K31 value question

B

BSproff

New member
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
Location
Manitoba
question about k31 value

Modern firearms have made great gains in their machining processes over the past 60 or so years.

If we look at a 1940's to 1950's vintage K31 that has been well maintained / very good condition, how much would you have to spend to get a comparable quality rifle manufactured new today (quality to be defined as accuracy, reliability, and fit of all metal components)

For the sake of this question, we can ignore any historical value of the gun, as well we can ignore the increased cost for ammo & accessories of the K31 or the fact that most new rifles will have a synthetic stock as a cost saving measure. In fact, cosmetics can be completely ignored for this question as it is subjective in my view.
 
That really depends on where you get it made and the quantity it would be made in.

China, Brazil, Yugoslavian and other East European makers along withy Turkish and Indian/Pakistani/Thai/ VietnamesPhilipino makers that are fully utilizing 3D copiers could likely turn them out fairly cheaply. Say a couple of hundred dollars each. Now before you get excited. You just asked for manufacturing costs.

If you wanted to get them made up for marketing there would be all sorts of other hurdles and expenses to go through. By the time all is said and done you would be lucky to land them for under $600C.
 
perhaps I'm wording this incorrectly….

Im not talking about copies of K31, but rather, is a "Ruger American" considered comparable quality in accuracy, reliability, and machining, or not.
 
I would say that you have to get into that 1500-2000$ range before you find machining and manufacturing quality that you see in a Swedish Mauser or K31 etc
 
Maybe even in the 1000$ range as you can get an Xbolt or T3 hunter in wood stock for just under a grand. Those are very good quality firearms, but most of the cheap rifles you see today?...................the Swiss would melt those down.
 
Philthy1 said:
Maybe even in the 1000$ range as you can get an Xbolt or T3 hunter in wood stock for just under a grand. Those are very good quality firearms, but most of the cheap rifles you see today?...................the Swiss would melt those down.
Click to expand...

so would it be fair to say that, if you could buy an x-bolt or t3 for 500 bucks, or a k31 for 450$, you would favour the k31?
 
From the standpoint of material quality, product quality control, tolerances worked to, and complexity of design (especially the barrel threading and geometry), it would be a very pricey rifle to bring to market today. You could bring something resembling it to market for cheaper.... but it wouldn't be a K31, and wouldn't be of the same quality.

Basically, buy them while you can, they're insanely cheap for what they are.
 
Ya, but only because I'm a milsurp guy. All things being equal, if I'm only concerned with shooting a deer, I take the T3 or Xbolt. Even for match shooting I suspect they would be equal to the k31, but I could be wrong.

The Swiss rifles are a bit of a different animal though, being straight pull. Some modern straight bolts are ungodly expensive, like in the 10,000$ range, some not so much. I really dont know what it would cost to build a k31 today.
 
Using the conversion/inflation calculator, it worked out to roughly 650$ Canadian (in todays dollars) per gun (151 Swiss Francs was the rough cost per gun). That being said, I doubt you could produce one for 650$ Canadian today (unless it was with some really skilled machinists who were getting paid next to nothing).

Realistically I could easily see a couple grand being dropped to create the exact same gun with exact same tight tolerances in mass production. If you wanted to look at comparable costs for relatively comparable firearms, look at the custom target rifles to get a idea (roughly 2500-12000$).
 
Eaglelord17 said:
Using the conversion/inflation calculator, it worked out to roughly 650$ Canadian (in todays dollars) per gun (151 Swiss Francs was the rough cost per gun). That being said, I doubt you could produce one for 650$ Canadian today (unless it was with some really skilled machinists who were getting paid next to nothing).

Realistically I could easily see a couple grand being dropped to create the exact same gun with exact same tight tolerances in mass production. If you wanted to look at comparable costs for relatively comparable firearms, look at the custom target rifles to get a idea (roughly 2500-12000$).
Click to expand...

Gotta remember the economics of scale. Lots of specialized tools and jigs involved in building these weapons. A million are going to give you a much lower per unit cost than a one off.

Grizz
 
You can pick up a decent low end Savage bolt action for around $500. They may be fugly but they shoot acceptably well and better than that Ruger you were asking about. Even with the cheap Tupperware stocks they would fit the bill.
 
I guess where this stems from is this,

I didn't want to alter my k31 with a scope so instead I found a brand new vanguard series 2 on sale for 530 and bought it. scoped it shoots 1 moa with run of the mill ammo. And with that, i thought to myself, k31's are going on Equipment exchange for 450 to 600 depending on their condition, and really, does that make sense?

I guess its apples to oranges being a straight pull mechanism
 
If you think the K31 is a miracle of old time machining, if you ever get a chance to inspect a Czech ZB-37 your mind will be blown away. That vent ribbed barrel? Machined. The top cover with the guides for all the moving parts? Machined. Labour was extremely inexpensive compared to today's pay and it was affordable to produce items that required levels of craftsmanship that do not exist anymore in the way they did back then.
 
BSproff said:
I guess where this stems from is this,

I didn't want to alter my k31 with a scope so instead I found a brand new vanguard series 2 on sale for 530 and bought it. scoped it shoots 1 moa with run of the mill ammo. And with that, i thought to myself, k31's are going on Equipment exchange for 450 to 600 depending on their condition, and really, does that make sense?

I guess its apples to oranges being a straight pull mechanism
Click to expand...

Why not a clamp-on scope mount on the K31?
 
mikerock said:
If you think the K31 is a miracle of old time machining, if you ever get a chance to inspect a Czech ZB-37 your mind will be blown away. That vent ribbed barrel? Machined. The top cover with the guides for all the moving parts? Machined. Labour was extremely inexpensive compared to today's pay and it was affordable to produce items that required levels of craftsmanship that do not exist anymore in the way they did back then.
Click to expand...

Swiss Machinists had to do unpaid 5 year apprenticeship.
 
diopter said:
Why not a clamp-on scope mount on the K31?
Click to expand...

thought about it, I was concerned that the clamp on one would leave marks on the gun or would not be solid. Perhaps I was just looking for an excuse to buy another gun, either way, I picked up a modern rifle for a comparable price, that is in a common caliber, easy to modify, and it gave me second thought about the perceived value of purchasing k31's

Though I still friggin love my k31 and have my eye on another if I can ever convince my wife that it is a reasonable purchase


Edit - also, thank you for posting the link to modern day straight pulls
 
mikerock said:
If you think the K31 is a miracle of old time machining, if you ever get a chance to inspect a Czech ZB-37 your mind will be blown away. That vent ribbed barrel? Machined. The top cover with the guides for all the moving parts? Machined. Labour was extremely inexpensive compared to today's pay and it was affordable to produce items that required levels of craftsmanship that do not exist anymore in the way they did back then.
Click to expand...

Expected to and lasted a hundred years, can't say that about today's mass produced firearms. :)

Grizz
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom