Russian Sks

LarryG said:
I have an Izzy (russian) refurb with tech (peep) sights and a mil chinese with a 4-12 vortex scope. Both a very accurate. But I'm not comfortable shooting with the peep sights beyond 100 yds.
Surprisingly, last fall I tested my offhand shooting ability between my savage model 14 in 30-06, chin. sks, and brno combo in .308 at 100 yds. My best targets were with the sks. After that I decided that I would take any shot up to 225 yds on a deer. Believe it or not, that sks with s&b hunting ammo puts 5 shot around 1.25" at 100 yds, which was better that my 30-06 (3 in 1.5"). Plus, the 30-06 scoped me from the bench once (good reason to sell it).
Did I mention the semi auto is nice to have for deer hunting.
In my opinion, the sks makes an excellent deer gun, esp with a good quality well mounted scope.
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Nice, what scope mount are you using on your SKS? Any particular reason you don't like the standard leaf sight?
 
Compare the ballistics to a 150gr 30-30 or 405gr 45-70. Kinetic energy, velocity, and cross-sections aren't too far apart.
 
If you are worried about power, don't. I would reccomend the sks as a hunting rifle for deer, and here is why; Most people who own an sks shoot it a lot. I would say that any rifle with good power using good bullets that a hunter shoots a lot is a good choice. Like anything, practice pays huge dividends though so buy a case of ammo and practice with all of it. Work your standing and kneeling positions. If you decide to scope it only buy a mount that screws directly to the lower reviever, every one of those cover mounts is a piece of sh!t. Choate makes a nice one. Happy hunting. My sks likes the PRVI softpoints in hunting ammo, you results may differ. Pics of your dead deer should be posted in the hunting section.
 
Nothing wrong with the 7.62x39 round for Whitetails. We've been knocking them down for years around these parts even big Bucks. I prefer them as they do less meat damage. I still see some SKS's in the bush.
 
DarceMegarce said:
Nice, what scope mount are you using on your SKS? Any particular reason you don't like the standard leaf sight?
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I am using all steel weaver lever-lok's, med. height.
They are perfect for this gun. Note that I positioned the mount lower than usual, but had to grind the bottom back end of the choate mount before installing, and can just squeak in the bolt when cleaning.

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I'm fine at close range with sks iron sights out to 50-75 yds, or my peep sights on the Izhevsk.
However, when shooting at 100 - 200 yds, the Vortex at 12x is awesome.

With that setup, here is an offhand group at 100yds (surplus ammo), yes, only 5 shots taken:

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which I'm pretty happy with. I have had some less than stellar moments when deer hunting (spine shots), and so have decided to practice whenever i get a chance.
 
Surrey Boy said:
How much velocity is lost with an automatic vs bolt?
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You'll have to find a bolt gun with the same barrel length, but then again different chambers and barrels will have their own results.
Difficult to say, but a guess is very little. The nice option with a bolt is that you can handload faster loads with different powders.

LarryG said:
Note that I positioned the mount lower than usual, but had to grind the bottom back end of the choate mount before installing, and can just squeak in the bolt when cleaning.
However, when shooting at 100 - 200 yds, the Vortex at 12x is awesome.
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I like the way you setup the Choate.
What kind of groups are you getting @ 100yds with surplus and hunting ammo with this setup on a benchrest? Any pics?
 
Surrey Boy said:
How much velocity is lost with an automatic vs bolt?
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I'd say in case of an SKS...compared to a bolt gun,same barrel length-none.
I can't find it anymore but I saw a clip,taken with a hi speed camera,played slow...the bullet was out of the muzzle before the action even started to open.
 
lejarretnoir said:
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I like the way you setup the Choate.
What kind of groups are you getting @ 100yds with surplus and hunting ammo with this setup on a benchrest? Any pics?
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Thanks, here's what it looks like today

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With surplus, accuracy is anywhere from 2-4", all from the same crate.
there is lots of variation in the loads and so I'll see tight clusters with the flyers. I wouldn't make any bets on sks accuracy when shooting surplus, sometimes, you get one that's way out of spec.


Here is a good group with surplus ammo

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Hunting ammo gets me somewhere around 5 shots 1.25" at 100 yds.

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Other features:
medium walmart (usa) winchester limbsaver recoil pad, plus 1/2" plywood spacer, to get length of pull around 13.5"

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Plus, a Accu-riser check rest. It gets my eye to about the right height. Quality of this part is ok.

Rest of the story: trigger job, side eject receiver mod (squared off rear corner of port), choate muzzle brake, and of course, a recoil buffer to protect my scope.

If you do the side eject port mod and use a nice scope, I suggest putting some protective material, i.e. duct tape, etc, on the bottom of the objective, because the odd casing will hit the scope.

Speaking of recoil buffers, the only one that's any good is the blackjack buffer:

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Unfortunately, they don't ship to Canada, so I had to ask a relative to assist in getting one. Bit of a hassle.
I have been using one of these but am working on making my own. The problem with these buffers is they start to show damage to the bolt contact area. I'd like one that lasts forever so hopefully am well on the way to achieving that. But, that's another story.
 
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Well done LarryG!
Accuracy wise is as good as it gets and you solved the cheekweld and LOP very nice on a budget.
I have a nice Russian I will keep stock, but will do up someday a Type 56 similar to that with ejection port mod. I also use that same slip-on buttpad for shooting any short butt guns I own. :)
 
An SKS, if you practice plenty at 100 yards at the range, is adequate for deer up to 100 yards. Most deer are shot at less than 100 yards. Make sure you use soft point bullets, and upgrade to a real hunting rifle as soon as you can afford it...something that can shoot MOA and take deer out to 400 yards, like a .270 bolt action.
 
My SKS is really accurate, I got 20rnds in less then 2inches rapid fire at 50 yards. I was hitting 400 yard targets at my range with mine. As for hunting there pretty good. For deer they will be perfect.
 
i woudlnt buy one specifically for hunting. but it will fill the bill with proper ammunition.

When someone asks me what to get for a first car, i always say "honda civic"
When someone asks me what to get for a first hunting rifle i always say "bolt action .308"
 
What's the average distance for shooting deer? In the part of Ontario where I live (bush country), I would think its not much more than 60-75yds on average-Let me know what others think? Farmland flats probably longer.I would think the SKS should be great for this situation.
 
Sluggo_m14 said:
What's the average distance for shooting deer? In the part of Ontario where I live (bush country), I would think its not much more than 60-75yds on average-Let me know what others think? Farmland flats probably longer.I would think the SKS should be great for this situation.
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Yop, nothing wrong with an SKS in dense brush. It's got enough power at those ranges to take down deer easily. The shooter just has to hit the deer in the vitals, just like with any other rifle.

I always take 2 rifles out when I'm hunting in Alberta's mountains, my SKS and either the Norc M-305 or Savage Axis in .308. Which one I use depends on what I'm going after that particular day, and whether I'm pushing bush or blind hunting on open fields.
 
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