safety switch or not for hunting

C

cheeko

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
10   0   0
What is your opinion on the sks when hunting? Is it okay to have a round in the chamber and switch the safety on, or have an empty chamber? This question is related to how safe is the safety switch on the sks.

Thanks

cheek
 
But the Million dollar question is...what is your Hammer/Sear Engagement is like?

Scoll down to "Hammer/Sear Engagement".
http://www.yooperj.com/SKS-25.htm

I'd still exercise caution, have safety on, watch the muzzle direction, and an empty chamber, besides with enough practice these rifles can be loaded quickly anyway.
 
There are at least two schools of thought on this topic. In my opinion, it's best to never trust the safety. I never hunt with a bullet in the chamber. When I see something and cycle and shoot. It takes longer to aim than to cycle anyway. In my experiences, the sound of the gun cycling hasn't been an issue. I know some people hunt with a bullet in the chamber and it has worked fine for them. For me it's just not worth it and I don't believe there reason to anyway.
dh
 
There is amlost never any reason to hunt with a chambered round . period .
And if you have to the 7.62x39 is the wrong cartidge .
The SKS safety only blocks the trigger , not the hammer and sear .
This isn't the safest safety .
For hunting with a loaded firearm I would recommend charging the magazine and then press down on the loaded mag while slowly closing the bolt ( note no round is chambered ) .
When oportunty knocks , just rack it and you are ready to shoot .
 
An SKS safety blocks the trigger. But the SKS does not have a conventional sear engaging a notch in the hammer setup like most other hammer firearms. The sear is a block that slides under the hammer to hold it cocked. When the trigger is pulled, the connector pushes the block from beneath the hammer. This is why SKS trigger pulls tend to be long, and on the heavy side. The sear/hammer engagement is not a few thousandths of hardened steel in a shallow notch.
It is a personal decision whether a firearm should be carried with one up the spout and safety on while hunting. But it is extremely unlikely that an SKS could fire if the safety is engaged.
No one should ever place absolute trust in a mechanical safety; some designs are superb, others mechanically marginal. The ultimate safety is the individual with a the firearm, and not any mechanical contrivance.
 
RUPZUK said:
And if you have to the 7.62x39 is the wrong cartidge.
Click to expand...

Whatever Rifle you hunt with you need to know it's capabilities, and limitations...as well as your own.

For Reference, with another brush gun...
30/30 with 125 grain bullet.
Velocity
2570 fps @ the muzzle
2090 fps @ 100 yards
1660 fps @ 200 yards
1320 fps @ 400 yards

Energy
1830 ft/lbs @ the muzzle
1210 ft/lbs @ 100 yards
770 ft/lbs @ 200 yards
480 ft/lbs @ 300 yards
320 ft/lbs @ 400 yards

Traj (inches)
-2.0 @ 100 yards
-2.6 @ 200 yards
-19.9 @ 300 yards
0.0 @ 400 yards

7.62x39 Russian 123/125 grain Bullet
Velocity
2300 fps @ muzzle
2030 fps @ 100 yards
1780 fps @ 200 yards
1550 fps @ 300 yards
1350 fps @ 400 yards

Energy
1445 ft/lbs @ the muzzle
1125 ft/lbs @ 100 yards
860 ft/lbs @ 200 yards
655 ft/lbs @ 300 yards
500 ft/lbs @ 400 yards

Traj (inches)
+2.5 @ 100 yards
-2.0 @ 200 yards
-17.5 @ 300 yards
0.0 @ 400 yards

Source: Gun Digest 2006 page 233.
 
I personally wouldn't carry an SKS around with one up the pipe. I used to, before I knew that the safety only blocked the trigger, and I treated it like any other bolt action rifle (I no longer carry my 30-06 with a round in the pipe either, but for different reasons). The chances that the gun will fire with the safety on are marginal, but the fact remains that there IS a chance, and that's enough to make me not carry an SKS when loaded.

A good test for this, especially if your sear/hammer is well broken-in or worn or if you've done a trigger job, is to rack the action, put the safety on, and bang the butt of the gun on the ground. If the hammer releases (which it just might!!), it's probably not a good idea to carry the damn thing loaded ;)
 
I always have one in the chamber. I learned the hard way when a rifle would not chamber a round when hunting. When I got home there was a chunk of ice frozen in the chamber, it was small and only on one side but enough to stop the bullet from chambering, if the ice is in front of the bullet it will not cause any undo damage to your rifle it will reach its triple point in milli seconds of the bullet starting to move. As for the safety only blocking the trigger, that goes for almost all semis. Military rifles are always better than commercial rifles when it comes to a workinbg saftey.
 
FWIW, Remington 700, Ruger M77MkII, Savage 110, etc. all have trigger safeties, NOT firing pin safeties, along with most semi-autos.

Most shooters of these guns leave one up the spout.

Personally, I usually hunt with a ruger No.1 - loaded - with tang safety on. My biggest safety precaution is not pointing the rifle at anything I don't want to shoot ;)
 
I'm with Claven2 here, whether it's my 870, BLR, or any other hunting rifle, when I'm hunting I plan to shoot something as soon as a suitable opprutunity arrives, that means there is a round in the chamber, and I've still never shot anythign I wasn't trying to shoot.
 
I always hunt with a round in the chamber. Rifle or shotgun. The BEST safety you can have is your brain and your trigger finger. As long as you have muzzle control and keep your finger off the trigger, you'll never have an accident (barring catastrophic spontaneous primer combustion... which has never happened!).
 
Also considering that these Rifles were meant to be carried by Ivans, and then Chinese, surrounded by their mates under pretty rough conditions fully loaded and ready to go.

BTW: For anyone new to these rifles...When you put the safety on, I'd use the edge of your thumb pointing straight down (with a flick), not your index finger, that way you are less likely to tap the trigger...mind you it is a long pull to get these to fire, but you never know.
 
I never use the safeties.

I load when I'm ready to shoot and when I'm done shooting I unload.

Same on the range, safety never gets engaged, gun gets loaded with the appropriate number of rounds, shooting happens, gun is empty, chamber checked and clear. no problems.

Simple... no chance of having an accidental discharge.
 
If I'm actively hunting, the chamber is loaded and the safety is on. I'm also responsible for handling the gun. I also use muzzleloading guns. I SUPPOSE you could carry one with the barrel(s) charged and no cap or priming, but I doubt you would get many shots.
 
Yes, okay, I know we are all experienced firearms users, but didn't we all learn in our respective firearms safety courses that the safety should always be on? Of course, one can never depend on a safety, and props to the one who mentioned the best safety is the brain and common sense, but momentary lapses can and do happen. Using your safety is a neccesity, much as it in a pain in the arse. For all we know, there may be some 18 year old kid, freshly licensed, reading that safeties are not needed. Who among us wants to be responsible for that assumption.

I HATE USING MY SAFETY. ALWAYS USE YOUR SAFETY!
 
A good topic on hunting with SKS! I chamber a round whenever I get off my truck and head into bush, but with safety on. I know that I can't trust safety, any safety...so I never have a loaded gun beside me while road hunting, never. I'd rather let the game slip away than seeing something unpleasant happening.
 
Hunting game , safety on, check often to be sure it was not tripped to the fire position, round in the chamber , rock on. And unload on exiting the hunting area. :D
I always check safety for function (make sure it works) on an empty chamber prior to heading out. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom