sks for deer hunting
- Thread starter 7mm-08
- Start date
death-junky
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Moose Jaw SK
will work just fine 
ttyal
Riley
ttyal
Riley
Bittermansbro
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
I have been using a 1916 Winchester 1894 for deer for a long time, and if it wasn't such a hard habit to break, I would consider using the SKS. But then its just a matter of accuracy. When my SKS can shoot better groupings than my 90 year old Winnie, I will take it out.
With the hit and miss accuracy of the SKS, it all depends on how lucky you get with what you buy.
I used my M1 Garand one season and it was way too heavy. Keep in mind I am a hiking hunter. If you are hunting from a static position or an ATV, the M-14 would be great, otherwise save yourself the heartache of carrying that around all day, its nasty.
With the hit and miss accuracy of the SKS, it all depends on how lucky you get with what you buy.
I used my M1 Garand one season and it was way too heavy. Keep in mind I am a hiking hunter. If you are hunting from a static position or an ATV, the M-14 would be great, otherwise save yourself the heartache of carrying that around all day, its nasty.
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I took a friend deer hunting once. He use a SKS with the mag full. He saw a running deer and empty the full mag at it, only wounding it. We had to track it for 2 miles in the bush to dispatch it.
The SKS will take down a deer if use properly. It all comes down to the discipline of the hunter. Will a young hunter be calm enough to take the safety off properly and take good aim or would buck fever take over.
The SKS will take down a deer if use properly. It all comes down to the discipline of the hunter. Will a young hunter be calm enough to take the safety off properly and take good aim or would buck fever take over.
The rifle is ok to 100yards IMO for dear .
It's more than safe enough because there is no bullet in the chamber until you need to shoot . If for some reason a young hunter ( ??) needs to have a chambered round then , no the SKS is not for you . The safety only blocks the trigger , not the sear or hammer .
Hunting rounds may be difficult to find , most places stock FMJ surplus and you can't hunt deer with that .
If you want a semi auto , military looking hunting rifle , my 2 cents vote for the Norc M305 .
It's more than safe enough because there is no bullet in the chamber until you need to shoot . If for some reason a young hunter ( ??) needs to have a chambered round then , no the SKS is not for you . The safety only blocks the trigger , not the sear or hammer .
Hunting rounds may be difficult to find , most places stock FMJ surplus and you can't hunt deer with that .
If you want a semi auto , military looking hunting rifle , my 2 cents vote for the Norc M305 .
rollingrock
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Moody, BC
Not a problem hunting with SKS. If you cant hit where you aim, you need more practice. Again I'd say, at 100 meters, I would take head shot. Is my SKS superiorly accurate? No way, it's just an average SKS. It's just you, yourself. So practice more.
this question has come up in a number of threads, so I'll cut and paste my response from another thread.
First off though, If your sks will not consistantly group under 4 inches with soft point hunting ammo, don't even bother, get a different straighter shooting one. I have hunted a good amount with the sks and to me it is a 100 yard or less rifle. If it groups consistently under 2 inches at 100, then it'll do out to 200.
I zero my "receiver mounted" scope (a must for hunting) at 200 yards with my most accurate (under 2" groups) sks. the following comments from the other thread will explain a bit more:
What I have found as far as hunting goes, I dressed one in a montecarlo raised cheek synthetic stock, got a scope mount drilled and tapped to the receiver (bypass ALL receiver cover scope mounts for hunting purposes) and got my front open sight and bayonet mount removed. This rifle is the sh*t for hunting in the bush where shots are close, she swings and shoulders fast and the light recoil enables a quick second shot if need be. Mine has performed exceptionally on mule deer within and out to 100 yards. I am sure deer sized game can be taken out to 200 yards with this rifle but have not encountered that scenario in the field yet. For the open country, i prefer a flat shooting, bolt action magnum or a semi auto 308 (m14s ) , but in the thick not so open places where the shot has to come quick, the sks has been an excellent rifle for my needs. just think of it as a semi auto 30-30 as thier ballistics are very similar.
30-30 Federal 125gr sp at 200 yard zero, hits +3.3"@100 and -16.3"@300
velocity 2090fps@100 dropping to 1320fps@300, energy in foot pounds is 1210fp@100, 770fp@200
7.62x39 (sks) PMC 125gr sp at 200yrd zero, +3.5"@100, -14.8"@300
velocity 2046fps@100 dropping to 1583fps@300, energy 1161@100 and 893@200yrds.
1000 foot pounds of energy on impact with the animal , is in my opinion, the desired minimum to kill deer sized game, though with a well placed shot 800 foot pounds would be bare minimum.
With the semi auto action and the ballistic comparison, a straight shooting decent grouping sks , also in my opinion , beats out the 30 30 as a brush gun in all counts but one, you have heavier gr bullet selection with the 30 30.
On the topic of it being good for kids, with lots of range time possible between now and this fall's deer season, I don't see why not.....practice the shooting scenario. 3 rounds in the mag, rifle on the bench. You say go and the shooter picks up the rifle, loads the first round, removes the safety, and shoots at the 50 yard target. As proficieny increases and the child becomes comfortable, move the target out to 100 yrds. If kids can play these crazy video games and develop hand eye coordination for that..... the sks should be a walk in the park hehehe
First off though, If your sks will not consistantly group under 4 inches with soft point hunting ammo, don't even bother, get a different straighter shooting one. I have hunted a good amount with the sks and to me it is a 100 yard or less rifle. If it groups consistently under 2 inches at 100, then it'll do out to 200.
I zero my "receiver mounted" scope (a must for hunting) at 200 yards with my most accurate (under 2" groups) sks. the following comments from the other thread will explain a bit more:
What I have found as far as hunting goes, I dressed one in a montecarlo raised cheek synthetic stock, got a scope mount drilled and tapped to the receiver (bypass ALL receiver cover scope mounts for hunting purposes) and got my front open sight and bayonet mount removed. This rifle is the sh*t for hunting in the bush where shots are close, she swings and shoulders fast and the light recoil enables a quick second shot if need be. Mine has performed exceptionally on mule deer within and out to 100 yards. I am sure deer sized game can be taken out to 200 yards with this rifle but have not encountered that scenario in the field yet. For the open country, i prefer a flat shooting, bolt action magnum or a semi auto 308 (m14s ) , but in the thick not so open places where the shot has to come quick, the sks has been an excellent rifle for my needs. just think of it as a semi auto 30-30 as thier ballistics are very similar.
30-30 Federal 125gr sp at 200 yard zero, hits +3.3"@100 and -16.3"@300
velocity 2090fps@100 dropping to 1320fps@300, energy in foot pounds is 1210fp@100, 770fp@200
7.62x39 (sks) PMC 125gr sp at 200yrd zero, +3.5"@100, -14.8"@300
velocity 2046fps@100 dropping to 1583fps@300, energy 1161@100 and 893@200yrds.
1000 foot pounds of energy on impact with the animal , is in my opinion, the desired minimum to kill deer sized game, though with a well placed shot 800 foot pounds would be bare minimum.
With the semi auto action and the ballistic comparison, a straight shooting decent grouping sks , also in my opinion , beats out the 30 30 as a brush gun in all counts but one, you have heavier gr bullet selection with the 30 30.
On the topic of it being good for kids, with lots of range time possible between now and this fall's deer season, I don't see why not.....practice the shooting scenario. 3 rounds in the mag, rifle on the bench. You say go and the shooter picks up the rifle, loads the first round, removes the safety, and shoots at the 50 yard target. As proficieny increases and the child becomes comfortable, move the target out to 100 yrds. If kids can play these crazy video games and develop hand eye coordination for that..... the sks should be a walk in the park hehehe
I believe they are fairly popular for hunting deer sized game in eastern europe. Soft point ammo is easily available(ok, maybe not cambodian tire or wally world, but any self respecting sports store has it). A big plus in my mind is the low low price of surplus ammo. This allows a new shooter to gain lots of trigger time and build instinct. IMHO a kid that has fired 200 or 300 rounds downrange with thier SKS is going to be a far better shot than a hunter that passes 5 rounds through his pimped out rig all year. Also, no need to scope it. SKS irons are plenty adequate for the ranges it will be shot at. Simply look at the member on here that dropped 2 or 300 bucks to scope his SKS and still shoots worse groups than I do with iron sights...
RUPZUK said:
How can you have a standard SKS (not the D model) loaded without any round in the chamber ?? are you talking about the SKS being loaded with ammo, but with the bolt locked open and safety engaged ?
BTW, because of the sticky firing pin and commercial soft-point ammo that have very sensitive primers, i had a slamfire during my first deer hunting trip with my SKS... ok that was mostly my fault; i didn't strip the bolt and washout the damn cosmoline
Also, there's the accuracy issue (best i could get was 2" at 50 yds, more than 4" at 100 yds)...
So in the end, just be careful hunting with that SKS. It's not the best hunting rifle and can be dangerous if not handled properly.
Sniper1,
You load the magazine with 5 rounds, depress the ammunition in the magazine with your left thumb, draw the bolt back with your right hand and let the bolt ride over the ammo in the mag. To chamber a round simply rack the action.
You load the magazine with 5 rounds, depress the ammunition in the magazine with your left thumb, draw the bolt back with your right hand and let the bolt ride over the ammo in the mag. To chamber a round simply rack the action.
SKS for deer sure no problem.
SKS for a kid to hunt with in the bush? Are you serious! Get the kid a safe rifle.
Sure the SKS saftey is fine but it is a semi, no one in there right mind would give an inexperienced youth a semi to start hunting with. The SKS is not inheriently unsafe but it is in no way the safest rifle and is probabley pretty low on the list.
Get the kid a mauser in 7mm, or a savage 340 in 30-30 or a single shot handi rifle etc etc. They can all be had for a couple few hundred, are safer, more accurate and can be better killers.
I love the SKS in fact worship is not to strong a word, but would not put one in the hands of an inexperienced hunter who is going to be pretty excited and distracted when he blasts his first bambi.
SKS for a kid to hunt with in the bush? Are you serious! Get the kid a safe rifle.
Sure the SKS saftey is fine but it is a semi, no one in there right mind would give an inexperienced youth a semi to start hunting with. The SKS is not inheriently unsafe but it is in no way the safest rifle and is probabley pretty low on the list.
Get the kid a mauser in 7mm, or a savage 340 in 30-30 or a single shot handi rifle etc etc. They can all be had for a couple few hundred, are safer, more accurate and can be better killers.
I love the SKS in fact worship is not to strong a word, but would not put one in the hands of an inexperienced hunter who is going to be pretty excited and distracted when he blasts his first bambi.
I agree with David, a semi-auto isn't a good idea for a first time hunter. I will be taking my 12 year old daughter deer hunting for the first time this fall and she will be using one of my Savage 340 .30-30's rather than the SKS. On the range under close supervision is a different story though, the SKS is fair game there.
Why are you all opposed to new hunters with semi autos? In my opinion buck fever will hit either way, if anything won't he/she be able to get a second shot off faster? If the kid is irresponsible and hasn't handled many guns then they shouldn't be hunting in the first place, with or without an auto gun. And if you're so worried about your kid screwing up their first kill then YOU owe it to the deer to have YOUR rifle trained on it to make that second shot and not wound it and not have to track it for miles...
very good points moparguy.
my son has a hoot at the range with the sks but he didn't like the feel of it for hunting. I got him something he felt comfortable shooting.... only problem is... he favours my minty Lithgow 303 bolt action hehehe. i can't wait till he has a job and can buy his own rifle kidding of course
my son has a hoot at the range with the sks but he didn't like the feel of it for hunting. I got him something he felt comfortable shooting.... only problem is... he favours my minty Lithgow 303 bolt action hehehe. i can't wait till he has a job and can buy his own rifle
kidding of course
