Plated steel jackets and other fears

The country that avoids war and the country that fights but has a hard time winning have been combined. The Swiss made some excellent firearms and the French made some unique and occasionally inspiring ones. We have added the Belgian and Dutch since they are neighbors.

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Confederate Ordnance
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Plated steel jackets and other fears

Post by Confederate Ordnance » Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:44 pm

I am the very happy owner of 2 K-31's, a 1940 and a 1946,and I am curious about bore life and the effects of plated steel jackets( GP-11 and much to my surprise, Norma ammunition) on the bore.The mild chamber pressures of the 7.5mm cartridge would tend to give long barrel life but I wonder about the effects of those bulets.I've purposefully stayed away from GP-11 for this reason and I was very surprised when a magnet stuck like glue to a recovered 180 Norma! Its old Norma and both rifles are competition accurate with it,espicially the '46.I am planning to reload this round but I still wonder...Does anyone know how many rounds a Swiss soldier was required to fire per year( minimum) or what kind of bore life I could expect?My '40 slugs at .297/.307 and shows no signs of wear or erosion.My '46 slugs .295/.307 and is equally new in appearance.I know these are broad questions and I'm just looking for a general idea.My '46 today put 20 rounds into 2 inches at 100 yards.The smallest group was a 7/8 inch and the largest was 1 7/8. groups were slow fire 3 rounders with issue sights and Norma 180's.12 of those rounds went into 1 1/4 inches .The '40 does nearly as well.2 guys at the range laughed at my Swiss miss until she spanked their national match M-1A and Cal. .30 M1's .God I love a $120 rifle! Thanks for the help.
Deo Vindice
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plantfoam
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Post by plantfoam » Thu Aug 18, 2005 12:14 pm

You have nothing to fear when it comes to steel jackets :) The wear produced by steel jackets is roughly the same amount as copper. I think I like steel better anyways though.....no nasty fouling to deal with on a regaular basis.

Even the Russians had a case study, comparing the two. They fired about 20,000 rounds of each out of Mosin Nagants, and they observed no real difference.

The bores on most K-31's I've seen are in excellent shape, and are very sharp.....considering that many of them spent 20 or more years in service.

welcome to the boards, Confederate :D

Phil
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Post by Confederate Ordnance » Fri Aug 19, 2005 10:22 am

Thanks for the welcome,good to be here! Both my 40 and 46 do copper foul on the lands and recovered fragments of jackets show the plating pretty much removed at those points.I was just concerned because barrel replacement is a costly item , even if you bore out the original stub to preserve the cam shoulders.Besides I think the 7.5 is superior to the 7.62 as it will at least equal its ballistics but at significantly lower chamber pressures.Given the rather deep rifling on both my '31's, its plain to see the Swiss built them for the LONG haul.These are superb rifles and I'm glad I got them while the getting was good! :D
Deo Vindice
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plantfoam
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Post by plantfoam » Fri Aug 19, 2005 1:44 pm

The going is still good...once there is another short in the supply of these, we'll see a quick price spike like the one during the winter, where they suddenly went from $80 to $150 or so.

Barrel replacement is very costly indeed....If you do shoot A LOT, you can stock up and get at least 5 spare rifles for the price of a new barrel :cool:
Will Durant
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Steel jacketed GP11 and barrel life

Post by Will Durant » Sun Aug 28, 2005 2:42 pm

The best shooters in Switzerland get top accuracy for about 6000 rounds.The average good shooter will hang on until about 11,000 rounds.That is a of shooting for most folks!Will
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plantfoam
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Post by plantfoam » Mon Aug 29, 2005 4:15 am

Thanks for stopping by, Will :) It's good to see that people are finding our nomadic website :lol:

Phil
Will Durant
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Nice Site

Post by Will Durant » Mon Aug 29, 2005 10:28 pm

You have a nice site,I like it.Good Luck! :D Ciao
RGRWJB
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Post by RGRWJB » Thu Sep 01, 2005 10:13 pm

There have been reports of the Turk ammo, which is cupro-nickel jacketed, prematurely wearing barrels.

An old gunsmith once told me each barrel is like a fingerprint and is slightly different than others. Some also wear quicker and others are more accurate.
sail32
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Swiss barrel steel

Post by sail32 » Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:15 pm

I remember reading an article on Swiss rifles. The author claimed that the Swiss barrels were made with a life 20,000 rounds in mind. It was more economical than making barrels for 30,000 rounds, with better steel.
Patrick Chadwick
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Swiss barrel life

Post by Patrick Chadwick » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:01 am

My G96/11 is the most accurate service rifle with off-the-shelf ammunition that I have ever had. It is the only service rifle for which I do not reload - the GP11 is cheaper and better than anything I could do myself.

If the barrel ever wears out, that might bother my great-grandson. But after a century of an exclusively GP11 diet, it still looks perfect. My only concern is: since all the available GP11 surplus ammo is dated 1979, how long is it going to last under good (cool, dry) storage conditions? Probably long enough for me, but does anyone have an idea?

Patrick
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