SKS accuracy

.45ACP

.45ACP

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Hey, I'm due to get my license in a month or so and was thinking about getting a SKS as a good starter rifle. I was just wondering what you guy though about this decision.
I was also wondering how the accuracy is with this rifle
 
.45ACP said:
Hey, I'm due to get my license in a month or so and was thinking about getting a SKS as a good starter rifle. I was just wondering what you guy though about this decision.
I was also wondering how the accuracy is with this rifle
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I just want to know how you just joined in March 2010 and .45ACP was not taken yet! :D

I have three. SKSs vary in accuracy. A good Russian which is easy to find right now can give you 2-4" groups at 100m easy without a scope. There is a guy on youtube who is actually hitting a target at 420yrds. I haven't tried that. LOL
 
I got the same sort of accuracy that "cbabes" described from a Chinese SKS I used to own. It was really a very nice rifle for relatively close-in work. It was my coyote gun in Idaho.
 
hahaha you know what i have no idea how i was able to get.45ACP i was shocked to find that no one had taken it.... how crazy is that.

and thanks for the info very helpful

i was also thinking of get a NORC M14, but i think id rather save up and get a springfeild.... i dont know yet
 
My wife hits the steel gong at 300 yards with hers pretty constantly (no bayonet on hers).

With mine I have to make sure the bayonet is folded out to get similar results.
 
Go to the Red Rifles Sub Forum. That is the home of the SKS and other old Iron Curtain rifles.

There is an eternal battle going on there, on how accurate, or how inaccurate the SKS is:D

4-5 inch 5-shot groups with CZ surplus at 100 meters, is the norm.
 
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In late 2008 another CGNer and myself were able to get regular hits on the 200m gong in Mission, B.C.. Later I was able to get the odd hit standing, slung-up, with my Norinco in a Tapco T-6 with Tech sights, no bayonet. The looks we got from the hunting crowd were priceless!!
 
Despite the myth that SKS's are innacurate, I have found that this comes from people equating the SKS with cheap surplus ammo. I have two Norinco SKS's; they shoot about 3-4" with surplus ammo, but right around 2" with either handloads or factory soft point ammo (one of them consistently shoots under 2" actually). I feel that no-BS 2" groups from a rifle of this sort is perfectly acceptable for most any purpose, be it hunting at reasonable ranges, or banging gongs.
 
spacesaver said:
In late 2008 another CGNer and myself were able to get regular hits on the 200m gong in Mission, B.C.. Later I was able to get the odd hit standing, slung-up, with my Norinco in a Tapco T-6 with Tech sights, no bayonet. The looks we got from the hunting crowd were priceless!!
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That was a very good week-end! Even better when the RO came over to ask me to stop shooting at the 50M berm 'cause it was getting messed up and I informed him I was shooting the gong, all he could say was "oh,that was you? I heard somebody banging the hell out of it.":D
 
Last fall my wife and I took sequential shots at the 300 yard gong at our old range with our iron sighted SKS's.

She was at the bench and I was shooting from a sitting position at the line on the left side of her and several benches over where a few hunters sighting in at the same gong watching through their scopes...bang-plink, bang-plink, x10 total. Got some looks as well. :D

Lots of fun. :D
 
SKS is a great fun gun but not so good for hunting. Cheapest rounds on the market next to .22LR, but low on the energy scale for hunting much other than deer at close range.

Average consensus for accuracy: you should be able to hit an 8in pie plate at 100-150 yards with open sights from a good holding position. We use heavy metal silhouettes,
 
I could only get 2" X 5 shot groups @ 100 yards with My Russian SKS by removing the piston and working the action manually, but thats because I am a lousy shooter who just crawled out of an egg yesterday, putting the piston back in opened up the 5 shot groups to around 4" or so, (Privi Partisan).
 
I had about 5" groups @ 100yards when I first got my sks but strangely enough I could get under 2" groups at 200 yards The I found out how to adjust the front sight properly. now it shoots 2"-4" groups at both ranges. More then enough for me to take a deer
 
.45ACP said:
Hey, I'm due to get my license in a month or so and was thinking about getting a SKS as a good starter rifle. I was just wondering what you guy though about this decision.
I was also wondering how the accuracy is with this rifle
Click to expand...

Lots of good advice here, so I'll just add a few other observations that may be of help.

Firstly, could you tell us whether you plan to hunt, and if so, for what kind of game (i.e. small game, varmints, deer or larger?).

The SKS is a good first choice. For hunting, a vast majority of deer taken in Ontario are harvested from heavily wooded areas where the shots are under 100m. Consequently, while I would agree with some of the reservations held about the killing power of an SKS by earlier posters, I don't think it's really an issue in Southern Ontario.

If you are planning to learn how to shoot on the range, the SKS has several things going for it. The reliability, cost of rifle and ammo, and general accuracy have already been mentioned, but I think that the rifle excells in providing new shooters with an opportunity to practice shooting in numerous firing positions. It's awfully expensive at times just to sight in most centrefire rifles, much less practice important marksmanship skills. And while I'd highly recommend a decent .22 rifle as part of your arsenal (for practice and small game), the SKS would provide lots of opportunity to practice at 100-200m, well beyond the practical range of a .22 Long Rifle. If I'd say one thing, do read up on how to clean surplus corrosive ammo to ensure that the rifle does not suffer from the effects of poor cleaning.

I took out my Russian SKS a few weeks ago. Having already sighted it in, I was practicing in cold, windy and rainy weather in various shooting positions at 50-100 yards, and resting the forearm while shooting from the bench at 200 yards. Under those conditions I got groups of various sizes at 50 and 100 meters, but always stayed on target. Shooting at 200m, I got about 40% of my shots on target. This was under poor conditions and the first time out in the season. I'm sure that practicing a couple of times over the warmer months would greatly improve the grouping, making it a good 100m rifle for deer, and maybe up to 200m from a stand or other supported position. And the practice I'll get with the SKS will help with many other centrefire rifles that I can't afford to shoot as regularly. I brought it out again this afternoon for a couple of friends who are new to shooting and they all enjoyed it, though we didn't have time to take them to the 100 and 200 m ranges.

A more expensive rifle like an M14 can be a decent buy, probably best paired with a .22 to get practice before shooting the larger rifle. The .308/7.62 NATO would be better for shooting at longer ranges and for larger game (add bear and moose), as well as make a suitable rifle for participation in Service Rifle matches. With proper mounts, it can be fitted with optics that will improve accuracy (it's generally harder to solidly mount a scope on an SKS). Most of the experts here seem to believe that the Norc is more bang for the buck than Springfield. Unfortunately, .308/7.62 NATO is much more expensive at the moment and likely for the forseable future. If you invest in a basic reloading kit and components, it might be possible to cut costs somewhat while tailoring loads to your rifle, but you'll have to decide whether such a commitment of time and money is something you want to take up.

Cheers,

Frank
 
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