiA]Stiletto]

I thought .30 Russian was lower pressure than .30-06 and Mauser?

 

[[CoFR]BooBoo]

Standard 7.5x55mm ball ammo is loaded with a 180gr. spitzer. Add that to the curved steel buttplates of the 1911 and K31 and you WILL feel it. Ballistics still remain in the .308 class, simply due to case capacity. Hanloading for the round in a modern rifle (such as a Steyr Model M Professional, one of which I still want) and you can get some mighty impressive performance indeed. For the older straight-pull actions you should stick to milspec performance, since that's what they were intended to be used with.

 

[bas]

At least, that's what my shoulder tells me.

As BooBoo aludes too in his post, felt recoil is more determined by projectile weight, rifle weight and stock shape than case size.

In its military loading .30-06 M2 ball is equal in power to 7.62x51 Nato. Standard military loads for 8mm mauser and 7.62x54r were more powerful than M2 Ball (not that it makes a big difference to the target).

 

[User Name]

They all travel between 2,400 and 3,000 FPS anyway. They all have between 148 and 200 grain bullets. Its like Bas said the target doesn't care if its a 303 Brit or a 7.92x57mm Mauser. If they are hit by any of these they are going to stay hit!

Not like those 22 caliber "Assault rifle" cartridges but we don't need to go there.

 

[necropimp]

to be fair it's a little bigger than .22 cal... by about .003"

 

[{YBBS}Sage]

to be fair it's a little bigger than .22 cal... by about .003"

Only if they're not using a different measuring system... You can load .303 and .308 bullets into 7.62 and .30 cases and fire them from said rifles without a kaboom. Same goes the other way around.

Remember: that caliber is a "nominal" size.

Look at a .357 revolver... you can fire .38 Special through it.

 

[[CiA]Stiletto]

Look at a .357 revolver... you can fire .38 Special through it.

Ugh. That's because cartridge nomenclature is f***ed in the head, not because of any technical reasons.

 

[bas]

Only if they're not using a different measuring system... You can load .303 and .308 bullets into 7.62 and .30 cases and fire them from said rifles without a kaboom. Same goes the other way around.

Correction: you can load .308 projectiles in 7.62x51, .30-06, .30 M1 carbine, .303 British and 7.62x54r cases (plus many more).

But it is most certainly not recommended to load .303 and 7.62x54r projectiles in 7.62x51, .30-06 or .30 M1 carbine cases.

The reason is that the British and the Russians measure the bore dia. differently and the actual diametre of the projectiles used is .311 as opposed to the .308 used in US .30 calibres.

 

[Zbojnik]

Never even heard of the rifle till I entered this thread.

 

[Capt.Marion]

I think you can load 20 ga. into a .308/ 7.62x51 Nato rifle, I'm not sure if my remembry's serving me well

 

[[CiA]Stiletto]

Neg. 20ga = .6something bore diameter.

 

[{YBBS}Sage]

Correction: you can load .308 projectiles in 7.62x51, .30-06, .30 M1 carbine, .303 British and 7.62x54r cases (plus many more).

But it is most certainly not recommended to load .303 and 7.62x54r projectiles in 7.62x51, .30-06 or .30 M1 carbine cases.

The reason is that the British and the Russians measure the bore dia. differently and the actual diametre of the projectiles used is .311 as opposed to the .308 used in US .30 calibres.

Oops. Pwned.

Thanks for setting me straight.