Sks hunting question.
- Thread starter Readyrod
- Start date
I'd asked the same question much earlier. Very positive response as to effectiveness on deer and even bear (though I'd be reluctant to take on a bear with one). Check both the hunting threads and maybe the red rifle thread as well. You should get a lot of solid information. I'm taking mine out in the fall for deer.
I hunt with my sks when i'm bushwacking while hunting deer... I wouldn't take a shot over 100 yds with it though.. I haven't had a chance to shoot anything with it lately.. the last few deer i killed were with my m14s or my sako 7mm rmag..
about 10 years ago i was hunting with my ruger mini-30 (not an sks, but same caliber).. I was using some 123gr soft points (this was back in the day when you could still get remington 7.62x39)...
i was walking a fence line that bordered a treeline, when i saw a nice 8 pointer about 120 yds on the edge of the field... he didnt see me as i was walking really slow and quiet.. when i saw him i froze and he just stared in my direction...
i happened to have a bush in front of me, so i slowly went to one knee and raised my rifle when i was under cover.. as i did that he turned around and started walking away from me towards the bush.. he was quartering away slowly so i aimed for his right shoulder and fired..
after the first shot he didn't even flinch, ran about 20 yards and stopped.. he then gave me a classic side profile shot on his left side.. i put the sights on his left shoulder and fired again.. again he didn't even flinch, and jumped over a 5 foot fence and disappearing behind a drop off on the other side of the fence... leaving me there thinkin' "holy crap, how could i miss that shot"?
I walked over quietly to where i last saw him to look for blood, and as i got closer i heard some thrashing coming from about 40 yds away in the treeline by a wire fence.. i looked over and his rack was caught in the fence and he was trying to get away.. i took another shot, this time at his neck just below his head and finished him off..
When i got to him, the first shot i took hit him in the back hip.. It broke his right back leg at the bone so it was only hanging on by "meat"..
the second shot hit him right in the left shoulder breaking his shoulder and almost severing his front leg at the shoulder.. front leg was just hanging on by a bit of muscle and skin.. the bullet didn't penetrate into the vitals...
it looked like the bullet disintegrated all along the left side of the shoulder and ribs... i've had the same shot on deer with a 308 and they dropped right on the spot..
i cant believe he jumped that fence with 2 broken legs and not even a flinch..
the third shot in the neck , from about 40 yds, killed him instantly..
if he didn't get tangled in that fence, i would've had a lot of tracking and extra dragging to do..
i take my sks out once in a while for deer, but only if i'm in heavy bush where the longest shot i could possibly get is about 100 yds.. If i'm in open country i take my m14s.
i know i could probably use a shotty for under 100 yds, but i prefer my rifle because i shoot it a lot.
a few things to consider..
this wasn't an sks, but a mini-30 (same caliber and bullet)...
barrel lenghth on a mini-30 is 18.5 ", i think sks is 20"..
this deer was about 180 lbs gutted...
the disintegrating bullet was probably more a function of the bullet, and not so much the rifle.
about 10 years ago i was hunting with my ruger mini-30 (not an sks, but same caliber).. I was using some 123gr soft points (this was back in the day when you could still get remington 7.62x39)...
i was walking a fence line that bordered a treeline, when i saw a nice 8 pointer about 120 yds on the edge of the field... he didnt see me as i was walking really slow and quiet.. when i saw him i froze and he just stared in my direction...
i happened to have a bush in front of me, so i slowly went to one knee and raised my rifle when i was under cover.. as i did that he turned around and started walking away from me towards the bush.. he was quartering away slowly so i aimed for his right shoulder and fired..
after the first shot he didn't even flinch, ran about 20 yards and stopped.. he then gave me a classic side profile shot on his left side.. i put the sights on his left shoulder and fired again.. again he didn't even flinch, and jumped over a 5 foot fence and disappearing behind a drop off on the other side of the fence... leaving me there thinkin' "holy crap, how could i miss that shot"?
I walked over quietly to where i last saw him to look for blood, and as i got closer i heard some thrashing coming from about 40 yds away in the treeline by a wire fence.. i looked over and his rack was caught in the fence and he was trying to get away.. i took another shot, this time at his neck just below his head and finished him off..
When i got to him, the first shot i took hit him in the back hip.. It broke his right back leg at the bone so it was only hanging on by "meat"..
the second shot hit him right in the left shoulder breaking his shoulder and almost severing his front leg at the shoulder.. front leg was just hanging on by a bit of muscle and skin.. the bullet didn't penetrate into the vitals...
it looked like the bullet disintegrated all along the left side of the shoulder and ribs... i've had the same shot on deer with a 308 and they dropped right on the spot..
i cant believe he jumped that fence with 2 broken legs and not even a flinch..
the third shot in the neck , from about 40 yds, killed him instantly..
if he didn't get tangled in that fence, i would've had a lot of tracking and extra dragging to do..
i take my sks out once in a while for deer, but only if i'm in heavy bush where the longest shot i could possibly get is about 100 yds.. If i'm in open country i take my m14s.
i know i could probably use a shotty for under 100 yds, but i prefer my rifle because i shoot it a lot.
a few things to consider..
this wasn't an sks, but a mini-30 (same caliber and bullet)...
barrel lenghth on a mini-30 is 18.5 ", i think sks is 20"..
this deer was about 180 lbs gutted...
the disintegrating bullet was probably more a function of the bullet, and not so much the rifle.
Valmet 762,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Even if it's not a tackdriver, I really like the idea of a deer rifle that I can afford to regulaly shoot at the range beyond sighting her in.
That said, I think that 100 meters is the farthest I'd be able to effectively hit from any shooting position that would be available to me while hunting, maybe 150 yards if I can confirm my accuracy with more range time. While I try shooting 200 yards at the range, my performance at that distance isn't consistent enough to try game at that distance, and that's supporting my forearm while shooting from a bench.
I plan to have an SKS with me during deer season as the brush busting rifle, alongside something more accurate and probably glassed but heavier for the stand. I'll heed your story when planning which rifle to use.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Even if it's not a tackdriver, I really like the idea of a deer rifle that I can afford to regulaly shoot at the range beyond sighting her in.
That said, I think that 100 meters is the farthest I'd be able to effectively hit from any shooting position that would be available to me while hunting, maybe 150 yards if I can confirm my accuracy with more range time. While I try shooting 200 yards at the range, my performance at that distance isn't consistent enough to try game at that distance, and that's supporting my forearm while shooting from a bench.
I plan to have an SKS with me during deer season as the brush busting rifle, alongside something more accurate and probably glassed but heavier for the stand. I'll heed your story when planning which rifle to use.
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- Location
- Georgetown Ontario
I'd use mine on a moose if it was all I had. Heaviest bullet I have for it is a Wolf 154grain SP. I still have a few boxes of Winchester 123grain Sp. they work good on deer. I don't think the accuracy is there for being a varmint rifle, but anything is possible I guess.
I suppose they might be an okay "varmint rifle" if by that you meant using it for coyotes in the bush where long shots are unlikely. I suppose that the more accurate ones could kill smaller varmints within the same ranges that a .22LR or .22 Mag would work, but they certainly won't be effective out as far as a regular varmint rifle. Most places here in Southern Ontario have a calibre restriction that would cancel out the SKS for hunting, though you could probably use them for coyotes in those parts of cottage country with a rifle season for deer.
For big game, you can find internet photos of some really large animals downed by SKS in Russia, and I've seen a photo of a caribou that someone took down with a Yugo SKS. For all practical purposes however it's at best a deer rifle suitable within the ranges that you can consistently hit the vital zone with open sights. As Valmet 762's post has shown, one might even want to be more conservative than that, or at least use a bullet that's been proven to have decent penetration and expansion on game.
A friend's hunting partner used one for bear, but switched to heavier cartridges after an incident where a bear that he thought he'd downed came to and ran off. It's only one story and I don't know all of the details, but it certainly doesn't encourage using the SKS on larger game.
If you wanted to shoot something bigger than deer with an inexpensive but reliable rifle, a basic Mosin Nagant would provide something akin to .308/30.06 performance for even less cost than an SKS. Probably the closest milsurp to a "varmint rifle" out there would be a Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55 with some form of scout scope setup, but even that wouldn't truly fit the bill.
For big game, you can find internet photos of some really large animals downed by SKS in Russia, and I've seen a photo of a caribou that someone took down with a Yugo SKS. For all practical purposes however it's at best a deer rifle suitable within the ranges that you can consistently hit the vital zone with open sights. As Valmet 762's post has shown, one might even want to be more conservative than that, or at least use a bullet that's been proven to have decent penetration and expansion on game.
A friend's hunting partner used one for bear, but switched to heavier cartridges after an incident where a bear that he thought he'd downed came to and ran off. It's only one story and I don't know all of the details, but it certainly doesn't encourage using the SKS on larger game.
If you wanted to shoot something bigger than deer with an inexpensive but reliable rifle, a basic Mosin Nagant would provide something akin to .308/30.06 performance for even less cost than an SKS. Probably the closest milsurp to a "varmint rifle" out there would be a Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55 with some form of scout scope setup, but even that wouldn't truly fit the bill.
The reason I said varmint was because when I worked on a farm in the lower mainland we often saw coyotes and sometimes deer within 100m. Same goes for most of the animals I've seen when I worked in Northern BC. I guess in the Prairies and maybe Ont ranges are longer.
SKS is at best, with 125gr ammo, a 125yd deer rifle. I took a 4pt(Alberta points) buck at 85yds, broadside to me, he ran 75yds and died. Heart shot. I took two does at 125yds, both lung shots. My wife took a doe at 140yds, barely a lung shot. She ran about 100yds and laid down, was dead when we got there. I have always used surplus ammo, pulled the FMJ tip and replaced it with Sierra GameKings. I have since (last year) taken to loading them with 150gr GameKings. In the SKS, they are definitely lethal to 150yds, in my Remington 799, they are deadly out to 225yds, easily. In that rifle, I only shoot non-corrosive stuff (Norinco silver box) or my handloads. My handloads will stretch that to 250 and beat the .30-30 performance. I have never fired on an animal with an SKS and had to look hard for it. I only take the safe shots and never rush them. Most shots I have taken in 30+ years of hunting have been broadside or barely quartering. Most have been either heart or lung shots and I only aim for shoulders when it is getting dark and I am too lazy to look for the animal. My wife now shoots the same way. Since I made her drag out her own doe last year and she doesn't want to drag it so far again.
Don't let the nay-sayers on here tell you this is not a deer/bear gun. It is a great gun but you must do your part. Be willing to pass up that shot if it is not right. Otherwise, you'd better start off with a .300RUM so that you can shoot the deer from 100 yds in the a$$ and have it hit the vitals on the way through as many do to compensate for poor technique.
Have fun. It is a great rifle. The Privi Partisan ammo is actually pretty good factory ammo, and so is the Federal. Both are usually easy to get.
Don't let the nay-sayers on here tell you this is not a deer/bear gun. It is a great gun but you must do your part. Be willing to pass up that shot if it is not right. Otherwise, you'd better start off with a .300RUM so that you can shoot the deer from 100 yds in the a$$ and have it hit the vitals on the way through as many do to compensate for poor technique.
Have fun. It is a great rifle. The Privi Partisan ammo is actually pretty good factory ammo, and so is the Federal. Both are usually easy to get.
Mine shoots minute of paper plate so varmints are out of the question. Deer within 100 yards......I'd try it but only if I had to.
No sh!t. It seems everyone deer hunting these days feels that they need a 300 somethingorother.......my 270 is putting meat in the freezer as is my 243. I must be stuck in a weird vortex of some sort.
Reminds me of the story of my friend's "bulletproof" deer. She fired 3 rounds of 30-06 at it frrom her model 70, deer never flinched, was more like curious what those loud bangs were. Turns out her scope was WAY up. She brought her rifle with me to the range. At 25 it was dead on ... At 100 it sailed way over the target board. It wasn't until an old timer came along, looked at things for a minuite then exclaimed "them 06's shoot high at 100, aim lower").
That I figured it out.
Got her rifle zeroed at 100, then fired at 25 and 50 to see what the POI is and how it looks in the scope.
Next year she bagged her first deer.
I figure she sent her rounds at the missed dear (which by her accounts was trophy material) just over it's back the whole time. I reckon it must have been somewhere in the 90-100 yd range. A loooooooong shot for a hunter in these parts.
That I figured it out.
Got her rifle zeroed at 100, then fired at 25 and 50 to see what the POI is and how it looks in the scope.
Next year she bagged her first deer.
I figure she sent her rounds at the missed dear (which by her accounts was trophy material) just over it's back the whole time. I reckon it must have been somewhere in the 90-100 yd range. A loooooooong shot for a hunter in these parts.
Yep, 100 yards and over is long unless your on farmland. It's all about bullet placement. I look at all the wasted meat on some deer shot with big magnums and just shake my head.
Just a little tangent here but when we used to prep the fields in the spring the coyotes would follow the tractor and chase the smaller varmints. That's why we didn't bother them. The ones we had (lower mainland) were too small and in small numbers, never saw more than two at one time, to bother the calves. Our dogs just hated them too. Bigger numbers or size and they would have definitely been a prob.
Working up north tho I saw a lot of bears and moose. For bear protection I always wondered if I would be better off with one or two shots from a say .308 or five shots from an sks seeing as everyone says that the only way to take out a bear is with a cns shot. As for moose, most of the time the question was "which takes out a moose better, a Ford or a Chevy". LOL. Stupid moose.
Working up north tho I saw a lot of bears and moose. For bear protection I always wondered if I would be better off with one or two shots from a say .308 or five shots from an sks seeing as everyone says that the only way to take out a bear is with a cns shot. As for moose, most of the time the question was "which takes out a moose better, a Ford or a Chevy". LOL. Stupid moose.
