The “Freedom” Rifle

Whenever I'm cleaning one of my old war rifles after a shoot, I always think about its past.  When I'm handling one of the Mausers for example, I always wonder where they've been and if they could talk, what kind of stories they'd tell.

My Japanese guns would tell tales of the desperation and the futility of fighting to the last man.

I have one that tells a happier tale of FREEDOM.  It's a K-31 Schmidt-Rubin.  A Swiss-made rifle that you don't see very often, but still not rare enough that you can't still find them.

The Schmidt-Rubin first came into existence in the World War I era,  with a unique bolt design that was well ahead of its time.  Chambered in 7.5X55 mm, (not available at Wal-Mart!), it fires a 174-grain bullet around 2,560 feet per second, with a muzzle energy of 2,535 foot lbs.

The fine Swiss craftsmanship and unique bolt lockup produced a combat rifle of exceptional accuracy.  Many even rate it over the famed German Mauser 98.   (I have one of each and would be hard pressed to choose between the two).  But we'll never know for sure, because the 7.5x55 Swiss never had to go to war.

When Hitler's armies were invading Europe country-by-country, his spies & advisors found that in Switzerland, gun ownership was MANDATORY (and still IS).  Taking Switzerland would have required literally fighting the entire country.......every house, every village, mountain range to mountain range.  Every able-bodied man had one of these rifles and at least 200 rounds of ammunition.  They trained once a year with them, and kept the guns & ammo RIGHT THERE at home.

The losses would have been staggering for the German Wehrmacht, (not to mention that banks in neutral countries CAN have it's advantages), so Switzerland was no longer considered for invasion.

Today, the old Schmidt-Rubins have been replaced in every household by FULL-AUTO weapons, and not only are the Swiss STILL a free-from-invasion people........but the CRIME RATE over there is still virtually non-existent.....and what happened to the old K-31 SURPLUS rifles?.........most of 'em ended up right here for collectors to buy.

Even as old as they are, they are still splendid shooters.  They've not been shot much, because they've never HAD to be!  When you find one in a gun shop, it's almost ALWAYS in much better condition than any other old ex-military rifle you come across, because of its "very low mileage", as we say.

(Even prior to Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto, who had studied at Harvard, had warned the Army hothead General Tojo, against attempting an all-out invasion of America.......where there was "a rifle behind every blade of grass", as he put it.)-------an armed populace ANYWHERE, is NOT an "inviting target."

So, anytime I've ever gotten this gun out to show it to someone, I've always described this one as my "Freedom Rifle."

No rifle ever "said" it better!