K31 or Win.M70 Ultimate Shadow .308

[Ronzi83]

Hello dear snipers,
i would like to ask for your sugesstion on buying k31 7.5x55 swiss or Winchester M70 Ultimate Shadow, NS, .308 Win.
I hold k31 and it is much, much and again much better made than any rifle on market ATM. Got one that is practical new and i am considering to buy one. But, part of me wants also m70. I will use it for sport target shooting and for soul. M70 can be awsome, only if i put 2k+ on optics and atm i dont wana invest such a money. On m70 i cant even go on match for open sights , since it doesn't have one. So would be 800usd + scope. K31 is 420usd and ready to take it on sport match open sights 100 meters. Also i will reload in future and long term i wana do also sniping, but than again... even on k31 i can mount scope.

Regards

Ronzi83

 

[SlagAxe]

Apples and oranges. Two completely different rifles. Aside from having a vast array of options in modifying the Mod 70 (stocks and every component) and finding a smith to work on it you will find reloading a 308 far easier and more flexible than for 7.5x55. Going with factory ammo in the near there is no comparison in available options. You can put irons on the Mod 70 and it is not necessary to spend 2k for a decent target scope (see the optics forum). For developing a competition rifle the Mod 70 gives you much more to work with, unless you are doing military vintage shoots.

 

[steve123]

As much as I love the K31 it's one of those rifles I've decided to leave as is. If a company sold a modernised version of "it" and sold for a moderate price it'd be a fun one. Though the problem is that the straight up ejection angle would cause ejection issues with a scope mounted in the normal place.

So the easy answer is the M70.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

The M70 is the logical choice. But I wouldn't trade a K31 for 5 M70's. The Winchester has no soul, the K31 is both a piece of history and a work of art. They just don't make stuff like that anymore. I messed around with mounting optics and modifying K31's a bit but pit them all back to stock configuration, they're just better that way. Someday I might start loading 7.5x55 but my large stash of GP11 easily shoots MOA or better so I'm in no hurry.

 

[Ronzi83]

Yea, eazy way is m70. But i dont like eazy and i like quality guns, not plastic crap and barrels that get rusty after little rain. I think today guns are made for shorter life time cose companies want to sell more. If they would made life time rifles = no profit. Like cars and other things. But yea... like i say i still am keeping option of m70 open. But how is with barrel heat ? After 20+ shoots ?

 

[steve123]

Throw some $ at any stock rifle and in the end the outcome will likely be positive.

Although I try, if possible, to let others throw the $ at them, then buy used at much less.

Typically heavy barrels walk from heat less than sporter barrels. I wouldn't suggest either a K31 or a sporter M70 for long strings of fire. I've shot and won some Vintage Sniper matches and the biggest thing I took away from that experience is that old military rifles with full length stocks have horrible POI shifts when they get hot! Also generally speaking the iron sights aren't what I consider a match sight and usually the triggers are gritty and heavy, finally the stock's comb height are ideal for irons, not scopes.

If in your shoes I would be patient and continue more research until all or almost all criteria is met before making a purchase.

 

[Ronzi83]

Thank you for answer. Only problem with iron sight on k31 i will have is blure targets and hard focus with my eyes. I saw some diy eye pad for sunglass and will see if will work. Any sniper advice on how to improve focus on open sights ? I saw some people using olypics glasses, but thats really expensive.

 

[steve123]

In my first Vintage Sniper match I used my K31 with the irons, not a good start. If you have poor eyesight or old eyes the stock irons won't work too well for you.

My old buds shoot the black powder buffalo rifles in the same match right next to me using $500 aperture tangent rear sight and nice aperture front sight. It makes all the difference and they often win over guys with vintage scopes on similar rifles.

 

[ptosis]

True, original K31 iron sights are not particularly easy to use for precision shooting. All shooters competing in "300m military rifle" category in Switzerland mount dioptres+tunnels (there's plenty of options available).

Also, mounting a scope on a K31 is much harder than it seems -- the action has just not been designed for optics. The ejection is almost vertical, and for most modern scopes at proper eye relief the rear mounting ring sits just above the ejection port. Half of the time empty brass hits the mount and falls back into the port, and with the authentic wooden stock there isn't really a convincing cure for that.