Schmidt-Rubin K-31 (Swiss). I know a lot of guys know about guns here. My husband wants to take up hunting deer so I will have to teach him and I see what he wants but one version is beechwood and the other is walnut. What would fair better? He is into old rifles and this looks perfect for him. Ammo hard to come by though. His birthday and father's day is close together and would like to get him one and take him hunting.

By no means a gun debate and would prefer it not be one, just advice on which is better, beechwood or walnut and why? Thanks guys.

ooh, tough choice! the beechwood is a light coloured wood and fares well,if you dont want to worry about its appearance but are more concerned with practicality, its a good stock wood, but the walnut with care you can get the most amazing graining from and a finish which is quite good looking, with a walnut grip use a light oil, walnut oil works well for bringing out the finish, depends on what they have done with the woodwork before you get it though, but if youve got the choice walnut fine polished is a very good looking choice for stock,though on the down side you dont want to damage it once youve got it looking good, do examine before buying though so you dont end up with a rough looking one,(unless you want a standard service finish)shouldnt be a problem , anyway my tuppence worth there,
if its a harder to find ammunition look at availability and future supplies, or maybe even a reloading kit? depends on what you want really,
just thought of something your probably already aware of, but a lot of old rifles havent been reproofed in a long time, so check its proof before buying to fire, 70 year old rifles can have a lot of things happen to it over the years,including fatigue in working parts , so a definite safety point to check.

My choice would be walnut, I also prefer a .243 for deer. Easier to buy, at least here in the uk where things are more regulated.

Well as the only guns I've ever owned were a spud gun and a water pistol I guess I cant really comment! :tongue:

Walnut is much more attractive and impressive. Both are good wood however. Are you purchasing the stock separate? I know its non of my beeswax, but...why buy and old gun for hunting? for collecting I can see it. For safety I would go new. You can actually purchase wonderful rifle's at your local Walmart, got a beautiful bolt action there a few years back for our collection.

I snoop what he views and ask questions and he has been researching the "perfect" one for him for over 2 - 3 years now and he has not bought one so I know he has done his homework. From what I read it is an awesome tool. These are supposed to be amazing in accuracy at maybe 300 yards, may as well have a scope so lined up. He just drools over this one and it is not over kill for hunting otherwise I would say no. And for someone who is not a sharp shooter it may fair well I would think. I started hunting at 5. He is a virgin. He has a passion for well made old guns. He just never could make up his mind. He loves the oldies but goodies. Nothing new can out weigh the older guns that have good old fashioned workmanship. I guess you could call it a collector in use. The one I am looking at have the tag numbers still included and I can actually afford it.

And I think for fathers day / birthday it would be really nice to take him out for his first hunt.

The stock is not separate, they are fully intact and go through rigorous inspection.

Hee hee, our anniversary is at the same time too, maybe I should throw in a few rounds and cover all my bases!

You have to understand this is they style of gifting we do. I have received multi tools, field dressing kits, knives, and the like in lieu of flowers and the like for mothers day and such. OK, bit red neck here. To him I am the perfect woman LOL.

I think I am choosing Walnut as it shows less wear. It will be a service gun, but you pay extra for the tag numbers and condition. Daddy/birthday/anniversary... Get him the best of what he likes. And I think it would thrill me to teach hubby to hunt, I would be so proud of his first and teach him to dress.

I did tell him no way to the guns with a bayonet. No point. At least no point owning.

BTW, off topic I found a few years ago a bayonet in the woods. It has straps like you tie on to your leg army green. If I could post a photo could some one tell me where it comes from or what it belongs to? I just thought it was neat in the middle of nowhere and kept it. Looks like a long knife but it is obviously dual purpose. I do not think it is too old.

Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated. Just want to make it perfect as it will be at 39 his first rifle.

i could probably tell you what it is,there any markings or stamps?

old rifles for hunting, 300 yards is ok, thats a carbine though, martini .303 carbines if you get a good one with enfield instead of metford rifling are a nice rifle, your spoiling him with a scope you know, but its all good,
for a long barreled rifle there is a wide range but a good one you should be picking up at 500 yards though thats a bit excessive for deer, carbines probably the best choice, i wouldnt object to my gf buying me old rifles as long as they were legitimate.
practical things do make good presents.

Oh he gets no scope... The beauty of it is it lines up well enough that it is supposed to be as accurate at that distance as if you did have one. This is where I will be getting it from www.classicarms.us and the other info is what he has told me. Hope it is all he hopes for. IMO if you know what you are doing you don't even need 300 yards, but I have seen him miss a snake 10 foot away with a hand gun.

Markings I found on the blade I found are as such... U S M8A1 and smaller below it V.P. CO. I know zero about these but would like to know where it came from as it was odd to find just laying in the woods. The markings are on the sheath and the tie is like a green shoe lace. The handle is quite shiny and looks like a type of plastic while the blade itself is worn and looks much older. But it has the setup on it to look as if it should attach to the end of a gun and I was told it was an attachment but that was all.

its a bayonet for the garand rifle its a later post ww2 bayonet, could be a national guard one as the garand continued in use with them after other rifles had been adopted, probably early 60s in date, made by the beckwith manufacturing company, Victory Plastics division,

I'd prefer walnut. I can't imagine the K31 being difficult to find. 7.5x55mm isn't something you normally find at the sporting goods store, but if you go to http://www.ammoman.com you can get some specials. On average it can be around $40+ per 20 rounds. Through Ammoman, you can knock that down quite a bit, to prices competitive with more common calibers.

I am a sucker for those style of rifles, having several MN M44's. The K31 is a fine rifle as it can shoot groups so tight you can compete well with scoped rifles.