Probably a dumb idea, but...

[Juan Jose]

I've been thinking about trying my hand at silhouette shooting.
What I have in the way of a CF rifle for the game is a K-31.
Does anyone here have suggestions re molds and ram busting CB loads for the 7.5x55 Swiss?
Has anyone tried to shoot silhouettes with a K-31?
Thanks!

[CHeatermk3]

My advise to anyone contemplating is Load up your best ammo, find a venue(match) get the rules then show up and shoot.

Be sure to bring plenty of ammo and your cleaning kit to include a rod in case you may need to swab your bore or knock out a sticky case.

Go for it you'll have a "Blast"!

[mrrch]

Not a dumb idea at all

[ascast]

include lunch, snacks, coffee, trade goods, snacks, water, snacks spotting scope note pad snacks

[tomme boy]

The K31 can be one of the most accurate surplus guns out there. They never used corrosive ammo so that was a major plus on the bore life. Plus the Swiss are some of the best marksmen in the world. So they are going to take a little better care of their equipment. NOE has a mold made just for the K31 rifle.

[Scharfschuetze]

Sounds like fun to me. I love off hand shooting and in the 70s I shot Silhouette matches before it became an expensive equipment race. Shooting it with iron sights and cast boolits just sounds great.

Like Tommy Boy, I suggest the NOE 311 K-31 mould which drops a 180 grain boolit designed for the short throat of the K-31.

[country gent]

A couple other things I recomeend is find the match and call or e-mail the match director and get all the information you can. Then go to the first match with just your stool and a spotting scope. Watch what goes on listento range commands and see whats done and how. This gives you an idea of whats expected and goes on along with somewhat less nervousness on the actual match day.

[Kraschenbirn]

The K-31 doesn't strike me as a 'dumb idea' at all but I'm with Country Gent...'spectating' a match or two will give you an idea of how things are actually done and what you'll really need in the way of equipment (speaking of 'equipment', nobody's mentioned that you're gonna need a spotter...but you will, believe me!).

Also, you may see a lot of fancy, high-end hardware but don't be intimidated. I've seen really good marksmen, shooting the same 'field-grade' rifles they used for varmint and coyote, beat out the 'equipment junkies' time and again. Back in my handgun sillywhet days, I watched a retired LEO shoot his FIRST sanctioned Hunter Pistol match with the same 6" Python he'd carried as a duty gun and put up the day's top scores in both the REVOLVER and PRODUCTION classes...the gentleman was an NRA Distinguished Master in Conventional Pistol but this was his first formal go at steel critters.

Bill

[HABCAN]

Most real fun you can have in a 'Match' environment. The CLANG! when the 500m rams fall is a hoot! We have 'scoped' and 'iron sight' trophy classes.........the M1 Garand being a favorite, hehehe. The offhand skills learned transfer well to the hunting field.

[country gent]

Alot of the local matches will start the new shooter with a spotter thats experienced to gibe them the best experience possible. We do that at both ranges I shoot BPCR Shilouette. But have your spotter there and listening learning also. A new competitor is alrady nervous and worried attending a match or 2 as a spectator relieves some of this and makes for a much better first match. As to equipment Rifle and ammo ( bring enough for the match and sighters X 2), A decent spotting scope and or binoculars to see hits and more important misses. ( I have been using a set of celestron 25X X 100mm binoculars and these show hits really well and more important the misses of my shooter. AT times I can see the bullet pass the target and almost always see the bullets splatter into the target), A stool or seat to spot from and rest the rifle on between shots, a cleaning cradle line box of some sort ( ive seen very nice wooden boxes with a cleaning cradle incorporated into them, Tool boxes ( the small Kennedy aprentice box is popular) even a simple 5 gallon bucket ( with the tool caddy for one its pretty handy. These allow you to carry all your gear to the line quick and easy. Cleaning rod or rods, I perfer 2 rods so Im not having to change from brush to jag. Solvents for cleaning. And a small tool kit for problems. ANd the most important is a book to track sight settings for the diffrent ranges. The biggest thing is to get started, go to a match and talk to the shooters look at what they are using and doing.

[Adam Helmer]

Juan Jose,

Congradulations on using a fine arm; The Swiss K31 is one of my favorites. Please provide more information about your Range Needs? What distances and what targets are you needing to address? After we understand your requirements, we can better address your needs.

One more thing: Are Cast Bullets required for ALL Targets, or is this your preference?

Adam

[dave roelle]

I shoot 168 GR Nosler HPBT in front of 40 grains of 4064 in my K-31

economical, powerful enough, accurate and doesn't beat you up

The K-31----is about the ideal rifle for this considering the low cost , super design and accuracy thats scary--------------for a Military rifle it has the best trigger going as issued

Have fun-----------Dave