Reloading for a Schmidt Rubin 1889

[Black Beard]

Don't use slow powders, very light charges or light bullets either. The original GP90 had a bullet that was patched up to something like .320 and got squeezed down to .308 ish in the long throat. Using the above can mean the neck won't expand to the chamber size before the bullet gets out of the case. That means I won't seal and will get gas coming back through the breach. This may hurt!

[MOGGYM]

Finally getting round to try loading for this rifle.

Looking at powder and bullet selection.

Anyone got a source for a good cast bullet? Looking for something around 190-200gr I think. And seems to be a fair amount of loads about for imr3031?

What is anyone else loading?

Just brought a SCHMIDT RUBEN 7.5 X 53.5

Can you advise me on spares please. I need a magazine and stripper clip.

[wigan bear]

I’ve just bought one of these as well and as soon as my ticket arrives back I intend to start loading for it.

Read endless forums and watched loads of YouTube clips on loads and bullets for this rifle and finally came up with a load using the components I can get.

33gn IMR 4895
180gr Hornaday 308 RN interlock

The YouTube guy says pressure is 30,000 cup and all the information on the net says the action is rated at 39,000 cup. I’ve watched him reload and shoot it and he states its a mild load

Velocity is 2000 ft per sec so not far off as intended.

My question is how do I verify this as being accurate, its the pressure I’m most interested in to be safe.

I’ve been reloading for a good few years in 303, 223 and 308 and a long time ago with a 450/577.

Never worried in the past as I’ve been tripping over load data and worked one up but not for this rifle. Loads mention a quicker powder to stop any blow back as the throat is so big. Ive no interest at this stage of casting my own etc.

Cheers

[tacfoley]

Don't use slow powders, very light charges or light bullets either. The original GP90 had a bullet that was patched up to something like .320 and got squeezed down to .308 ish in the long throat. Using the above can mean the neck won't expand to the chamber size before the bullet gets out of the case. That means I won't seal and will get gas coming back through the breach. This may hurt!

VERY wise words. I've been shooting Swiss since I was at school in the early 1960's but of course, there is no GP90 since 1923, and you rarely see the Model 1889 on the ranges - reloading for the older rifles is not something that is done in Switzerland, and competitions using so-called vintage rifles like the Model 1900, K11 and K31 require the use of service GP11.

The rest of the posts here are also very good, but it wouldn't hurt to join the swissrifles.com forum, where Swiss shooters, including the Swiss, are very happy to meet with new shooters of these fabulous firearms. I have a K11 and a K31, and wouldn't change them for anything else. Another great site is gunboards.com, where most of us hang out anyhow, including the guys who run Swiss Products Inc. This is a small company in Kalispell MT run by two friends of mine, Piérre and his son Latigo St Marie, as a major sideline. They design and develop a range of products for the K11 and K31, and sell direct to the public, having gotten their fill of paying the likes of Brownell and Grafs for the privilege of selling their own products. While none of their current range suits the 1889, the K11/M1900 is covered with a scope mount and a diopter sight for long range, and the K31 is VERY well catered for, with a rash of stuff that's hard to resist. They have a cool website, too, just Google Swissproducts...

I HAVE shot the Model of 1889, and found it to be a very sweet shooter with a good load made for it - a number of friends in the USA actually replicate the original loading in every respect, down to paper-patching, and shooting one of these old stagers, usually found in excellent condition, is a hoot.

Don't forget, though, to do what the Swiss have been doing since Vetterli days - NO OIL!!! Just any light-weight grease on the operating parts, and when you have finished shooting, and the barrel is still warm, patch out the barrel with ten strokes of a greased-up patch and leave it until next time you shoot - patch it out BEFORE you shoot, and carry on.

[tacfoley]

Just brought a SCHMIDT RUBEN 7.5 X 53.5

Can you advise me on spares please. I need a magazine and stripper clip.

Spares are VERY few and far between, magazines are allegedly avaialble from Numrich Arms [usual provisos apply] for around $108, and the stripper clip - you mean chargers? - are also very hard to find at less than stupid money, especially here in UK. I bought mine from the much-missed Guisan many years ago for a pittance - they can now fetch £10 -15 EACH.

Let me get back to you about spares, bearing in mind that here in UK you might have to buy another rifle to get a magazine and any spares you might need. As they are Section 58 this is not a big deal. A couple of people I know here bought two, one to shoot and one to cannibalise if needed. The only accessory for the Model of 1889 is the muzzle cover - Kranks are said to have them, but a check right now showed that his is a fallacy. Slings are easy to find, and are shared with the Model 1900 and the K11 - nobody will really notice if you put one on your rifle that has come from a K31....

[kennyc]

Just brought a SCHMIDT RUBEN 7.5 X 53.5

Can you advise me on spares please. I need a magazine and stripper clip.

I gave you a link or two on another forum, did they pan out ?

[tacfoley]

MoggyM - my pal Pavia over on the Swiss weapons forum of gunboards.com, sent me THIS today -

This one is from Gunbroker... ships from Poland... seller ships international

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/851095807

And here's another one from pal Tom. also on gunboards.com -

Hi Tac

In Germany there are sometimes IG 89 magazines for sale. I'm sure they will ship to the UK.

Here an actual example including stock etc.:
https://egun.de/market/item.php?id=7736698

Have an eye on egun.de for other potential auctions!

Regards
Tom

[wigan bear]

https://www.valmontfirearms.net/prod...-5x55-magazine

Bit expensive

[tacfoley]

https://www.valmontfirearms.net/prod...-5x55-magazine

Bit expensive

Not really, given the usual pounds for dollars exchange rate. Unfortunately, that's about the going rate. I've done my best to find any at all - see my posts - but it seems that the guy who wants it isn't interested.

[series2a]

Spares are VERY few and far between, magazines are allegedly avaialble from Numrich Arms [usual provisos apply] for around $108, and the stripper clip - you mean chargers? - are also very hard to find at less than stupid money, especially here in UK. I bought mine from the much-missed Guisan many years ago for a pittance - they can now fetch £10 -15 EACH.

Let me get back to you about spares, bearing in mind that here in UK you might have to buy another rifle to get a magazine and any spares you might need. As they are Section 58 this is not a big deal. A couple of people I know here bought two, one to shoot and one to cannibalise if needed. The only accessory for the Model of 1889 is the muzzle cover - Kranks are said to have them, but a check right now showed that his is a fallacy. Slings are easy to find, and are shared with the Model 1900 and the K11 - nobody will really notice if you put one on your rifle that has come from a K31....

Muzzle cover in sales