SKS Optic advice

yycPlinker

yycPlinker

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Hi all,
I just got my PAL last week, and within 24 hours found an unissued 1951 IMP SKS at my local Wholesale sports. It shoots great, and I'm loving it as my first rifle. I've never shot before this, and now I have some questions for the obviously very experienced group here at CGN. I want to mount a tactical scope or a dot sight. I don't need to see a flea on the back of a dog a mile away, that the rifle isn't accurate enough to hit anyway. I just want a little more help than I'm getting from the iron sights for plinking. Anyone have any good experience with the NCstar receiver cover tri rail? I read bad things, and I'm wondering if thats the exception or the rule. Otherwise, Does anyone have any alternatives?

Thanks
 
Use the search function in the Red Rifle section.
You will not have much luck holding zero with anything that mounts to receiver cover.

BC tactical mount goes where your sight is.
provided link just to show picture.

http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl...0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:85&tx=70&ty=62


Choate mount requires you to drill and tap but it will hold and never move.
provided link just to show picture.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/435151/choate-scope-mount-sks-steel-blue

You can try and use other systems, but you will waste your money....
Just my 2 cents!
 
Go to Midway International and look at the Mojo Micro Click Snap Sight Front and Rear Set Mosin-Nagant 91/30, 91/59 Steel Blue. Rumour has it this type of set up really works with no machining. High Calibre Services is Canadian and they also offer some really neat stuff.
 
Are you willing to drill and tap?

yycPlinker said:
Hi all,
I just got my PAL last week, and within 24 hours found an unissued 1951 IMP SKS at my local Wholesale sports. It shoots great, and I'm loving it as my first rifle. I've never shot before this, and now I have some questions for the obviously very experienced group here at CGN. I want to mount a tactical scope or a dot sight. I don't need to see a flea on the back of a dog a mile away, that the rifle isn't accurate enough to hit anyway. I just want a little more help than I'm getting from the iron sights for plinking. Anyone have any good experience with the NCstar receiver cover tri rail? I read bad things, and I'm wondering if thats the exception or the rule. Otherwise, Does anyone have any alternatives?

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
westrifle_sks said:
Are you willing to drill and tap?
Click to expand...

I'd much rather not have to do any machining, So I'm kind of leaning towards the scout mount right now. Alot of people dump on receiver cover mounts, and suggest those as alternatives without having used them personally, so I'm not quite sure there either.
 
yycPlinker said:
I'd much rather not have to do any machining, So I'm kind of leaning towards the scout mount right now. Alot of people dump on receiver cover mounts, and suggest those as alternatives without having used them personally, so I'm not quite sure there either.
Click to expand...

I dump on them because I had one on my sks with a red dot, used it once, took it off right on the range. Re-installed my original cover and never looked back.
It just didn't work for me, and I had a very tight fit when I filed the cover.
 
hunterinthewoods said:
I dump on them because I had one on my sks with a red dot, used it once, took it off right on the range. Re-installed my original cover and never looked back.
It just didn't work for me, and I had a very tight fit when I filed the cover.
Click to expand...

And that's what I hear everyone saying about them. I believe it. I just never hear any first hand accounts form people about the scout mounts. Although, I'm leaning heavily towards the BC Tactical model you linked up. looks like a winner.
 
I have a bc tactical mount on mine. It's pretty solid. Only thing is since the rail is on the small side you need to get a small red dot to put on it.
 
I have a Scout Scope mount, very similar to the BC mount, just sits a little more forward than the BC, which is what I liked. Solid as a rock. A red dot on that and I was good to go. Only reason I did it was I wear bifocals and I can't see the sights very well. As long as you don't expect to get everything in the 10 ring at 100 yards you will have a blast.
 
Everything has its pros and cons. BC tactical you lose the rear sight. Receiver cover mount will not hold a zero. You’re not willing to do any gunsmithing at home? Drill and Tap? If you are willing to do just a little gunsmithing then the following;

Buy the NCstar receiver cover tri rail – take this apart clean with acetone, reassemble using blue loc tite

Use a 1/4-20 button head and it will hold zero and is removable for cleaning.
1. Remove the dust cover pin, bolt, carrier and spring. (pin will need to ground)
2. Replace the dust cover. (NC star one)
3. Do not drill the hole. Tap a 1/4-20 (or finer) hole all the way out the other side from right to left. THE DUST COVER MUST BE ON WHEN YOU DO THIS. Or the threads won't line up properly.
4. Screw in the 1/4-20 heat treated, button head. Cut it off close to flush. Take it off, trim it, blue the end.
5. Put it all back together and go sight her in.

You can now mount your scope on the Ncstar rail, or if you want to fire using the iron sights remove the Ncstar rail and put the original back in place.
 
My advice on SKS optics....don't waste your money. Shoot it with the stock sights. My middle aged eyes have presbyobia so I painted the front sight with bright orange nail polish and using some masking tape painted the rear sight bright green....shoots good, 3 inch moa. Started using contact lenses and still, despite better targetting, 3 inch moa.

The SKS is not an moa rifle, or even close. I love mine and consider it a great firearm, but will not spend a penny on improving it's sights. Almost impossible to improve it's accuracy. Take the money on a scope for your sks and spend it on a nice accurate rifle like a Savage MkII G 22 bolt action or a Ruger 10/22. consider the SKS a fun and cool rifle. Not a tack driver no matter what you do.

Just my thoughts....
 
You can also do the bolt mod on the receiver mount... replace the pin with a threaded bolt. Apparently they hold zero well after that. I have one and hated it without the bolt. Mine actually rattled right off the gun. The bolts that hold the railed part to the receiver part just fell off.

I got a BC scout mount and its great. But like has been said. Either you need a small red dot, or a cantilever style ring.
 
hunterinthewoods said:
I dump on them because I had one on my sks with a red dot, used it once, took it off right on the range. Re-installed my original cover and never looked back.
It just didn't work for me, and I had a very tight fit when I filed the cover.
Click to expand...

Same thing happened with me at the range. I returned to irons and haven't looked back either. The SKS is what it is and does what it does well. It will pretty much always go BANG when you squeeze the trigger.

Man-sized targets out to 200-300yrds. At the very most.
 
Leave it alone scopewise and put these on (front and rear sights)...You won't regret it!

realgun2.jpg
 
Airborn_69 said:
Leave it alone scopewise and put these on (front and rear sights)...You won't regret it!

realgun2.jpg
Click to expand...

+1

IMO Tech sights is the best setup for an SKS...
I know you want more than irons but remember that very few SKS are accurate past 100y... With those sights, you know, its a big improvement over the stock sights and you should be able to touch the 100y mark easily...

+ the rifle remains original !!!

Thats just my 2 cents :popCorn:

004-19.jpg
 
If you don't drill and tap, it'll be sub-par. I know a couple of guys who tried it, and they both gave up.

I refinished an SKS myself, did a drill & tap, and used a Choate mount. Works great. Doesn't budge. Looks sleek, you can still use iron sights, and you can still remove the bolt carrier and bolt. Still takes stripper clips as well. The scope is a cheapy NcStar Mark III Tactical illuminated, with bullet drop compensator. Hundred's of rounds through it since, and haven't had any issues so far. The best part was that, except for the Choate mount & drill/tap, I bought everything second hand, so the whole scoped rifle cost around $300; which I'm sure I could recover if needed.

Btw... contrary to the advice above, I've found it much easier to use the scope than iron sights. The scope sits at a better elevation for me, and bit of magnification a tactical scope gives is great when comes to consistent aim. Tactical scopes aren't made for MOA rifles, but they still exist, and are used often for a reason. If you can improve your aim, your accuracy will benefit, regardless of how inherently accurate/inaccurate your rifle is.

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=766452

sksproject010-0.jpg


sksproject009-0.jpg
 
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mdmaroon said:
Dakk, that scope looks really high. I'm assuming you can't see through it with your cheek on the stock?
Click to expand...

One of the inherent issues I've found with the SKS stock is that when you have it properly butted against the shoulder, its a bit of a strain to get the cheek low enough to rest on it. Its one of the reasons why I like the idea of those Tapco Timbersmith wood monte carlo stocks (as pictured above), that have the built in cheek rest.

The scope is the perfect height for me with the rifle fully butted against my shoulder. The eye relief is also bang on perfect. Of course, everyone's build is different, and what might work for you or I may not work as well for someone else.

But, if I want to go low and rest my cheek, there's the iron sights, which are still usable.
 
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