SKS target group size

R

Robert Nicholson

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
9   0   0
Location
Okanagan
Almost four months ago I received my RPAL, bought a few guns and started shooting again after having done no shooting in about 30 years. My first target group with a good SKS (third one I bought: 1950 Tula refurb) was six inches
at 50 yards (sand bag bench rest, iron sights, surplus ammo) and 12 inches at 100 yards.

Since that time, I have shot about 1000 rounds and have shrunk my groups with this
same SKS to: Three inches at 50 yards and 6 inches at 100 yards. I understand that many who shoot the SKS are able to
achieve groups that are half of that (1.5" @ 50 yd and 3'' @ 100 yd) under the same conditions that I list above.

How about you? What are you able to achieve and what can I do to reduce my groups further? I would like to keep my
SKS completly original but maybe I should get a peep sight? I should do a trigger smoothing job and I have to remember to
''Press the trigger with the pad at the end of your finger rather than squeezing with the middle of your finger'' which I learned
about two weeks or more ago from an instructional pictorial posted on CGN (I forget who posted) I find that has really helped.
 
Shooters are doing damned well with surplus ammo to get 3" at 100 yards and open sights.

You have to remember the SKS (and other Soviet rifles like the AK series) were never designed to be long-range rifles, but to be most effective inside 300 yards (the range at which most infantry combat was taking place in WWII).

6" at 100 yards is plenty good enough to kill the bad guy.

To make the SKS more accurate, you'll need a better sighting system (maybe those Williams peep sights or a good scope/mount combo), a smoother trigger, and maybe most important, good ammo. The priority for the Soviets making ammo was QUANTITY, not quality. The charge weights will differ, the bullet weights will differ slightly, the bullets may not be totally concentric, etc. etc.

Try some good hunting ammo in that SKS and see what you get.
 
If you can do 6" at 100 yds with open sights and milsurp ammo you are not doing too bad. Also remember that at least 50% of what you read on the interwebz is exagerated or made up. Using front and rear rest, with handloads in a rifle that has had some trigger I can get 4" groups at 100 yds - about every third try. :)
 
Me and a friend are going to the range on Weds. as he needs to zero a new scope for moose hunting. I haven't tuned the sights of my sks in AA (org. mag) But I will pick up a box or two of new 7.62 and bring some czech surplus and see what we can do while posting the results anon.
 
To the OP, you can probably cut those groups down considerably with a tech sight ts-200 and a thin front sight at 50yds
The quality of your particular ammo will make a big difference.
 
This setup here used to hit 2.5" @100yrds off a lead sled with that cheap non corrosive Lcw 7.62x39 hp ammo fairly consistently, i did a trigger job on it (that helped significantly).... but ive since then done ALOT on modding on the gun including swapping out the pictured scope system for a Russian 3-9x24 PO and have yet to fully sight her in yet , hoping i will be able to achieve the same accuracy again :/

DSC00369_zps638c793a.jpg
 
Last edited:
Ganderite said:
The SKS has limited grouping ability, and milsurp is not great for accuracy, either. So if you add the two together, your 6" with open sights is about the limit of the rifel and ammo.

Check this:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/776009-Range-Report-8-different-7-62x39
Click to expand...

Thank you all for your response, especially Ganderite. I had read the above sticky a few months ago when deciding what ammo to buy
but I just re-read it now to consider what I should be realistically setting as my goal for SKS accuracy. I think I will aim for 5'' groups at 100yds
which seems to be what Ganderite was able (on average) to achieve with a modestly improved SKS with a peep sight.

However, keep those responses coming and please let me know what the outcome of your latest shoot was and how you achieved it.
 
GunsNotPuns said:
Wah? You saying all the people on CGN claiming 1.5MOA shooting with their SKS-45s might be spinning some tall tales?
Click to expand...


With a 3-9x scope on my SKS-M I average around 2 to 2.5moa

Few lucky groups of 1.5

It likes norinco copper wash a lot better than the Hornady ballistic tip stuff too for some reason.
 
GunsNotPuns said:
Wah? You saying all the people on CGN claiming 1.5MOA shooting with their SKS-45s might be spinning some tall tales?
Click to expand...

I expec t there is an SKS capable of shooting 1.5 moa some where, and there might even be a shooter capable of shooting 1.5 moa with open SKS sights. But i don't think that shooter has posted here. :)
 
Six inches at 100 yds is doing well. One or two of my SKSs are capable of 6 inches or a little better, most are more like 8". There is really nothing in the SKS design that lends itself to accuracy. Basically a camel in a horse race.

A rifle is "one MOA" when it can produce an average of many 5 shot groups that is equal to or less than 1". Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while so a 3/5 shot < 1 inch group is possible with even the most inaccurate firearm. There are many tests that you can apply but I prefer the 5 targets, 5 shots each on the same page as a measure of true accuracy. For an SKS, this is a very large sheet of paper so maybe 2 targets of 10 shots each is more practical.

There are plenty of modern one MOA guns at reasonable prices (Savages and Remingtons); there are fewer 1 MOA shooters because it takes a lot of practice and effort to shoot 1 MOA with a 1 MOA rifle that isn't clamped into a vise/lead sled etc.

I have thousands of rounds through Mosin PUs trying to get to 1.25 MOA and I am close with 2 rifles. Internet warriors "shoot 1 MOA all day long" with PUs right out of the box.............go figure.
 
Last edited:
Personally, I won't keep a modern BA rifle that won't shoot an inch or under @ 100 yards.If it did it one day it should do it any day or it's the man holding the gun.We all have off days......best to pack up and try again tomorrow when you find the groove.Maybe I'm lucky but my SKS will average 3.5" or under any time off the bench.Harold
 
I bedded my SKS with JB Weld and got my groups down to 3" at 100M. Every now and then I'll luck out and hit 2". There was a lot of play between my stock and the receiver. Once I got that play out with bedding my groups went from 6-8" down to 3". I've been doing pretty good with irons at 100 M with both my SKS and my SVT40.
 
For a $200 milsurp and a $200 case of milsurp ammo. Take it for what it is. Don't waste your money on any additional items. It does what it is capable of in that users hands. If you want something in tighter groups buy a different rifle but keep the sks for cheap fun.
 
Below is a target shot at 100 yds with a 1938 Mosin (Izhevsk) using 1972 Romanian ball ammunition. This is a "stock" rifle except for a front sight post modification (narrowed). It is more accurate than the average. Each time I buy one I check the accuracy at 50 and 100 and compare it to the current "most accurate" to try to find the best. This is the best so far.

There are many 2 inch "groups" of three, and some "groups" of three shots that are less than one inch but the overall group size is about 3.5-4 inches. Better ammunition, and a better shooter, with better eyesight, could improve on this somewhat. Lots of trials with different rifles has convinced me that 2.5-3 inches is the best consistent performance can expect with surplus 7.62X54. I expect the same is true with 7.62X39 except the platform (SKS) doesn't have the capability to test the ammunition's performance; SKS has too many shortcomings to be an "accuracy" rifle.



15wgljk.png
[/IMG]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom