just got the Swiss and Austrian stuff in today. I have to say a K31 is a Cadillac / Jaguar of bolt action rifles. 2 stage ish trigger that lets you know when you've pulled it to the point where it is now the closest thing ive seen on a military rifle to a hair trigger. The sexy action & beatiful wood with the nice Swiss shield being the only stamp on the action cover. I havent seen a rifle that aesthetically pleasing since I set eyes on my enfield.
Not to mention @#$#@$ that straight pull is faaaaast.
Then theres the earlier k11 carbine and 1896 long rifle, both are pretty but show their years a bit more, and after seeing the k31 well... they just are inferior.
Then theres the m95/30 and m95/34 steyr mannlicher carbines. My goodness I've never held such a stubborn gun. One of em actions with a mere ***** slap but the other one is probably a relative of the small guy with the mustache. You have to pull it so hard it gives your shoulder a bruise just to slide the bolt open. Also considering how short these rifles are ( barely up to my waist ) I now understand what people meant when they said 'RECOIL'. Looking at the 8x56R shell ( wtf shoulder-less ammo?! ) it looks pretty friggen meaty for a rifle that is probably not much longer than an m4 carbine.
Long story short I like all of these rifles, the beatiful and complex Swiss rifles that just work like a watch. ( Did I mention you can pull the bolt back on those with one finger?? ). And the force feedback Austrian rifles that secretly want to be pacifists and as such punish the shooter just as much as the recievee...
It's funny because right now I am reminded of top gear. Particularly how they describe super cars in terms of all of their specifications, and lastly if its got that 'special something'. Once again now that I've got a collection I have to say the Mauser pattern action feels / looks like the action pattern where you muse to yourself you could re barrel the gun to .50 BMG and use the same bolt as your 7.92x57 and it WOULD actually work. Yet when you compare it to the swiss rifles, or the nutty austrian rifles, or even the elegant enfield, it's the bloody supercar that lacks that crazy side; its all business and no special something. Which for the m95 steyr is 'hey hey gonnaF*ck with you now!', for an enfield it would be how classy the rifle looks and how smooth it operates...
Zee Churmans, they know not this fun with which you speak of...
Oh yes, I think I will get my semi professional photographer relative to take pics of the entire lot this weekend...
