SKS as a marksman's rifle?
- Thread starter .17BMG
- Start date
I agree with most of the above post.
SKS, surplus ammo and "marksmans rifle" shouldn't exist in the same sentence
So the ammunition can be banned in the USA as handgun AP.
Northman999
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Yukon
SKS has been used as a sniper rifle in Vietnam and other places. Not ideal, but it has been done, and by people with their lives on the line.
I have found that people who only shoot cheap surplus through the SKS are usually the ones who believe the SKS in inherently inaccurate. It's the ammo. With good commerical ammo or reloads it's a totally differnt story. I've got a Chinese SKS that shoots 5" at 100 yards with surplus, but 1.5" with Wolf 154gr soft points.
I have found that people who only shoot cheap surplus through the SKS are usually the ones who believe the SKS in inherently inaccurate. It's the ammo. With good commerical ammo or reloads it's a totally differnt story. I've got a Chinese SKS that shoots 5" at 100 yards with surplus, but 1.5" with Wolf 154gr soft points.
A red stripe on your SKS will make the bullets go faster!not even the paint job?
"...effective range depends on the size of the target..." The size of the target has absolutely nothing to do with the effective range.
The SKS was designed as a stop gap rifle that could be issued to illiterate troopies. Who could be taught to use it with minimal training. Great accuracy wasn't required nor desired. Ditto for the AK47.
The 7.62 x 39 cartridge wasn't designed for great accuracy either.
"...SKS has been used as a sniper rifle in..." Nope. Any time a shot was fired by an unknown shooter, in any war, it was called a sniper.
The SKS was designed as a stop gap rifle that could be issued to illiterate troopies. Who could be taught to use it with minimal training. Great accuracy wasn't required nor desired. Ditto for the AK47.
The 7.62 x 39 cartridge wasn't designed for great accuracy either.
"...SKS has been used as a sniper rifle in..." Nope. Any time a shot was fired by an unknown shooter, in any war, it was called a sniper.
Armies armed with AK's or SKS's get as close as possible to see there enemies and fire point blank. Even though the .30 cal projectile had better penetration it lacked in distant shots due to weight. That is the reason the US military currentily uses a lighter round.
Any competent shooter using a well made 7.62x39mm bolt action rifle with decent ammo will get under 2" at 100 yards all day long. The accuracy of the round still surprises me. Using a low power load of 25.5 grains of Reloader 7 in a Lapua case, 125 grain Sierra .311 bullet and a Federal LRP I am getting just a hair under 1" at 100 yards 5 shot group measured edge to edge. This load will shoot under an inch for multiple groups in a row. Rifle is a CZ 527 Carbine (18.5" barrel) using CZ rings and a 1982 vintage Leupold 8x42? AO scope and a sandbag.
- Location
- Sudbury, On
My understanding is that factory scoped SKS rifles are quite popular for hunting in Russia, and that a number of them were used as sniper rifles in places like the Ex-Yugoslavia. So turning one into a "sniper" rifle is certainly possible, as long as you keep your shots to less than 300 yds, which is pretty much the edge of the accuracy enveloppe for the round itself.
X 2, ------- Well said, made Man, ------ I like That
!!!!!!! ----- Plus the SKS !!!!!!!
easyrider604
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Greater Vancouver, BC
to a large extent, it's the singer, not the song. The SKS post and notch iron sights are not the best type for us optically-challenged so I think shooter-influenced accuracy can benefit from a decent scope. Not really the gun's fault. A scope is de rigueur for a true marksman's rifle, unless of course one was shooting in an irons-only event.
A scoped Yugo 59 or 59/66 would probably be your best candidate for a marksman's SKS.
Why? As an example, a scoped Chinese SKS won the 1st BC Gong Shoot at the POCO range last June 23rd. Target was a 10" x 10" steel gong at 200 meters. Second went to a Yugo (iron-sights) shooter who scored the same 11/20 but lost in the shootout, where the eventual winner hit 4 of 5 in 30 seconds.
So combine the Yugo and a scope; goes without saying that these top two shooters were really good. Many other variables involved, but you get the picture, right?
