Sunday afternoon at 100 yards

Beermaker

Beermaker

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Well I had the opportunity in December to go out on a cool day and do some shooting. Wasn't sure what I was going to do exactly so I loaded up and went to Prescott. Well the place was quite busy so I settled down and slowly set up. Decided I would just fire up the SKS in its ATI Fiberforce stock and see what I could do. It was a little cool, with a slight wind, not too sunny. Laid out my shooting mat and started to shoot. First few rounds were out there for sure so I used the steel post for the roof as a support for my forearm, concentrated on my breathing, natural alignment of the rifle to the target and of course, follow through. Now I could spout off 1 and 3 shot groupings, wild shots and "oh I pulled that one" but naw. I started off crapping and decide to focus and it made a hell of a difference. Still not MOA but I am happy with it.

So as mentioned a 53 Tula SKS, fiberforce stock with epoxy bedding of the receiver to the stock, open sights (front post has been turned down to 1.4 mm from 1.8 mm stock) and PRC surplus ammo. Not a heavily modified rifle just a few tweaks. 30 rounds down range on one target, 28 on paper the other 2 hit outside of the 17" paper but that was me. So here is the result.

I started to patch a few holes at the beginning and decided frick it I will just shoot a bunch and see what happens.
The heaviest grouping is 13 rounds inside of 3.25" of which there are 2 overlapping groups of 2 rounds indicated in the pic. Well within the minute of man expected but I was quite happy.

Thought I would share. Yes the SKS isn't a tack driver but if take your time chances are you may impress yourself. Also I was wearing my driving glasses so the target was clear but the front post and especially the rear sight were not too clear. The reduced size of the front post I find helps with the sight picture.
 
Align your front sight on the target and place it in the u of the rear sight, then focus your eye at the rear of rear sight. Squeeze the trigger at the same time as you get the focus of the rear sight. This will reduce your group size, providing you keep aligning front sight in the same spot.
 
Very nice! Thanks for posting this, it helps to see what others are accomplishing and how they are doing it. I hear you on the eyes and glasses thing.

Thanks also to gwehr76 for recommending a technique that I am going to try next time at the range.:wave:
 
The vision has the biggest impact at this point in time. In theory you want to have the front post in focus and be able to, within reason, have an equal amount of space on either side of the front post within the rear notch. But when the primary sights are fuzzy it certainly makes it harder and a little more challenging. In order for me to focus on the rear sight I need to put my reading glasses on, then the target is just a big fuzz ball a 100 yds away. I have played around with the different pairs of glasses and have found that my most recent set of driving specs give me the best overall groupings. Now for those not familiar with the natural point of aim of the firearm you do this. Line up the sight picture and hold steady, relax and close your eyes. Count to 3 then open your eyes. Where the rifle is pointed is where the shot will go so adjust your body not the rifle. Wiggle or shift your position around, relax and close your eyes. Once you are able to open your eyes and still be on target this will be the natural position you want to be in. You should notice after you shoot that the rifle will return to this position or very close to it. You don't want to force the rifle onto target. This is what they taught us at rifle coaching in Petawawa way back in '83. It's just a matter of remembering and practicing.

It's nice to know that a rifle many dismiss as a POS can actually do some fairly impressive shooting. As with most rifles it is all in the shooter. One thing I have learned is the support you use is to support you not the rifle. You hold and control the rifle while you press into something solid to give you some stability. With the current weather I may be able to get out again before the new year.
 
gewehr76 said:
Align your front sight on the target and place it in the u of the rear sight, then focus your eye at the rear of rear sight. Squeeze the trigger at the same time as you get the focus of the rear sight. This will reduce your group size, providing you keep aligning front sight in the same spot.
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This.

... also aim harder and you'll shrink your groups. If you aim the hardest you'll shoot MOA... or so I hear on the interwebs
 
mhowarth said:
This.

... also aim harder and you'll shrink your groups. If you aim the hardest you'll shoot MOA... or so I hear on the interwebs
Click to expand...

What is meant by "aim harder"? Nice to see all the comments about improving aim on this thread. Let's keep it coming, we can all:wave:
benefit from hearing others opinions. For me, one day I will pick one or two of my milsurps and put scopes on them, until then - IRON SIGHTS!
 
Well overall everyone has good ideas under perfect circumstances, however we have to consider the variables here.
1) My vision sucks, near sighted with astigmatism. I can use a scope but I want to practice the basics.
2) A smaller target would be harder to see plus consider the following...

Front post has already been turned down from about 1.8mm to 1.4mm to help improve accuracy, which it did. I recommend everyone to do it.

The math is as follows... Front sight is approx 750mm from the eye and is 1.4 mm at that distance.
The target is 100 yards = 90000 mm (100x3x12x25) so 1.4/750x90000=168mm/25=6.72 inches.

So the 1.4mm front post at 100 yards appears bigger, 6.72", than the 5" target which is already hard to see.

Agreed a 3 or 4 inch black square would better, optics can help you see the smaller target say a 1" square. But you still need to practice the basics of breathing, alignment, flinch control, solid support, arms like Popeye maybe but I have arms closer to Olive.

Not really sure what aiming harder means, focus and breathing maybe what you mean but to pull in the rifle more just puts more strain into the drill which can cause issues. Also if you concentrate too much on one object you will soon find it becomes harder to see. Not sure if any one else reading has served and the one thing you are taught is don't stare at something especially at night, use a figure 8 movement to watch something. If you don't that tree you've been starting at will start to move. It's sounds weird to those that haven't seen it happen but your vision isn't cut and dried. I also keep both eyes open as I find it actually improves the overall sight picture, sometimes I may partially close my left eye.

So with all that including the math lesson, practice practice practice. These old rifles can perform if you put some time into it. Even with the surplus ammo.
 
Try this method, make a black target, 18' wide by 22" tall, inscribe a 11.5" high by 8" wide "target" in the centre of it. Place target @ 200m. Aim, using your front sight in focus, rear sight slightly blurry but level with front sight at the very bottom of the target, a "6" o'clock hold. This allows you to centre the front sight for left and right far easier than trying to find the centre of the target. Adjust your front sight, with your rear sight set at 200 until you are hitting the centre of the inscribed target.

Using a "6" o'clock hold is much easier with these open sights as you are able to see all of your target. Now, get off the bench and on the ground in a good solid prone position and learn to use the sling.

Scott
 
A couple things helped me tighten groups up. When shooting from the standing position, I unlock my knees. Not bend them, just unlock them. Wouldn't have believed that would work til I tried it and it does! (For me anyway) As far as the sight visibility goes, a little dab of paint on the front post helps. Ps, Pure newbie here, this is my first post ever on any forum!
 
WrackDawg said:
A couple things helped me tighten groups up. When shooting from the standing position, I unlock my knees. Not bend them, just unlock them. Wouldn't have believed that would work til I tried it and it does! (For me anyway) As far as the sight visibility goes, a little dab of paint on the front post helps. Ps, Pure newbie here, this is my first post ever on any forum!
Click to expand...

Welcome to CGN and the Red Rifle section! Good tips on your first post also! Many of us paint the front post but I have not heard anyone
mention unlocking knees before and it sounds like a good idea for increased stability. I will be giving it a try.

What province or territory are you from? Is your interest in Red Rifles because of a certain rifle you own or would like to get?:wave:
 
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