Russian SKS for hunting

Kingjenky said:
thanks
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One thing about going for head shots - other than on small game, I have never taken a head shot (and I have killed a significant number of large game critters). Always go for the boiler room: heart, lungs, liver. Either of those will guarantee a moderately fast kill. Also, look at pretty much any animal - very, very seldom is the head a stationary target. If you miss the brain, you are almost guaranteeing the animal will die a slow, agonizing death.

Personally, if I were looking for my first hunting rifle, and was on an SKS budget, I'd either get one of the excellent entry-level bolt guns or one of the Trade Ex bargains, used. A good used 94 in 30-30 would also be a great brush gun, but it would not be my purchase choice for moose. A 308 or 30-06 would be a much more serviceable caliber.
 
Papaclaude said:
Always go for the boiler room: heart, lungs, liver. Either of those will guarantee a moderately fast kill...
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The "Boiler Room" does not include the liver... it is widely understood to mean "heart/lungs." A liver hit is a slower death on average, with the animal travelling further and less blood sign (generally), and potentially an unrecovered animal. IMO nobody should be "intentionally" aiming for the liver and they should not consider the liver as a part of the "margin" for the shot.
 
hoytcanon said:
The "Boiler Room" does not include the liver... it is widely understood to mean "heart/lungs." A liver hit is a slower death on average, with the animal travelling further and less blood sign (generally), and potentially an unrecovered animal. IMO nobody should be "intentionally" aiming for the liver and they should not consider the liver as a part of the "margin" for the shot.
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You are right. I stand corrected. Personally, I always aim behind the shoulder, a little lower on the chest. Always seem to take out the heart and/or lungs. However, IIRC, the liver was clipped on several heart/lung shots? I have not noticed "formally", but the liver is my favourite part of deer and moose, and the first thing I eat, and several critters I've shot had damage to the liver. Except for one moose my wife shot, never had to chase a critter.

Either way, the main point of my post was that, IMHO, a head shot is a poor choice on big game. On small game, I pretty well always went for head shots, because I mainly hunted with a 45 cal. smokepole and round ball or a 22. It was either dead or missed (thankfully, not often missed).
 
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While hunting on private property, I heard a shot from road. Worked my way over there, kicked up a mule buck from some brush. It had a busted jaw! Had I not shot it it would hav beer a slow and painful death. A head shot is not a good choice. As for using a solid mil surplus, it is illegal and unethical! Regardless of status. As far as 7.62x39 there are much better cartridges in gun of same cost. Ammo is more but a freezer full of meat is worth the extra bucks.
 
a j cave said:
While hunting on private property, I heard a shot from road. Worked my way over there, kicked up a mule buck from some brush. It had a busted jaw! Had I not shot it it would hav beer a slow and painful death. A head shot is not a good choice. As for using a solid mil surplus, it is illegal and unethical! Regardless of status. As far as 7.62x39 there are much better cartridges in gun of same cost. Ammo is more but a freezer full of meat is worth the extra bucks.
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And more important than a freezer full is the satisfaction of a humane kill. Any hunter worth his salt will pass up any shot he is not convinced will be a one-shot kill. Any follow-up shots are the result of things not going to plan.


I'm sure a field point in a good bow will penetrate far enough to kill a deer, but it would be extremely unethical (even if it was legal).
 
hoytcanon said:
The "Boiler Room" does not include the liver... it is widely understood to mean "heart/lungs." A liver hit is a slower death on average, with the animal travelling further and less blood sign (generally), and potentially an unrecovered animal. IMO nobody should be "intentionally" aiming for the liver and they should not consider the liver as a part of the "margin" for the shot.
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well after 5 hours of tracking a wounded caribou on the liver with an arrow i ended the story that started with another guide and a stuntman. trying to shoot at 90 meters with a strong wind is never a good idea even with robin hood ... that day the 300 savage ended the suffering of that animal.

thank you Greg to bring back it.
 
He didn't even start this one; I guess he saw a thread with potential for ruin, and decided that he was just the guy for the job.
 
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