SKS as a hunting rifle

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hm

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I've heard from a couple of friends and a co-worker that the SKS can and does make a decent, rifle for hunting deer. When I asked one friend about upgrades that I assumed he had on his SKS, he kind of surprised me when he said he got his Yugo SKS from SOG and took it hunting the next day with no upgrades whatsoever...and bagged a deer at about 120 yds. I don't know if he was using surplus 762x39 or something a little more reliable.

The reason I'm posting is to get a BS-factor reality check from you guys. Do any of you or your friends hunt (successfully) with SKSs? I love the SKS and will likely get one anyway, but if I could hunt with it too...well, that's just a bonus.
 
I know a guy who hunts deer with his SKS. He's killed a bunch of deer with it. Range is under 100y and he practices with it constantly. Ammo used is Federal JSPs or some reloads his brother puts together for him. Surplus ammo is used for practice. My Norinco SKS is plenty good to that range and will eaisily keep 10 rounds on a playing card at 50y. The big drawback is iron sights and a so-so trigger.

HTH
 
The 7.62x39 has roughly the same ballistics as a .30/30. And they make decent softpoint hunting ammo in that caliber. You would NOT want to use milsurp ammo, and anyone who does so is a cretin!

I wouldn't hunt with such a rifle myself, but really there's no reason it can't be a decent hunter if you shoot it well and limit yourself to .30/30 ranges - 200 yards or so.

Keith
 
I have killed multiple deer with my SKS

I put a fiberglass stock and scope mount on it. I did kill one with it bone stock the first year I had it. I use hollowpoints from russia. It has real good knock down out to 200 yards. Great deer gun for the woods, I like 30-30 too, I own a 06 as well, it is overkill.
 
Years ago I had a friend who used one of these hunting. He said the most important thing was to use US made commercial grade ammo with reliable bullets.
 
SKS's/deer rifle

Mebbe I got a lemon. I've been working on it for a couple years, handloading and putting new stock, glassbedding the bbl (in the short section where that can be done!) etc.

I can't get it to any more accurate than dependable on deer @ 50 yd. I wouldn't dishonor a deer by shooting my SKS at it at a greater range.

If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears, as Ross Perot would put it. But consistent kills at more than 50 yd? Not with mine!
 
sks hunter

I have a norinco sks and I killed a 135lb doe at 60 yards. I shot her looking head on in the chest the round went through organs and out the last rib, she run about 40 yards and fell over dead. I used brown bear hollow points. I think the sks is an excellent brush gun, and I will use it for years to come. I also have a scoped .270 but it's not as good for brush hunting as the sks. So depending on your hunting environment determines the type gun to use. that's also how I justify the purpose of the new gun to my wife...

" Like father, like son , I love my father and my father loves guns" ...... buzznod
 
US. made rounds tend to have soft primers and can slam fire be careful when loading. I use brown bear hollow points with good results and they have harder primers.
 
I have a couple of SKSs, one set up as a hunting rifle, but I never used it, so I took the optics off and use it as a truck gun. I like the 154 Wolf for cheap factory hunting ammo. It happens to be pretty accurate, about 2.5 MOA, which is good for an SKS. They are NOT target rifles. But, to 150 or 200 yards, their limit, they have enough for a deer's shoulder. I've shot one deer with mine at about 80 yards.

I have much better deer rifles, though. But, the SKS CAN hunt deer. Just about any other rifle is better IMHO, LOL! But, it's better than an AK and the 7.62x39 is considerably better than .223. As cheap as the things are, everyone needs one. It makes a great truck gun. I like my little 92 lever gun, too, but I can beat up the SKS and not worry about it. It's tough. Military guns are like that.

I have a 5 round mag on it (flat profile makes it easier to carry), cut off the bayonet lug (only serves to grab brush), added an ambi safety (I shoot southpaw). If you want optics, a mount and a case deflector will be necessary. Get the bolt on mount you'll have to drill and tap for. Mounting on the cover is not an option.

I put a neat camo Choate stock on it, but that was purely because I thought it looked neat. Not necessary. To lengthen pull (the Norinco needs it), there are 1" spacers for the issue stock.
 
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I have a Chinese made SK that I purchased in the early 90s. Over the years I've changed the stock (Choate fiber w/ pistol grip), re-crowned the barrel, and, most important, had a trigger job done. I also modified the issue front sight by filing it to a narrower profile, and I added a Williams adjustable open rear sight. From the bench, using ammunition it likes (WW), this rifle will shoot no foolin' 1.5" 100 yard groups. That is far better than any M-94 .30-30 I ever owned. It is short, light, robust, and easily re-loaded. Recoil and muzzle blast are mild, as you might expect, especially compared to .243 or larger high-pressure rounds. Does it kill deer? Heck yes. I've yet to shoot one beyond 100 yards and most are taken within 25 yards, but they always fall to a single shot of Winchester soft-point ammo. I'm convinced that the 7.62X39 can handle any whitetail or mulie born, assuming good shot placement and reasonable distance (200 yds or less). From what I've read, most SKS aren't as accurate as mine, but then I don't think most owners go to the trouble of a trigger job (mine is very sweet) or recrowning the barrel. The trigger job was the best thing I did to make this rifle shoot. My initial investment was $160. The trigger job was another $60. I forget how much the Choate stock cost me, but its been about ten years ago. The barrel was re-crowned for free by my friendly neighborhood gunsmith. Yeah, all told, I've invested about what a reasonably good bolt-gun would cost, but the SKS package is so compact and convenient and the gun so rugged and durable, I wouldn't sell mine for twice what I have in it now. It does require bullets at least .310 in diameter to shoot accurately.
 
I use brown bear hollow points with good results and they have harder primers.

Me, too. But don't let the 'real hunters' here find out about it. They'll be urging you to buy a used 30-30 instead.

(No one told them that SP x39 ammo has been made for a long time. :D)
 
KNowing your weapon and being proficient with it is paramount. Hitting the vital part of the deer anatomy is a must.
 
I have a Chinese made SK that I purchased in the early 90s. Over the years I've changed the stock (Choate fiber w/ pistol grip), re-crowned the barrel, and, most important, had a trigger job done. I also modified the issue front sight by filing it to a narrower profile, and I added a Williams adjustable open rear sight. From the bench, using ammunition it likes (WW), this rifle will shoot no foolin' 1.5" 100 yard groups. That is far better than any M-94 .30-30 I ever owned. It is short, light, robust, and easily re-loaded. Recoil and muzzle blast are mild, as you might expect, especially compared to .243 or larger high-pressure rounds. Does it kill deer? Heck yes. I've yet to shoot one beyond 100 yards and most are taken within 25 yards, but they always fall to a single shot of Winchester soft-point ammo. I'm convinced that the 7.62X39 can handle any whitetail or mulie born, assuming good shot placement and reasonable distance (200 yds or less). From what I've read, most SKS aren't as accurate as mine, but then I don't think most owners go to the trouble of a trigger job (mine is very sweet) or recrowning the barrel. The trigger job was the best thing I did to make this rifle shoot. My initial investment was $160. The trigger job was another $60. I forget how much the Choate stock cost me, but its been about ten years ago. The barrel was re-crowned for free by my friendly neighborhood gunsmith. Yeah, all told, I've invested about what a reasonably good bolt-gun would cost, but the SKS package is so compact and convenient and the gun so rugged and durable, I wouldn't sell mine for twice what I have in it now. It does require bullets at least .310 in diameter to shoot accurately.

Pics?


"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety"- Benjamin Franklin
 
I've killed a doe with one of mine. I have better hunting rifles, just use this one as a knock about truck gun, more resilient to bumps and scrapes than is my lever gun. It's accurate enough and powerful enough for up to 200 yards. I used to handload for it, but now I just buy Wolf 154 grain soft point, cheap, work well on hogs or deer.
 
I've harvested several SD mule deer with an SKS. I did replace the original stock with a fiberglass one that fit me better, and I have one of the dust cover scope/mount combos. Despite what is typically said about these mounts, mine actually DOES hold zero relatively well...however, these days, its back to irons
 
I used my Russian SKS to kill a hog at close range approx 7 yds. It was moving away from me and i dumped a round to the head . I remember using those Russian surplus in HP comes in whtie wax paper (bricks) in 1996. Wolf and other brands were non existent at the time. People back 15 yr s ago undermined the SKS and the round for it was relatively new. To them its a weak round and so many badmouthng going on mostly from elitist gun writers and the anticommie groups.
But no doubt the SKS is a very good weapon . The round is more than enough to put a big game down if shot at the right spot less than 75 yds away.
 
Hello, hunting deer with an SKS is not the best way to hunt deer. I mean sure you can bag a deer with one no problem. At 120 yards? Sure. With practice, skill, luck and optics. Would I? No. The SKS is a battle rifle designed for battle. Nuff said.
 
I had a Norinco Para model with 16" barrel and should've never sold it, it was surprisingly accurate. I got a standard 20" barrel model years later and it was from "Factory 26" or some such and it sucked, same ammo for both guns.
Now my SLR-95 shoots better than the Para model Norinco that I sold years ago, go figure. I'd not hesitate for a second to use my SLR-95 (yes AK-47) for deer or pig hunting. I have killed a deer with it, yes it was a 30 yard shot and it was DRT, but I am deer hunting accurate with it out to 150yards.
 
I have been messing around with a Norenco I purchased a couple of months ago. I have always heard they we not accurate etc etc. Mine is plenty accurate for dear, hogs or anything else I might come across in South Texas. Iron sights out to 300 yards and my vision is getting bad with age yet I can usually hit a 12" steel plate at that range. I would feel comfortable taking a Deer or Hog out two 200 yards with this rifle because the POA and POI seem to go hand in hand. Ok maybe Jack Rabbits would be difficult at 200 due to poor eye sight; but not this gun. I have been hunting with big scopes and all kinds of optics on my AR platforms and yet it is nice to go back to basics sometimes. I like this SKS except for cleaning it!!
 
get yourself one of those dual sight tools from e-sarcoinc.com for the sks and sight it in.the 7.62x39 has peen killing folks since the 40's.why are deer now such a problem.good ammo and shot placement are what counts i have 2 of those red phenolic sks from vietnam area.work fine
 
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