Finally got my 1951 SKS to the range...

M

Meroh

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We are working on a complete revamp of our outdoor range, so I have not had a chance to try it out since I got it for Christmas.

A colleague at work kindly invited me to his range for the afternoon yesterday; I went out and bought a cheap tin of Chinese surplus (750 rounds).
I forgot my prescription safety glasses, so I was already at a disadvantage; but we were there to shoot! I also got a sight adjustment tool; and good thing, it was shooting 10 inches high and 5 inches right at 25 yards. It took about 6 groups of 5 rounds each to get it dialed in; and even though I could only see the paper, I was putting them in about 3".

We then moved to the 100 yard range, and I had an old, large format, Pistol Target in my bag with .22 holes in it. I put that up figuring I might be able to see it; again no luck, over the sights, all I could see was the paper.

Regardless, I consistently shot groups less than 10".

I'm thinking that with my glasses, I should be able to cut that in half easily. Time will tell!

It worked flawlessly through over 200 rounds.

Cleaning... Residue was like a mixture of mud and old motor oil. Tried soap and water, and it would hardly touch it. Tried Gunzilla and it just ran right off! Many sprays, and many wipes until no more black (and there was a lot of black) s*** on the patches and paper towels. There was a lot of black stuff ran out of the bolt too.

After cleaning, everything oiled; piston and gas tube got the same treatment, but were wiped clean before going back together.

I like it and my friend is now contemplating getting one for himself.
 
I have found nothing cleans the camo/gun residue like non-chlorinated brake cleaner. I also have a 1951 it shoots pretty accurate everyone says they are pretty bad accuracy wise but mine seems to get the groups your getting as well.
 
I have a feeling that the crude iron sights and the skill level of the average sks shooter is why the sks seems to be known as inaccurate.
Every sks I've ever shot will shoot fist size groups at 100 yards. Of course compared to the sub MOA groups of a modern sporting rifle this may seem horribly inaccurate. But you have to remember fist size groups are with surplus ammo and pretty crappy iron sights.
Put the same sights and surplus ammo on any modern rifle and I doubt I could shoot better than fist size groups at 100 yards.

I've shot clays at 300 yards with my sks's, and while it's nowhere near as easy as a scoped rifle it's still not impossible. That kind of accuracy is great for an old surplus rifle.
 
i have mine in archangel stock....had it out last week....when i started with it was all over the place....last week i had 10 shots in the palm of my hand and another target i put 14 outa 15 on the zombie's head target pulling 1 shot off to the left by a 1/2 inch..otherwise 15 for 15 head shots on zombie target at 50 yards open sights...again about the palm of my hand...i call that success with cheap chinese surplus....it took over a year and hundreds of rounds but im confident with the rifle now and that is what counts....so practise makes perfect...and clean the surp with boiling water..cheap rinses most of the crap out and cleans like normal..:)
 
IMHO the Russian SKS are the best SKS ever built. Due to the surplus of these dumped here in the last few years we get kind of dismissive of the quality...they are a real bargain.
 
Love mine everyone should own at least one
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I was getting barn door accuracy with my first 1954 Tula SKS and it took me a good 200 or so rounds to get comfortable enough with the rifle. I now consistently hit pie plates at 50 metres no problem, with some groups as small as 3-4 MOA. These rifles are capable of very good accuracy (if you can get around the small LOP and tiny rear sight notch). Of course, there are some with worn bores that will not return the same results. There are also some pretty pathetic parts mixmasters with ugly lawyer-approved import markings currently being sold. I wouldn't buy those for the exposed bed of a pickup truck or for the handlebars of my quad. What a shame because not more than 3 years ago weimajack was selling all-matching MINT (refurb and non-refurb) Ukrainian imports. I guess the good 'ol days are over when it comes to nice SKS's.

My most accurate SKS to date was an all-matching 1949 with an arsenal fitted laminate stock... ironically, it barely passed the bullet in the crown test, but it still performed well. I currently own two: a minty non-refurbished 1954 Tula from the early 2008 IZH import, and a mint all-matching 1952 Tula refurb ("supergrade") that sits in an arsenal fitted laminate stock with a black bayo, otherwise all-original. Both shoot lights-out and I will never part with them. My biggest gripe is they are, and always will be, a major PITFA when it comes to cleaning them, but I always set aside 1 hour after each shoot to clean them (to my anal standards). My biggest regret: selling my mint non-refurbished 1953 Izhevsk! Now, that was an example in excellent craftsmanship: deep bluing, a super nice honey blonde hardwood stock and tight fitment of parts.
 
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Indeed, it is so easy to blame the rifle to cover a shooter's shortcomings. I have been shooting all of my life and know the difference. Practice will help one achieve the best they can be; and when one can shoot well, and have confidence in self, one can identify a bad gun and/or a bad fit.

My SKS is a good gun. I can shoot the SKS well. I will shoot it way better with glasses when I can see more than a blurry outline of a sheet of paper; and maybe even better with a bit of bedding to take the axial slop out of the steel to wood fit.

Once sights were adjusted, every shot (even without my glasses) would have been a dead dear at 100 yards; likely at 200, were I still to be a hunter. Now, just dead paper.
 
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