SKS for hunting?

H

huntingfish

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Hi guys,
I already bought myself a bolt (30-06) rifle for moose hunting. However, I feel like I'm missing out on something by not having a semi! :p I've recently been playing call of duty on the old xbox and I watched a bunch of D-day movies last weekend and it got me dreaming of a Garand...that's until I saw the price! :eek:

So, I'm now thinking of maybe going for an SKS, much cheaper! I was wondering what's the availability of ammo for it for hunting purposes. I saw that Wolf seems to make expanding bullets (non-FMJ) in that caliber (7.62x39 if I remember correctly?). What can you realistically hunt with those? I'm sort of torn...isn't this too buy for coyotes, yet too small for moose? Because of the zone I hunt in, deer can only be taken with bows/crossbows, so I couldn't hunt deer with it.

Also, provided one has a good amount of practice and provided one gets upgraded peep sights (like those tech-sights), would it be possible to hit a coyote and/or moose reliably to make a clean kill?

Thanks!

Fish
 
Use the search function next time, there is threads on this.

As for ammo i usually get priv partizan for hunting.

I think people were saying you can use it for moose, but im not sure. Use the search function!

You can mount a scope, but im not sure about the peep sights.
 
Pig4000 said:
Use the search function next time, there is threads on this.

As for ammo i usually get priv partizan for hunting.

I think people were saying you can use it for moose, but im not sure. Use the search function!

You can mount a scope, but im not sure about the peep sights.
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Hi Pig4000, I did use the search, that's how I found out about "Wolf" ammo. However I still had unanswered questions.

What's the availability and price of priv partizan ammo? Is it comparable to purchasing a box of 30-06 core-lokt ammo (20-25ish$ for 20 rounds)? I'm guessing bullet placement is everything (always is for hunting). The bullet is 0.30 cal, so it should be enough for moose, however I'm guessing it would have to be fairly close (like 100yards max?).

Thanks for the reply! Keep 'em coming!

Fish
 
In my area there's 3 different x39 sp factory ammo for sale, all around $22.50-$25.00 which is the same as some other factory ammo, and cheaper then a few. For example 30-30 is $19.50, 308,30-06 is about $24.00, 8mm,303,7mm08 is $28.00+ ect ect, higher end factory can go as high as $45/20rnds here.

Basicly i'd use my x39 on anything i'd use my 30-30 on. Perfect deer rifle i'm sure most would agree with. IMO a good small black bear rifle (good eating), some want harder hitting for bears though. Calf moose i'd be fine with, if I had an adult tag though i'd grab the 30-06 for alittle more insurance. They dont hand out lots of moose tags up in WMU 42, if I can one i'm not ####ing around!!
 
If you already have a 30-06, I wouldn't use an sks for moose. It would work but the extra power of the 30-06 is a good thing. I'm sure thousands and thousands of moose have been killed with 30-30's and the ballistics are very similar to the sks. But you already have the bigger gun for moose so you might as well use it.

If you need a reason to buy the sks, use it for plinking or target practice. Buy some cheap milsurp ammo and get some serious trigger time for very little money. It's fun and good practice. And the sks would be fine for coyotes too.
 
A 125 gr sks has around 1500 ftlbs at muzzle where a 150 gr .30.30 has 1900 at muxzzle no arguement there which is more effective.

I'd save the SKS for coyotes and plinking.

It'll take down a deer alright, but unless its your only gun, why would you pass up on other calibers (including the dirty thirty) and the their proven performance.
 
Hi everyone,
Thanks for the replies. I know it would make a good deer gun, however I can't use it in the zone I'm in for that purpose :( Oh well. And as for coyotes, might as well use 125gr 30-06 bullets. Finally, I think I'd rather get a nicer .22lr for plinking (I don't currently have one) instead of buying a SKS.

Thanks for all the replies!

Fish

PS: Hunting with a Lee Enfield once...man, those things are heavy!
 
Most of 'em don't shoot well enough to hunt with, but the cartridge will do for close range deer.
"...dreaming of a Garand...an SKS..." Not even close to being the same thing. Save the money and buy an M1.
 
my sks outshoots any thirty thirty i know of and two m-305's. it'll hit anything i want it too within 150 yards. see no problem with it as a hunting arm. i'm taking it hunting for calf moose this year and i have no worries about it's ability to make the hit and kill the game. wolf hollowpoints. they do a number on things when they hit them and penetrate. besides. .30-30 ammo isn't as fast as the box says. real ME numbers between the two are very close
 
If you're dreaming of Garand but on a budget may I suggest an M14S/M-305. Similar big gun, good round for hunting and target and it's a semi :)
 
those are fun and a great gun but hard to find and ammo isn't cheap and plentiful like it used to be. good choice though. the stocks look like they were made from some old skids but mechanically they're good. i like norinco guns. well made and reliable. my buddy's m-305 outshot his springfield m1a so sold the springfield.
 
vicv said:
my sks outshoots any thirty thirty i know of and two m-305's. it'll hit anything i want it too within 150 yards. see no problem with it as a hunting arm. i'm taking it hunting for calf moose this year and i have no worries about it's ability to make the hit and kill the game. wolf hollowpoints. they do a number on things when they hit them and penetrate. besides. .30-30 ammo isn't as fast as the box says. real ME numbers between the two are very close
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Gun accuracy depends on the shooter.

My .30.30 roll your own are as fast as the manual says.

No arguements that it is a hunting round. SKS owners who get wound up when guys questions their capabilities need to put things in persepctive.

The 7.62 x 39 just doesn't have long range capabilities. I suppose the smaller the game the longer the shot possibilities, but the SKS is the same as the .307, .30.30 and all of the other "100 yarders" use it for its highest potential which is short range (100 yards and inside) shots.

Sure it can kill out at longer ranges but you risk multiple shots, lots of tracking, losing the animals........... and the list goes on.
 
Mumptia said:
The 7.62 x 39 just doesn't have long range capabilities. I suppose the smaller the game the longer the shot possibilities, but the SKS is the same as the .307, .30.30 and all of the other "100 yarders" use it for its highest potential which is short range (100 yards and inside) shots.
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The cartridge is designed to kill human sized targets within a 300 meter envelope of lethality and accuracy with the Iron sights...that's kill not wound.

So in the hands of someone that has taken the time to learn how to shoot an SKS properly 100 meters on a deer should be no problem.

For myself I'd even consider 200 meters on open ground, but I have put in a lot of time with my SKS at the range.
 
Why not?

I purchased a Russian SKS about a month ago. The intent was for my 14 year old for practicing shooting with open sights. I wasn't expecting great performance from it but figured it would be fun. He started off shooting at 100 yards and hit the 12" target twice with his first three shots. I thought "maybe just lucky shots" until he was hitting it about 90%. I got him to bump up the sight to 200 yards and take a poke. Again, 12" target and he is nailing it about 50% with the rest of them nearby. I am pretty sure he wants to take it hunting this year and I am ordering in some of the Wolf ammo to see how it performs. Compared to the 30-30, which I have two of, it seems more accurate, plus I can use pointy tips.

Quite please with the purchase but have heard that not all are this accurate.
 
i wasn't really getting all fired up. i am aware of it's shortcomings as a long range round but i never see big game past 75 so it's fine. with reloads you can make a .30-30 pretty good but i've found the ammo companies seem to really want to stretch the truth about their velocity claims more than any other round. only thing i can complain about the sks is bullet selection. there's not really any fast opening rounds like NBT made in .311 and the various 150's don't expand well at x39 velocities. oh well. i just like the effifiency of that little round
 
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