One More Week of Anticipation

The dealer who received delivery on my K31 rifle came by and showed it to me. Like I said yesterday, this thing is supposed to have matching numbers on the magazine, receiver, and bolt. And the magazine is missing.

On top of all that, he says the gun arrived with no case, tape, or bubble wrap, rolling around loose in a cardboard box. Web research and comments from several readers who have bought from Classic Arms prove that this is not the way the rifle was shipped. It seems pretty clear that someone broke the package open and stole the magazine. What for, I can't imagine. What is the likelihood that a random doofus who works at UPS needs a K31 magazine? I realize some men are so immature and stupid they would think having any part of a military rifle was pretty cool. But this seems like an odd trinket to risk a job over.

I talked to Classic Arms three times, and they were great. They do not want me to get stuck with the problem, so regardless of what happened, they are willing to ship the gun back and issue another one. In fact, the replacement is already on the way. They told me they use some sort of special tamper-proof tape on their packaging which says something like, "If damaged do not accept delivery" all over it, so they are having a hard time believing the gun was opened by UPS. But they don't consider this my fault, so I'm off the hook.

They're wondering if it somehow went to another dealer, like Samco, on the way here. You know UPS. Somehow or another, it ended up with a new Samco box. And Samco is where it originally came from.

It's very painful, looking at my lonely new scope and mount, moldering on a desk. And my lovely box of ammunition, sitting all alone.

I have to say, this is not a pretty gun. I knew it wouldn't be. Looks sort of like a surplus Mauser someone has used as a hockey stick. Any tips on refinishing would be appreciated. I think I can figure out what to do with the stock, but I don't know anything about metal bluing. I'm thinking the stock might benefit from a synthetic finish which is tougher than varnish. Not sure it would stick, however. The gun seems to have been wiped down with cosmoline.

Hope the new one arrives early enough for me to take it to the range on Thursday.

Dan from Life in the Great Midwest sent a photo of his K31, showing how the somewhat retentive Swiss put matching numbers on everything. You have to wonder what the point was. I can't understand why an army would give a soldier a rifle with a single six-shot magazine. Is it possible they came with several magazines, all with the same number? No idea.

Numbers Redacted for Benefit of Mrs. Clinton et. al.

I also wonder why the K31-style bolt never caught on. People say wonderful things about it. Inherently accurate. Impossible to reassemble wrong. Quick to rechamber.

I don't understand why a bolt would make a gun more accurate, unless it has something to do with how much the gun shakes when the firing pin is released. I mean, seriously, apart from vibration, doesn't all the accuracy come from the last couple of inches of barrel? Isn't most of the barrel there just to get the slug spinning and give the powder time to burn?

If this thing shoots incredibly well, I don't know what my next rifle will be or when I'll get it. If it doesn't shoot incredibly well, I'll probably get a Savage in .308. Everyone raves about their new trigger design, and I am seeing credible claims of sub-inch accuracy at 100 yards, right out of the box. And it's cheap. I don't know much about Savage guns; seems like people look down on them because they're not pretty, but if they really outperform other new rifles, who cares?

Savage sells a wooden-stocked version for under $600, with a scope. You have to wonder how good the scope can be, at that price. I can't find out who makes it. Maybe Savage does. I'd rather add my own scope, but Savage makes so many rifles, it's hard to find the same rifle with no scope. A lot of people seem to like the plastic-stock law enforcement models. I dunno. What if I end up hunting with it? I'll feel a little weird out in the woods with a gun made for resolving hostage situations. Hmm...what if a wild pig took hostages? I'd be ready.

I think I'd like to get rid of my Glocks and replace them with .45-caliber models. The "baby" .45 would be slightly larger than the 9, but the .45 is a safer choice, shot for shot. I let sissy gun writers talk me out of the .45, saying it was hard to shoot. Okay, whatever. Hasn't been a problem for me. I think .45 slugs will generally do you more good than 9-millimeters. The Glocks are purely for self-defense, so this stuff matters. The full-size .45 holds 2 fewer cartridges than the .40. Not sure if the difference in stopping power is worth losing two shots. Frankly, I think the sound of ONE shot will have most criminals out of your face and filling their pants within seconds.

I believe the Glock "kaboom" problem has been much worse with the .40. Maybe I'm wrong. That's something to think about when choosing something to protect your home.

Anyway, I plan to be shooting the K31 within a week. Thanks for all the help.