Neat guns, I have three of them. Lightweight and handy for a .30 cal military rifle, a great gun to take a walk with. Very accurate, and very well made. Factory Swiss ammo is pricy, but once you start reloading, it's just like any other .30 rifle round.
The stocks were made of walnut and then later of beech. Both are very nice wood, but the finish is awful; like shelac or something. Does not protect the stock well, which is why so many have those ruined butts from sitting in the snow. You want to refinish the stock with something more up to date if you take the gun out into the weather. Make sure to look for a "soldier card" under the butt plate, and then you can write a letter to the original owner if there is one. See "www.swissrifles.com" for the story on this.
The action is beautifuly made, like a proverbial Swiss watch. It would not last 10 seconds on a battlefield, mind you, but hopefully we won't be using the guns for that purpose. You get an "A" in shop class if you can take the bolt completely apart, get it back together again, and have it still work - without instructions. Took me 3 beers, not as hard as it looks, but be careful not to put the firing pin into orbit.
Straight pull actions weren't as good an idea as they seemed; it takes a pretty good "yank" to unlock the action, and a "shove" to close it - an you get no mechanical camming advantage on closing. The Enfield and Mauser designs are much better IMHO.
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