SKS 4 gun / 5 ammo test

[franco]

sks accuracy.

i made my own scope mount out of angle iron,drilled and tapped it into the side of the reciever, and added a dragunov (ati) stock. with a 4x scope and handloads, i quickly achieved 3 inches at 100 meters,twice with 5 shot groups. and my testing has just begun.- don't believe all the crap about " it's not very accurate.".

 

[V1]

franco
handloads of 7.62x39... Wow. It shows true determination.

My story. SKS-D, pinned barrel, about 1000 rounds, choate mount (the best around for scoping SKS, IMHO), PO 4x24 made in Belarussia. All the sudden, after adding back slotted muzzle break, and bedding ati folder I've got 2 consequent groups of ~3.5 inches each on 200m - one MFS lead core ammo and one with Barnaul JHP. Was it a moon phase, act of the God, or BOSS-like effect of some kind, but after that I went to silhoette range and being shooting
with ratio one fired one hit with crapy Czechs just to make sure gun is field-worthy for over 50 more rounds up to 300m.
Will try to confirm this next time i hit the range. Stay tune

 

[Calum]

50 yards is not enough range for the true ballistics of this rifle to shine through.

Set the rear sight into the 300 Yard battle sight position, and make sure the rifle is well benched, and try again.

100 yards is the closest I'd test these rifles at.

Also the easiest way to make an SKS more accurate is to throw your receiver cover scope mount in the scrap bin...I have yet to find one that doesn't move.

 

[Tudenom]

1) the newest SKS ( lowest round count ) has the probability to be the most acurate ,

I have to agree with you here if you assume the rifle has been worn in.

2) Replacement open sights may give you a quicker follow up shot but are no more acurate than stock .

At 100 yards the original SKS sights are good enough, but over 100 yards the crappy sights become apparent. Any front post that's cylindrical in shape just isn't made for precision work. Then again this is an "angle of person" rifle meant to be dangerous to a human sized shape under 300 yards which it does well enough.

3) Stock selection is for personal preference only . It makes no difference in acuracy . Length of pull can be adjusted with recoil pads or inserts , so the main gain is looks .

I have to disagree with you most heartedly about the stock issue. The number one accuracy degader on the SKS rifle is poor bedding. All three of the SKS's I've owned (including a Russian Tula with a laminated stock) have gone from 8 to 10 inch groupers down to 3 to 4 inch groupers by bedding the stocks alone (don't worry I used a replacement stock to test the Russian not the original Laminated Stock). If a synthetic stock fits better than the original wood stock the rifle will shoot better.

4) If the rifle is tight ( low round count ) , the ammo selection is of no concern , its all the same .

That's funny because I have noticed the same thing with all of my SKS's after they have been bedded properly. There doesn't seem to be much difference between brands (even handloads) at 100 yards in my rifles! Maybe the limiting factor is something else like the chamber and throat, if so then it wouldn't matter too much what I fed it as long as the ammo was similar enough.

5) Trigger jobs may " feel " better with less creep and a lighter /shorter pull but it doesn't affect acuracy . Unless you have a rifle with an abnormally rough or stiff one IMO .
- on a side note , after I had done my trigger job and was happy with it ( prior to these tests ) I came across a suggestion to cut 4 coils off the hammer spring . I trimmed three , DON'T DO IT . This just lead to more FTF events and never affected trigger pull significantly .

Unless your trigger really sucks hard then I don't think it will make much of a difference at 100 yards with an SKS. BTW, if you shorten or change the hammer spring then expect hang and misfires with milsurp ammo. The primer is just too hard to set off with a reduced power spring. You shouldn't have a problem with factory ammo with normal primers or handloads.

BTW Hitzy, if your VZ shot that bad then there must have been something terribly wrong with it! Mine shoots under three inches at 100 yards consistently with czech ammo.

 

[RUPZUK]

I'll agree with you on the stock opinion .
since this was posted I bolted mine down firm ( bolt through trigger group into reciever and bolted reciever cover on - releaved barrel channel . this trighten it right up ) and the groups did indeed shrink - there were other posts on that topic I replied to about it .
My opinions at the time were based directly on the rifles I had on hand at the time and after extensive testing it showed no advantage to any stock and the rifle with the wibbly wobbly folding stock shot marginally the best .
But I never had a bedded or bolted down stock to test at the time . If I had I think it could have shown an advantage .
I do think handloads would also be helpfull if neck sizing only is used on fireformed cases , If I could get a bunch of brass cheap I'd answer that question to ( although it has worked on my M305 )
SKS is a great rifle , I love playing with it and it is a work in progress .