spring bear: sks or 12ga slugs

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These are rounds I made for a buddy's SKS who had bears around his property mostly in his dumpster less than 50yds from his back door. 174gn bullets with a muzzle velocity near 2000fps.

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And for those of you complaining about accuracy...it's ONLY 50 YARDS!! ANY SKS CAN HIT WITHIN THE 6" KILL ZONE OF A BEAR!!! WAKE UP!!

same rounds, my Russian SKS, sand bag rest, 50yds. Tell ME THAT 1.5" 5-ROUND GROUPS ARE INACCURATE! I call BS!
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I've shot alot of deer with 12g slugs, yes they make big holes.Very few ever dropped at the shot. I've always used rifled slugs, Challenger, Buckhammers. IMO one thing slugs don't do is kill like lighting, like a 2600+ft/s rifle is capable of. Slugs punch a big hole but don't do the kind of tissue damage high speed bullits do. I'd still use slugs over a SKS any day.
 
I've shot bear with both 12 gauge slugs and 7.62x39

Personally it's a toss up. 12 gauge slugs make a BIG hole and can wreck a lot. At the same time though, I took a bear with my CZ858 one year and one round of MFS 123gr was enough to kill the bear. The exit wound was MASSIVE though. Shot went too forward and took the bear in the neck. Blew out the entire other side of the neck. Looks like I tried to take his head off. Dropped the bear instantly though so I can't complain.

So I'm not concerned about 7.62x39 but the accuracy of the firearm using the round.
 
rookie wildcat said:
2012-04-25_17-15-28_997.jpg

These are rounds I made for a buddy's SKS who had bears around his property mostly in his dumpster less than 50yds from his back door. 174gn bullets with a muzzle velocity near 2000fps.

2012-05-01_13-35-28_177.jpg


And for those of you complaining about accuracy...it's ONLY 50 YARDS!! ANY SKS CAN HIT WITHIN THE 6" KILL ZONE OF A BEAR!!! WAKE UP!!

same rounds, my Russian SKS, sand bag rest, 50yds. Tell ME THAT 1.5" 5-ROUND GROUPS ARE INACCURATE! I call BS!
2012-05-01_13-37-11_52.jpg

2012-05-01_13-37-25_596.jpg
Click to expand...

Call BS all you want... I have dozens of stories from "actual hunting scenarios" (not paper) of normally good shooters and weapons going to pieces at the moment of truth... I reload for 7.62X39 also... I know what it can do, and I know what a crap shoot an SKS can be too...
 
drache said:
I've shot bear with both 12 gauge slugs and 7.62x39

Personally it's a toss up. 12 gauge slugs make a BIG hole and can wreck a lot. At the same time though, I took a bear with my CZ858 one year and one round of MFS 123gr was enough to kill the bear. The exit wound was MASSIVE though. Shot went too forward and took the bear in the neck. Blew out the entire other side of the neck. Looks like I tried to take his head off. Dropped the bear instantly though so I can't complain.

So I'm not concerned about 7.62x39 but the accuracy of the firearm using the round.
Click to expand...

Well... Missing by a foot and a half would cause me just a tad of concern... Perhaps Rookie Wildcat should read your account...
 
To the OP................

If you get near Ottawa before spring bear, you are more than welcome to borrow
any of my rifles. I have several that you might want to try out.
Hell, I'll even reload a few boxes for you.

All I ask is that you return them with a couple of nice, juicy roasts.

(YES, I'm serious)

Happy new year !!!!!!!!!!!
 
rookie wildcat said:
2012-04-25_17-15-28_997.jpg

These are rounds I made for a buddy's SKS who had bears around his property mostly in his dumpster less than 50yds from his back door. 174gn bullets with a muzzle velocity near 2000fps.

2012-05-01_13-35-28_177.jpg


And for those of you complaining about accuracy...it's ONLY 50 YARDS!! ANY SKS CAN HIT WITHIN THE 6" KILL ZONE OF A BEAR!!! WAKE UP!!

same rounds, my Russian SKS, sand bag rest, 50yds. Tell ME THAT 1.5" 5-ROUND GROUPS ARE INACCURATE! I call BS!
2012-05-01_13-37-11_52.jpg

2012-05-01_13-37-25_596.jpg
Click to expand...

That's all very nice, but the OP doesn't reload, and won't be shooting from a bench. He'll be hunting his first bear (read: buck fever) with a factory gun and factory ammo and no bullseye to aim for. Your 1.5" group is probably the very best of the best, shot under ideal conditions. The OP describes a very different situation.

I used to plink with my SKS at 50 yards and was always astonished at how much like a shotgun pattern the paper looked. Why introduce that kind of disadvantage into a hunting situation?

It's a crappy feeling to lose an opportunity to fill a tag because of something you could have done better.
 
hoytcanon said:
Call BS all you want... I have dozens of stories from "actual hunting scenarios" (not paper) of normally good shooters and weapons going to pieces at the moment of truth... I reload for 7.62X39 also... I know what it can do, and I know what a crap shoot an SKS can be too...
Click to expand...

And I have the reverse. Dozens of animals shot with the SKS where the bullets went where they were told to go...into the boiler room. Bullets ranging from 125gn to 174gn. Many went no more than 25yds with through and through on both the 150 and 174gn bullets. And both of Tony's black bears got hung up. Learn to tune your SKS up and make it a shooter you can rely on. Most SKS will easily shoot 4" groups at 100. That's 2" at 50. If your boys can't do that, don't blame the rifle... I can hit a pop can consistently at 50yds with field rests with ALL 5 OF MY SKSs. I use one SKS to shoot ground squirrels with 110gn V-max bullets. Bear aren't tanks, I mean, really. I shot a 200lb boar broadside with an SKS this spring from 20yds. You really think it walked away?

hoytcanon said:
Well... Missing by a foot and a half would cause me just a tad of concern... Perhaps Rookie Wildcat should read your account...
Click to expand...

Really, and that was with a generally known-to-be-accurate CZ858... Don't blame the round. Don't blame the gun. Blame the shooter. If you can't hold it together, doesn't matter WHAT you are shooting.
 
Well, after reading this thread, I have a question for the more experienced hunters.... If I shot at a bear and missed shooting a bit high, would the round go into space?.....
 
gregc said:
Well, after reading this thread, I have a question for the more experienced hunters.... If I shot at a bear and missed shooting a bit high, would the round go into space?.....
Click to expand...

To prevent that you have to wear your tin foil hat and load up your SKS with about 4.275 LBS
of NcStar acessories. By weighing your rifle down, the shot will go down and you wont miss.
You will be using gravity to your advanyage, everything else just falls into place.
Forgot to mention the NcStar eye patch, it works best if you put it on your right eye.
 
cet said:
To prevent that you have to wear your tin foil hat and load up your SKS with about 4.275 LBS
of NcStar acessories. By weighing your rifle down, the shot will go down and you wont miss.
You will be using gravity to your advanyage, everything else just falls into place.
Forgot to mention the NcStar eye patch, it works best if you put it on your right eye.
Click to expand...

Oh good to know. That patch thing should work for me as I am a Southpaw (Off to get NcStar eye patch)...
 
Internet "rookies" with internet opinions... Shoot the 12 gauge with a red dot, or find an inexpensive rifle in 6.5 to .35 cal and a low power (bright) optic... Good luck on your hunt!
 
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hoytcanon said:
Internet "rookies" with internet opinions... Shoot the 12 gauge with a red dot, or fine and inexpensive rifle in 6.5 to .35 cal and a low power (bright) optic... Good luck on your hunt!
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C'mon over. I'll show you real life what the SKS can do. Don't let the name fool you. I got it 32 years ago, when I thought I had "wild-catted" my first round. Bragged about it to the old guys in my gun club. They set me straight in a hurry about what a wild cat round actually was. Tagged me with that name, I wear it proudly since it was used to teach me a valuable lesson. Been reloading for over 30yrs, hunting for 38. Internet opinions? Yep, I read them all the time. I fully admit I don't know everything, but, what I do know, I damn sure KNOW and they are not OPINIONS, they are conclusions, based on actual experiences. Check my posts, tell me which ones are wrong or ill-informed, and school me in the FACTS. Until then, continue to spout YOUR opinions on the internet...

Oh, and some of us hunt with what we have because that's what we can afford. If the OP could afford a better rifle, the thread would have been entitled, "I need a rifle for the spring bear hunt for under $2000.00" or some such to satisfy those snobs on here.

It's always great when a member asked a specific question based on his specific situation and some #### says, "buy a better rifle in blah, blah, blah".

thanks for playing...
 
There are many people who hunt bear with an SKS and do so without problems. As long as you trust YOUR SHOOTING and know the ACCURACY OF YOUR RIFLE/SHOTGUN both the 12 gauge and 7.62x39 will do the trick easily enough.
 
rookie wildcat said:
I fully admit I don't know everything, but, what I do know, I damn sure KNOW and they are not OPINIONS, they are conclusions... Until then, continue to spout YOUR opinions on the internet...
Click to expand...

So your opinions are "facts" but the opinions of those MORE experienced than you are only "opinions." You come barging onto a thread throwing your weight around and "calling BS." Well back to your loading bench, go whack a few more with your hopped-up SKS's...

The OP asked a simple question, and received a simple answer... Until you muddied the water with info that is useless to a non-reloader, and worse than useless because it encourages a false sense of security in a "shaky" platform... Well, he is able to make up his mind based on the info here... And your mind is already made up...
 
For the guys that recommend the 12 ga with slugs and a bead sight
then turn around and say the sks is inaccurate.
What are your groups like at 50 yards with slugs, bead sight, offhand?

Now add the possibility that the gun doesn't shoot on the bead so a correction is needed.
I would be concerned with non-lethal hits in that situation.
I would wager that me and my sks with peep sights would out shoot you by a wide margin from 20-100 yards.
By the way, for 20 cents a shot I can practice for cheap with out getting the crap beat out of me
 
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