Shooting the Schmidt-Rubin rifle
In the
Netherlands this rifle may be used in 3 different disciplines:
Standard rifle (with diopter);
Military rifle (also includes semi-auto
rifles); and
Veteran rifle (bolt action rifles before 2nd
WW).
Mostly competitions are at a range of 100
meters, since 300 meter ranges are getting very scarce (in fact, 100 meter
ranges are also being closed!).
The military GP11 round is not easy to find
outside Switzerland. Recently, though, it is being offered in Holland for €235 (~ US$ 277) for 480 rounds.
A good overview on the GP11 round can be
found on Swissrifles.com.
My personal recommended reload is:
RUAG case primed with Berdan primer
41 grains of VV N140
168 grain HPBT Lapua bullet
Taking the occasional “flyer” into account the
following results should be possible.
Cartridge
converter for K31 rifle
Since even 100
meter ranges are becoming scarce, practicing can be done at 50 meters using a
conversion cartridge.
The adapter converts
the 7,5 Swiss to 7,65 Browning (.32 Auto) as demonstrated below.
Do not expect
match results from the S&B rounds, but for your rifle technique it is more
important to concentrate on position, breathing and trigger.
Reduced loads for the K31 rifle
Many shooters of the Swiss rifle are
fortunate to shoot a 100m or 300m ranges. At the same time in many countries,
at least in Europe, these ranges are being shut down due to high environmental
regulations. If we want to shoot our rifles, alternatives have to be looked in
to. One of them is the 50 meter range and reduced charges.
For some time I have been experimenting
with powders, loads and bullet types.
With some great assistance from the Forum I
have had some good results with the following loads:
12 grains of VV N340 or N320 (which is
slightly faster) pistol powder
100 grain Hornady short jacket bullet
When reloading with small amounts of
powder, there is a danger of double charges, which may cause dangerous
pressures when firing a round. Great care should be taken to avoid any double
charge. After filling the cases from the powder measure, I always weigh each
bullet on an electronic scale.
The results
after 10 shots were a 4cm (1,5”) group the first time I tried this load (see
picture).
Even better results were accomplished with
a 100 grain Lapua HPCE Bullet.
On 21 August
2004, using the same load as above and a maximum OAL of 68,5 mm (2.690”) the
following 10 shot group was accomplished at the 50 meter range, prone position (free
hand) using the K-diopter (sorry about the flyer):
On 23
October 2004, I used the same load with the open sights resulting in the
following 10 shot group at the 50 meter range, prone position (free hand):
Although
there is nothing like shooting on a 300 or 100 meter range, the above
alternative provides (almost) just as much shooting pleasure and training
experience.
Besides the following positive elements
shoot be taken into account:
cases did not have to be sized. Only a new
primer, powder and bullet seating was required. Resulting in longer case life.
less powder used, which saves you money (or
more shooting for the same amount).
bullets are much cheaper than 168 grains
match bullets (save even more money!).