Schmidt-Rubin

H4831

H4831

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This one has been rechambered to 308 Winchester.
Firstly, I know there were early weak bolts, then they got improved.
Which category does this bolt belong in?
Whoever did the chamber work did a very professional job of marking the new calibre, as shown in the picture.
So what is the opinion?
Would this rifle be considered safe to shoot with standard 308 ammunition?

 
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What you have is a Swiss IG-11 or K-11 system. You will notice the locking lugs are located in the center of the bolt. While the IG-11 and K-11 were designed for the later GP-11 spitzer bullet, it is considered much better than the 1889 Schmidt-Rubin that had the locking lugs at the rear, but not quite as strong as the later K-31 rifle that had the locking lugs at the front of the bolt.

While the rifle should be all right with lower powered .308 loads or starting reloads, I think I would be a bit hesitant to fire a factory .308 round in this action because of the locking lug location.

There were .308 conversions of the later K-31 rifle, but that rifle has the locking lugs at the front of the bolt, and the action/bolt is not quite as "springy."

The Swiss GP-11 round is designed for 45,500 PSI of pressure. The .308 Winchester runs 55,000 - 60,000 PSI.
 
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That long bolt shank is nice and hard, so it will be a bit springy.

I think I would use factory ammo in this one only if I didn't care about the brass stretching a bit. Of course, when these were being sold, very few people loaded their own, so factory ammo is what they ate. Problem is that the ammo companies have been loading the .308 hotter and hotter for the last 50 years. Original load was a 150 at 2700 and was safe.

Lower-pressure handloads are a different matter and should work just fine.

Hope this helps.
 
Seial number places it as an 1899 production (one 0f 15,550 made that year #236501-252000)of the stronger 89/96 action which were later converted by the Swiss into 96/11 models and perfectly safe for use with the GP11 round. Conversion was done from 1912 to 1920. Part of the conversion was a new four groove barrel and grafted on pistol grip. Barrels for the older, weaker round were all three groove in the 1889 and original 1889/96 models.
Shoot to your hearts content.

.308 conversion was done in the states 1950s-60s
 
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diopter said:
Seial number places it as an 1899 production (one 0f 15,550 made that year #236501-252000)of the stronger 89/96 action which were later converted by the Swiss into 96/11 models and perfectly safe for use with the GP11 round. Conversion was done from 1912 to 1920. Part of the conversion was a new four groove barrel and grafted on pistol grip. Barrels for the older, weaker round were all three groove in the 1889 and original 1889/96 models.
Shoot to your hearts content.

.308 conversion was done in the states 1950s-60s
Click to expand...

Thanks, that information is great!
I checked and it does have a four groove barrel and it looks like it was prepared for the grafted on pistol grip.
Also, note the magazine is serial numbered to the rifle.
 
First time I've seen one without the pistol grip graft. Glue remnants are there. Either came off, unlikely, or was forced/steamed off.
Mind if I used that pic on the Swiss rifle message boards?
 
diopter said:
First time I've seen one without the pistol grip graft. Glue remnants are there. Either came off, unlikely, or was forced/steamed off.
Mind if I used that pic on the Swiss rifle message boards?
Click to expand...

Go ahead, use the picture.
Let me know what you find out.
Bruce
 
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