Why is the SKS so Underated, Plenty for hunting

First it isn't a hunting rifle. It's a battle rifle. People call it a carbine but it isn't really that. What it does it does well. It is an effective, short distance, sustained fire rifle that has proven it's worth in combat many times. Sure it's crude compared to a lot of rifles but I think people often criticize it calling it more crude than it actually is. The ergonomics aren't all that bad either. I happen to like them but I realize they aren't the typical US rifle. They weren't built by Americans though.

If you think you might "ever" need to hold off a few gang bangers who are bent on destroying your life or your family or your home with you in it then they can be a very, very effective tool. That's why I keep one. For hunting I have other rifles.

BTW I don't think they are such a bad deal even at current prices. They are extremely reliable which is job one with a battle rifle. You want your weapon to work when you need it to work. And if you know how you can sling a lot of lead down range quickly. That alone will hold off 99% of your gang banger attacks.

They aren't as bad in the accuracy department as some claim either. They won't win any competitions but they will do well enough to make that gangster keep his head down even at 200 yards or so. And that is far more range than most will ever need except for us rural folks. But even at that distance we can put up a fight against anyone not prepared for a real battle. Of course a guy with a deer rifle sitting back at 400 yards would wear you out quickly but that's a long distance and you should be able to find a place to hide before too many shots are fired at you from that distance.

I like to keep a variety of rifles around. The SKS is just one more tool that does pretty much the same job as the AR even though there are significant differences between the two. At one time they were much cheaper than an AR. I'm talking MUCH cheaper. Now the price difference isn't great. It doesn't really make sense to start out with an SKS if you're looking for that battle rifle now. But for those of us that bought rifles long ago and bought enough ammo to last there are still reasons to keep that SKS around. I think they have qualities that make them worthy of a spot in my collection. I could see both my SKS rifles and all my ammo and invest in an AR but I don't think I would be that far ahead considering I would need to stock up on ammo and I wouldn't get the best AR going for what I'd get by selling out. So I'm sticking with something I trust will work and that means a lot. I have seen budget AR's that didn't work so well to be honest. I know most do but then again I know my particular SKS works well and always has for a long time. That's a valuable thing IMO.

I have 5 different SKSs and they are fun to shoot. I've even hunted and killed deer with one of them. Having said that they are kind of crudely made, not very accurate and the cartridge is not as good as a 30-30 on deer. When they were <$100 they made great truck/beater guns, not so much now with the stupid prices they bring.

jmr40 said:

I don't think it is under rated at all. It has the handling qualities and balance of a fence post. Accuracy is poor, triggers are poor and they are butt ugly. With decent quality soft point ammo the round is a good deer cartridge, but the good ammo isn't any cheaper than any of the much better choices.

I wouldn't call it good for target shooting unless you're shooting big targets.

It will probably take more abuse and continue to function than most hunting rifles. Not exactly what I'm looking for.

Back when you could get a rifle and 1000 rounds of ammo for $200 I did just that. After I shot up all of the ammo I tired of the gun and sold it for more than I paid for it and the ammo so I did alright. I wouldn't buy another, especially at todays prices.

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"accuracy is poor"

Not in my experience. It's on par with most military rifles using military ammunition. The reputation for poor accuracy comes from crappy scope mounting jobs and people who can't use the iron sights. With my stock '49 Russian, I have no troubles ringing a 12" gong at 300 yards. Do the math, that's at most 4 moa using SKS irons at 300 yards, and I know for a fact that I can't use those irons with a zero margin of error.

I killed my first 100 lb hog in 1996 with my first centerfire rifle , a Russian SKS.
But it was only 7 yrds away using the open sight. The SKS is great in brush country and short distance. But u have to know its limitations and practice and practice like anything else. Its the Indian and not the arrow .

The factory accuracy spec on the SKS was 4 MOA. That's "minute of enemy soldier" out to 200 yards or so.

I tried 150 grain handloads in one once. Groups looked more like a shotgun pattern.

Everybody needs a zombie apocalypse gun. If you got one before the current price inflation, it's a good thing to hang onto. If not, you can get an AR-15 for close to the same price, and I think it is a much better choice for that application. For hunting, a bolt action is cheaper, more accurate, easier to equip with optics, and available in more hunting-appropriate chamberings.

If you reload, there is no cost advantage for SKS ammunition. I can load a 308 for the same price as I can load a 7.62x39.

Davek1977 said:

I'm not sure where you're shopping, but every source I've checked, 7.62x39 steel cased ammo is far cheaper than ANY available .308/7.62x51 ammo by a good measure....I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one at $400, but @$110 in the mid 90's, my SKS has done all I've asked of it, including harvesting several deer.

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Can't really hunt with steel cased usually fmj ammo. The OP was asking about hunting. Winchester 7.62X39 123 gr SP $26.31 at Sportsman Guide. Winchester .308 150 gr SP $20.89 Sportsman's

Videos on Youtube show the cheap Russian softpoints for hunting because of their bi-metal construction are worthless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6RVuISLJ3o

The hollowpoint didn't even start to open.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f13wXy_mmk

No need to show the .308 Winchester Powerpoint...its legend proceeds it.


Hornady A-Max .308 Sportsman's Guide....$26.59

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDkO7BXX3WM

If I'm going to hunt a 30 caliber worthy animal I'm going to use a reputable manufactured ammo.

bushrats said:

Why does the SKS seem so underrated as a hunting rifle? It runs on the heals of a 30-30 and if you reload, the 7.62x39 is a really great round.

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As an ex milsurp collector, 7.62x39 fanatic and hunter I can tell you it has very little to do with the chambering.

They're goofy heavy for a carry around rifle.

There absolutely no satisfactory means of mounting optics yet devised by man

The triggers even when worked over suck spectacularly

American loaded ammo (like all metric cartridges) is laughably under loaded

Accuracy has ranged in my examples from great to mediocre.

The round itself is far more capable as a deer cartridge as the rifle when it's an SKS. I have personally killed deer and coyotes out to nearly 300 yards with a x39 ar15, and have shot sub MOA groups at 300m with a custom built bolt gun.

bushrats said:

Thank you!

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Here's a Hornady A-Max .308.

In short...a hunting worthy bullet in any .30 caliber loading is going to be comparable in price.

Hornady A-Max .308 Sportsman's Guide....$26.59

This was a hundred yard shot and the Savage Axis package at$ 319.00 are bringing in under or slightly over 1" hundred yard groups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDkO7BXX3WM

denton said:

The factory accuracy spec on the SKS was 4 MOA. That's "minute of enemy soldier" out to 200 yards or so.

I tried 150 grain handloads in one once. Groups looked more like a shotgun pattern.

Everybody needs a zombie apocalypse gun. If you got one before the current price inflation, it's a good thing to hang onto. If not, you can get an AR-15 for close to the same price, and I think it is a much better choice for that application. For hunting, a bolt action is cheaper, more accurate, easier to equip with optics, and available in more hunting-appropriate chamberings.

If you reload, there is no cost advantage for SKS ammunition. I can load a 308 for the same price as I can load a 7.62x39.

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You used .308 dia bullets, didn't you?

That would be your first problem...

R.W.Dale said:

As an ex milsurp collector, 7.62x39 fanatic and hunter I can tell you it has very little to do with the chambering.

They're goofy heavy for a carry around rifle.

There absolutely no satisfactory means of mounting optics yet devised by man

The triggers even when worked over suck spectacularly

American loaded ammo (like all metric cartridges) is laughably under loaded

Accuracy has ranged in my examples from great to mediocre.

The round itself is far more capable as a deer cartridge as the rifle when it's an SKS. I have personally killed deer and coyotes out to nearly 300 yards with a x39 ar15, and have shot sub MOA groups at 300m with a custom built bolt gun.

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That's not true about optics mounting on the SKS. There are several satisfactory means.

Bullets pulled from factory Russian ammo have measured out to .308"

You used .308 dia bullets, didn't you?

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Nope. Used .310".

Ar180shooter said:

You used .308 dia bullets, didn't you?

That would be your first problem...

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Even if so that doesn't matter nearly as much as you'd think.
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-185447.html

The deer I killed at a lasered 278yds was with a .308" bullet in a .310" bore.

Great platform, but as others stated it has some drawbacks for hunting.

10 round mags are often illegal for hunting. Hard to mount optics.

Not everywhere, sir - Arizona has no magazine limit for hunting. Perhaps a forward "scout" type mount would be best?
The only SKS I had that was accurate was the Yugo. The most fun was the Norinco Paratrooper, also known as a Cowboy Companion. Sold that one for a song, dagnabbit.
Fun guns, but as military rifles they were obsolete when issued. They were excellent guerrilla rifles, idiot proof, and with a fixed mag, one less entry point for gunk or lost magazines.
I like the cartridge, been handloading for it for years, including cast bullets,



I must be doing something wrong, though - I can ring a 14" gong at 200 yards with irons off the bench, but I haven't really tried at 300 - can't SEE a target that size that far away with irons.

My cheap Chinese Pressed in barrel is still accurate and powerfull enough for Deer or Javilina out to 100 yards with open sights.

armoredman said:

Not everywhere, sir - Arizona has no magazine limit for hunting...

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Are you certain? When I live in AZ in the early 2000s, I thought self-loading center-fire rifles were limited to 5 rounds

LAGS said:

My cheap Chinese Pressed in barrel is still accurate and powerfull enough for Deer or Javilina out to 100 yards with open sights.

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Plenty of them are and more than a few aren't. I've owned Chinese ones that have exemplified both extremes. I have seen and owned more than one with a crooked chamber that wouldn't even hold a pizza box sided "pattern" WITH A SCOPE or irons @100


In the days of the $250 on sale bolt action hunting rifle in 270-308-3006 ect why use a $400 heavy, inaccurate poor handling club of a rifle with mediocre sights, cheesy scope mount options and haphazardly developed factory hunting loads.

The same applies to the mosin but AT LEAST they're still cheap as heck.

The SKS is my favorite centerfire rifle. It's cheap to purchase ($250-$300). 7.62x39 is cheap & easy to find & suitable for many tasks. The rifle is simple, reliable, fun. I've added Tech Sights to my Norinco and it's plenty accurate for the proletariat.

However, there are "better" rifles in the same price range, especially if you are looking for a scoped hunting rifle.

I really began to appreciate the SKS when I quit trying to make it something it is not.

almherdfan said:

I really began to appreciate the SKS when I quit trying to make it something it is not.

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THIS

I'm the same way with any such milsurp these days.

IMO the SKS's utility as a hunting rifle is vastly OVERRATED

bushrats said:

Don't get me wrong, the .308 and other firearm calibers are great for deer hunting, I was just asking folks opinion on the SKS. I have 1 hunting rifle, I was just asking on the SKS.

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You are correct and I apologize. I answered your original question then meandered off to being off-topic.

Sometimes I need a leash.