[landtoy80]

What is the difference between the Schmidt Rubin M 1896 /11 and the K1911 Long? I have looked at several sites and dont understand what the difference is???

Considering getting one of these and reloading for it.
Is there a better one between them for trying long range shooting with iron sights?

 

[bones92]

From the link ( http://www.swissrifles.com/sr/faq/ ), the following:

The first model, the was 1889. An improved version of the 1889, was adopted in 1897, and was designated the Model 1896. In 1898 a short, single shot, version of the 1896 was produced for cadets, hence the name Cadet Rifle. Two other short barrel version were produced, the 1900 Short Rifle, and the 1905 Calvary Carbine. In 1913, the Model 1911 rifle was adopted. The Model 1911 has a strengthened action to allow it to shoot the more powerful GP11 round. In addition, nearly all of the 1896 series rifles were converted to use the 1911's action. The Model 1896 Rifles that were converted were re-designated as 1896/11s, while the 1900 Short Rifle and 1905 Carbines were designated 1911 Carbines. The only way to determine if your 1911 Carbine was initially a 1900 or 1905 is to check the serial number. At the same time the 1911 Rifle was introduced, shorter barreled 1911 carbines were also newly manufactured.. While rifle production cease in 1918, carbine production continued until 1933. At which point it was replaced by the much improved K31.

From a practical standpoint, the easiest way to distinguish the two is easy: the 96/11 will have a pistol grip that is grafted into the stock, whereas the Gew 1911 will have stock with the pistol grip as part of the same piece of wood. The 96/11 will have a rounded buttplate heel; the 1911 a squared buttplate. This is because they used original Model 1896 stocks when rebuilding to 96/11 specifications. There are a few other slight differences, I believe. Many here tend to think the 96/11 has a wee-bit better trigger.

Lastly, the serial range will tell you if it's a 96/11 or 1911. See here: http://www.radix.net/~bbrown/schmidt_rubin.html#m1896-11

Both are fantastic rifles.

 

[amafrank]

What is the difference between the Schmidt Rubin M 1896 /11 and the K1911 Long? I have looked at several sites and dont understand what the difference is???

Considering getting one of these and reloading for it.
Is there a better one between them for trying long range shooting with iron sights?

The 96/11 is a conversion of an earlier rifle to the 1911 specifications which use different sights and must use GP11 ammunition. There is no such thing as a K1911 long rifle. The K means Karabiner and is the short version of the long rifle. A K11 is the carbine. A G11 is the long rifle version which was built starting in 1913 if memory serves. The 1911 and the 96/11 look similar but have some differences. They shoot very much alike though. The carbines shoot very well too and the K31 is probably the best of the bunch.
The Swiss Rifles dot com site has some really good info on all the Swiss rifles from the Schmidt Rubin mod 1889 to the mods done by Vogelsgang and Rebholz like the Mod 1896 and other carbines up to the 1911 and its carbine version. The 1931 was designed by Adolf Furrer or at least under his supervision. Strictly speaking only the 1889 is a Schmidt Rubin though the others are frequently referred to that way. . .

Hope that helps

Frank

 

[swisswaffen]

Generally this works fine. The best way is to look at the serial number:

<= 349000 --> IG 96/11
> 349000 --> IG 11

Why?

There have been few IG 11 that have been produced with the old stocks (round buttplute, pistol grip added). These rifles are IG 11 (not converted) in the range 349001 to 350000. The Swiss had old stocks in stock and did not want to throw them away.

 

[EJC71]

I have a 1911 and 96/11. It's funny because when I looked up the serial numbers, the 1911 receiver is actually older than the 96/11.

 

[swisswaffen]

Tell me the numbers and we will see.