What to look for in a Schmidt Rubin ?

C

CL2000

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As the title would imply, I'm interested in getting a Schmidt Rubin rifle or carbine. I see several sites online that can be ordered from and they show up from time to time on EE and #######.
I personally think Intersurplus gives their guns a really good description allowing me to make a good informed decision.
Other sites will just say "good bore" or "rack grade" or "40-80%" but Intersurplus will tell you everything from matching numbers to small cracks in the stock and "rifling a bit rounded"

So I would like to know what you would suggest as to what to look for in a Schmidt Rubin and the best place to get one.
 
Many people are spoiled by the excellent quality a VG+ condition rifles that have come onto the North American market.

However, that isn't a guarantee that you won't come across some very worn and beaten rifles.

The Swiss were very good about taking care of their firearms and like the Swede Mausers that preceded them, on our markets, most of those rifles have gone through complete Factory Thorough Repair on more than one occaision, which is only good common sense.

When the factories or armories rebuilt those rifles, they replaced whatever was necessary to bring them back to as new condition in most cases. Not sure about the privately owned rifles we're starting to see now.

I've seen them anywhere from pristine to well worn, inside and out in all of the models that were issued.

One of the most common issues with these rifles is the butt stocks are full of knicks and dents, from the way they are used on the parade field and during drill. The other issue again is cosmetic and the blue is faded or worn.

Mostly they have VG to EXC bores with little or no visible wear, but not all of them.

I recently had a 1911 rifle come in with a sewer pipe bore, even though the rest of the rifle looked to be VG.

Intersurplus are a great outfit to deal with. Great communications, fast shipping and no fuss or worry.

Like Tradex before them, where they got most of their present stock from, IMHO they understate the condition and grade of their firearms and other surplus offerings.

I deal with them a lot and would recommend them to anyone.

Their prices are very competitive and you won't have to deal with personal angst or a "Chumlee" wannabee on the other end.
 
bearhunter said:
Many people are spoiled by the excellent quality a VG+ condition rifles that have come onto the North American market.

However, that isn't a guarantee that you won't come across some very worn and beaten rifles.

The Swiss were very good about taking care of their firearms and like the Swede Mausers that preceded them, on our markets, most of those rifles have gone through complete Factory Thorough Repair on more than one occaision, which is only good common sense.

When the factories or armories rebuilt those rifles, they replaced whatever was necessary to bring them back to as new condition in most cases. Not sure about the privately owned rifles we're starting to see now.

I've seen them anywhere from pristine to well worn, inside and out in all of the models that were issued.

One of the most common issues with these rifles is the butt stocks are full of knicks and dents, from the way they are used on the parade field and during drill. The other issue again is cosmetic and the blue is faded or worn.

Mostly they have VG to EXC bores with little or no visible wear, but not all of them.

I recently had a 1911 rifle come in with a sewer pipe bore, even though the rest of the rifle looked to be VG.

Intersurplus are a great outfit to deal with. Great communications, fast shipping and no fuss or worry.

Like Tradex before them, where they got most of their present stock from, IMHO they understate the condition and grade of their firearms and other surplus offerings.

I deal with them a lot and would recommend them to anyone.

Their prices are very competitive and you won't have to deal with personal angst or a "Chumlee" wannabee on the other end.
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Its good to know they took good care of their guns, makes them a very good option.
I'm not surprised to hear a lot went through repair, I'm sure in some cases it removes some value, but for someone that just wants a good shooter it's not a big deal, and that's also why the standard Knicks and dents don't really matter to me either.

And I'm so glad to hear such good things about Intersurplus, they carry a lot of interesting stuff and I'll definitely keep that in mind for any future purchases.
 
CL2000 said:
Its good to know they took good care of their guns, makes them a very good option.
I'm not surprised to hear a lot went through repair, I'm sure in some cases it removes some value, but for someone that just wants a good shooter it's not a big deal, and that's also why the standard Knicks and dents don't really matter to me either.

And I'm so glad to hear such good things about Intersurplus, they carry a lot of interesting stuff and I'll definitely keep that in mind for any future purchases.
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I doubt that it removes any value at all. Most of the repairs are either invisible or unseralized replacement parts from the store's bins and if they require a serial number, they are stamped with the appropriate to the rifle's font numbers.

I have a brand new old stock, unserialized stock set on hand, built for the Olympic match rifles. It has never been on a rifle. Those stocks used to be available appx 5 years ago, at reasonable prices. Same for replacement parts.

All of that stuff has long dried up and is likely in some Swiss Club basement, for use on their rifles.

Intersurplus are good people all around from the dealings I've had with them.
 
I ended up buying a "rack grade" from Calgary Shooting Centre. When it arrived, the bolt knob was cracked badly in half and the but plate, trigger, trigger guard, and safety ring were all rusted. Granted, all the rust came off pretty easily with a brass brush and I have since cold blued the trigger guard. I plan to reblue the other parts as well over the winter
 
My personal favorite is my G96/11. Not overpriced (yet) compared to, say, the K31; long sight radius. And more accurate than i can shoot. Find one with matching mag as a bonus, somewhat higher resale value, which is never a bad thing.
 
Bedding, bedding, BEDDING! The 1889, 96/11 and 1911 all need to have proper pressure bearing at the muzzle. Group dispersion and consistency depend on it. Warped stocks and handguards on those long single piece parts are surprisingly common. These issues can usually be fixed by careful adjustment but you need to know what you’re doing. Avoid that by picking a good one, there’s lots of info on the Swiss Rifle Forum.
 
Regarding K31's, there appears to be a minor issue with some wartime manufactured rifles having questionable metallurgy in a key bolt component. I hadn't heard of this prior to buying one that turned out to have the questionable component. Buy one that's safely pre-war or you may be less than thrilled with your purchase.

milsurpo
 
DiMP said:
I ended up buying a "rack grade" from Calgary Shooting Centre. When it arrived, the bolt knob was cracked badly in half and the but plate, trigger, trigger guard, and safety ring were all rusted. Granted, all the rust came off pretty easily with a brass brush and I have since cold blued the trigger guard. I plan to reblue the other parts as well over the winter
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I am surprised to hear this. I bought a 1896/11 rack grade from them and it was in very good condition with no damage at all and an overall nice patina. Some blue loss on top of the receiver which I reblued.

There is also a K31 on the EE with a scope mount and Bushnell 4200 scope for under 1K shipped. I think that's an excellent deal.
 
Key things to look for is if it is matching numbers, and condition. Not really a ton of pitfalls on them overall. Also sometimes dealers mislabel the variants so that can be something to watch for.

For the Schmidt rubin action my preference is the G1911. Flat buttplate is better than the cupped G96/11 in my opinion. Note all Schmidt rubins basically have a 300m minimum rear sight. Only the K31 (not a Schmidt Rubin) has a 100m starting rear sight setting. Just something to note if that matters to you.

Also watch for chipped bolt handles on the Schmidt rubin action rifles, very common part to break, practically it doesn’t make much of a difference and replacement parts are out there, but just something to pay attention to.
 
When you can choose a couple of gun from a bunch of more than 100 guns, you will find something interesting.

BUT, today, I don't think it's a retailer with this kind of inventory.

Keep in mind, only crapy one's still there.
 
DiMP said:
I ended up buying a "rack grade" from Calgary Shooting Centre. When it arrived, the bolt knob was cracked badly in half and the but plate, trigger, trigger guard, and safety ring were all rusted. Granted, all the rust came off pretty easily with a brass brush and I have since cold blued the trigger guard. I plan to reblue the other parts as well over the winter
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New bolt knob bits are available from Numrich at very reasonable prices.

I've seen a few with handles made up by enterprizing DIYs made of Delrin, which will last forever, in some outrageous colors, such as bright red to black and even Pink.
 
bearhunter said:
New bolt knob bits are available from Numrich at very reasonable prices.

I've seen a few with handles made up by enterprizing DIYs made of Delrin, which will last forever, in some outrageous colors, such as bright red to black and even Pink.
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I was offered a for sale bolt knob from a Nutter on here, as well CSC carries them too (about $75). For now it it holding with glue no issues. When I am back at work from trade school I plan to ask the machinist nicely and see if he can make me a nice brass one. Something different might look cool
 
cogunsales sells them for UD 24 but they only ship UPS to Canada, so expensive but if you are down there and pick up stuff on a regular basis, it maybe worth looking into it. I am lucky I guess, mine are all perfect.

In general I would stay away from the 1889 since it uses different ammo which is unobtainable.

Some people just put some epoxy or anything you can think off (lol) on the front site on the pre K31 models and sight it in to 100m.
 
Have 3 now 4 such rifles
1911, Calvary carbine , K31, & yes another 31
The Gp11 ammo used to be more plentiful Luckily I bought a few crates from a retailer that was going out of business
CSC Canada’s gun shop has new brass
All very fine rifles don’t forget to look under the but plate for the tag 2 of my rifles had them
 
DiMP said:
I was offered a for sale bolt knob from a Nutter on here, as well CSC carries them too (about $75). For now it it holding with glue no issues. When I am back at work from trade school I plan to ask the machinist nicely and see if he can make me a nice brass one. Something different might look cool
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Make it out of aluminum. My K31 has aluminum knobs and I've seen a couple of other models with them as well.

Very possible the Swiss may have replaced the older, red rubber, crumbling knobs with newer aluminum??? or it may have been done by the original owners.
 
bearhunter said:
Make it out of aluminum. My K31 has aluminum knobs and I've seen a couple of other models with them as well.
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We'll see what's available on the metal rack :p
Seem to see more brass for bushings and steel for everything else than anything in heavy industry. Usually we only see sheets and tubing in aluminum
 
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