What milsurp would you hunt with?

I have a sporter No.4 LE that gives me 1" to 1-1/4" at 100 yds. all day long with my hand loads and will knock down anything I aim at. It's a thumper on my old shoulders, so it's kitted out with a cheek rest and a recoil pad which makes it look odd, but it's a pleasure to shoot. I took a nice 4 pt. buck with my SKS and though it's not as light as it looks, it's nice to have those 5 quick shots. The deer I shot through the pump and he took 5 steps and dropped. I was impressed with the knock down capability of that 125 gr. bullet. I have a tweaked Swedish M96 that I've worked up good loads for, but I've yet to take any game with it so I can't say yea or nay as to knock down values, though I've read and heard a lot of good things about them. Some of the preceding threads were very dismissive of milsurps for hunting. Okay, personal opinion and you're allowed. My personal opinion? Get some more experience under your belt before you indulge in such absolutist nonsense.
 
LawrenceN said:
I have a sporter No.4 LE that gives me 1" to 1-1/4" at 100 yds. all day long with my hand loads and will knock down anything I aim at. It's a thumper on my old shoulders, so it's kitted out with a cheek rest and a recoil pad which makes it look odd, but it's a pleasure to shoot. I took a nice 4 pt. buck with my SKS and though it's not as light as it looks, it's nice to have those 5 quick shots. The deer I shot through the pump and he took 5 steps and dropped. I was impressed with the knock down capability of that 125 gr. bullet. I have a tweaked Swedish M96 that I've worked up good loads for, but I've yet to take any game with it so I can't say yea or nay as to knock down values, though I've read and heard a lot of good things about them. Some of the preceding threads were very dismissive of milsurps for hunting. Okay, personal opinion and you're allowed. My personal opinion? Get some more experience under your belt before you indulge in such absolutist nonsense.
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With all due respect, you are asking those of us who do not endorse the use of an SKS to change our mind based on "lack of experience".... Yet you relate one deer kill to "experience"

You need to understand where the neighsayers come from...... And I will tell you I am one, but there is a caveat...

The vast majority of SKS threads are generated by "newbs" that did ok at the range and now want to go hunting with their cheaply purchased Russian boat anchor with little to no knowledge of hunting and the consequences of using a poorly suited rifle for the task..... They do not hand load as you do and typically purchase ammo by the spam can..... And that is what typically elicits the results you see....

As for the "5 rounds"...... No Hunter should feel more secure with 5 rounds than they do with one..... (Although, in the event of mishap, I do like to have a second handy for dispatch)..... But the 5 seconds it takes me to load a round kept on hand for a handi rifle or Ruger #1 makes it an almost non issue......

Your other milsurp choices are good ones IMOP if that is what you wish to hunt with, I personally prefer dedicated tools for a dedicated job......
 
Hunting with milsurps is as Canadian as Maple Syrup. More deer, moose, bear, have been taken in Canada with knock around old Enfields than any other rifle. A good milsurp is everything a good hunting rifle needs to be - rugged, reliable, accurate, powerful enough to get the job done. Everything else is window dressing, marketing, and snobbery.

Are there bad milsurps out there that aren't up to the task? Sure. But there's also crappy commercial "hunting" rifles out there as well. I'd take a Mosin out hunting before I took a Savage.
 
grelmar said:
Hunting with milsurps is as Canadian as Maple Syrup. More deer, moose, bear, have been taken in Canada with knock around old Enfields than any other rifle. A good milsurp is everything a good hunting rifle needs to be - rugged, reliable, accurate, powerful enough to get the job done. Everything else is window dressing, marketing, and snobbery.

Are there bad milsurps out there that aren't up to the task? Sure. But there's also crappy commercial "hunting" rifles out there as well. I'd take a Mosin out hunting before I took a Savage.
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Not a savage fan.... But if you can duplicate an axxis say, .30-06 group with an SKS group my hat is off to you.....
 
Lots of milsurps, including the SKS are suitable for hunting. Anybody that can kill something with a 30-30 lever action with buckhorn sights can kill it with a SKS.

To make a SKS an even more effective hunting, it can easily be scoped by using a Wartak rail, or you can upgrade the iron sights with the excellent HiCal SKS Aperture sight.

I think the only milsurp I've hunted with was the SMLE, in standard and Jungle Carbine configuration, but I've got way to many cool rifles to hunt with these days. Only .303 I'm interested in hunting with is my Ruger #1 :)
 
Gatehouse said:
Lots of milsurps, including the SKS are suitable for hunting. Anybody that can kill something with a 30-30 lever action with buckhorn sights can kill it with a SKS.

To make a SKS an even more effective hunting, it can easily be scoped by using a Wartak rail, or you can upgrade the iron sights with the excellent HiCal SKS Aperture sight.

I think the only milsurp I've hunted with was the SMLE, in standard and Jungle Carbine configuration, but I've got way to many cool rifles to hunt with these days. Only .303 I'm interested in hunting with is my Ruger #1 :)
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So to sum it up, you have an opinion on milsurps but very limited experience with them.......
 
I personally would take my LE No 4 over my SKS... BUT as far as accuracy goes, ...I have a Chinese military SKS (factory 26 1962 or 67 I forget) I have replaced the trigger springs and stoned the hammer/sear surfaces on. Now the trigger is down to about 7 Lbs I can shoot 3 inch groups pretty regular with the Norc/Polish/Russian ammo I have, from a rest at 100 yards with irons. Speaking as an Ontario hunter, that is what I consider acceptable for my distance and terrain...

My apprehension is the less than stellar track record of these old guns with the rusty trigger groups and firing pins that can cause safety issues to those afield... ALSO A lot of armchair gunsmiths screw around with these and then go hunting ..or WORSE they sell it to some unsuspecting guy who goes hunting. Once this thing goes FA or fires a round unexpectedly the fun is over.

I do have a ton of fun shooting targets for cheap though :)
 
grelmar said:
Hunting with milsurps is as Canadian as Maple Syrup. More deer, moose, bear, have been taken in Canada with knock around old Enfields than any other rifle. A good milsurp is everything a good hunting rifle needs to be - rugged, reliable, accurate, powerful enough to get the job done. Everything else is window dressing, marketing, and snobbery.

Are there bad milsurps out there that aren't up to the task? Sure. But there's also crappy commercial "hunting" rifles out there as well. I'd take a Mosin out hunting before I took a Savage.
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:agree:
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Shooting a 1 moa benched group has about as much to do with hunting with an iron sighted rifle in the brush as running a marathon does with sprinting.

I hunted with t3, 870 slug gun and sportered mosin this year. Personally I didn't have enough faith in the 7.62x39 round for deer shooting so I sold my m85, I think comparisons to the 30/30 make the 30/30 sound bad.

Irons sights on some milsurps are real chitty in thick brush, with their massive blade and whatnot. Easy to upgrade and tweak I guess.

I know grelmar is stirring the pot here, but I liked his comment about the lee enfields, marketing hype and maple syrup.
 
Personally I would be comfortable with hunting with a large variety of milsurps. That being said, I would take time to develop loads specifically for it, and ensure I am able to hit what I am aiming at (which realistically everyone should do with any rifle, be it dedicated hunting rifles or what have you).

For the weight argument, I personally don't care too much about the weight. Lighter is nicer, however I have carried much heavier firearms around in the bush for extended periods of time.
 
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