Am I off base on my love of the SKS?

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kd7nqb

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I am a budget minded college student. Most of my shooting is target based and I am soon wanting to become a hunter. A lot of my friends are hunters and I wish to be a member of that "Club" I am looking for a good all around rifle that I could use for hunting, and Target shooting and of course HD. I like it already for target shooting but when I bring up the idea of using for hunting most hunters seem to think that is not a suitable deer rife. The arguments against it are normally the "it looks bad to hunt with an assault rife" or "Just by yourself a model 700" My questions are as follow,

1. Is the 7.62x39 a good deer round?
2. Is there a gun that would fill my need and is more traditionally viewed as a hunting rifle.

Please note my hunting friends are not anti gun they are certainly not against SKS's (most of them have one) but they seem to be against it for HUNTING, which confuses me.

Also Note, I plan to do the modification so I can put on a detachable magazine since in Oregon semi auto rifles are limited to 5 round CAPACITY while hunting. Plus I want to toss on a hi-cap for target shooting.
 
The 7.62x39... I think it's pretty close to the .30-30, just less choice in bullets (I think). A lot of folks seem to see .30-30 as the minimum, and prefer heftier calibers - 7mm Magnums and others.

Hmm... more traditional? How 'bout an SMLE - 10 round capacity (mags can be modified to hold five, I believe). Fast-handling bolt action, can mount a monster of a bayonet.
 
I think deer hunting would suit the SKS just fine, as long as we are talking 150 yd shots here.....none of that 300+ yard shooting.

Hi cap magazine are notoriously CRAP. Stick to the fixed magazine and just stick a block in it to limit capacity during hunting. Would really suck to have your gun jam tighter then Rosie O'Donnels hold on a 5 gallon bucket of ice cream when taking a follow up shot.
 
Hmm, didnt know about the mag issues. I wonder if I need to use a specific type of block to mod it to five rounds. Personally I think that restriction is one of the dumbest but thats what I get for living in OR.
 
Cheers,

I've never hunted with an SKS - but I've been on the receiving end of one MANY times!!!! It's eaten more than one helicopter out from under me!

Within 150 yards, yea - it's a good weapon/round. Don't know if I'd try to take a "Mulie" with one, but a white-tail - yea, it's good to go.

"Hog's" - well, only if you can get a shot at them from the a**end. Don't think it will do well with a head shot - but might be wrong.

Good "all around" weapon to buy. Got one, scoped, that is "put back" for SHTF situations.

Go for it!

cr
 
SKS's are cool. You need no other reason. :D I have heard the new (ish?) 20 round mags from Tapco are very good.

You shouldn't complain about OR gun laws, they are a party compared to many other states.
 
It's the price? If you're looking for a budget hunting rifle, look into the swiss k31. More accurate, shoots a more powerful round better adapted to hunting. Unfortunately, ammo is more expensive as well, but I'd still choose it if I were looking for a hunting rifle with only around 150 to spend.
 
If you don't absolutely have to have a semi, I'd get a Mosin, then you can take that mulie too! They are so cheap that you can then save up in no time for the sks.
 
I have an SKS and love it. Like others have stated it is prefectly fine for low to medium range shots (100 and under), but I would seriously not want to take her out past that for hunting. Above 100 in my opinion bullet placement becomes erratic. You may hit a deer at 200, but it may be in the ass when you were aiming for a heart shot. Nothing more inhumane than a slow death from a bad shot placement.

You do bring up an interesting pint about the prejudice others show towards assualt rifles being used in hunting. It may be unfortunate, but you might get some unwated attention from LEO or game wardens lugging the SKS around, no matter how legal it is.


sks1.jpg
 
You know, Zumbo used to think like your friends regarding not hunting with "assault rifles". I wonder if they have been following his recent articles on the topic? Oh, that's right! Zumbo no longer writes for, or speaks on behalf of his old affiliates. :D

I have a Yugo SKS, but have never yet fired it. This one was bathed in cosomile to the extent that it took literally days to clean it. No exageration, I have not less than 15 hours into cleaning this rifle. I was quite disappointed with my barrel's bore. The chamber and the first 12 or so inches are pristine. Thereafter (mid-point down the barrel to the muzzle) the bore looks like sand paper. Perhaps I just need to clean it more, I don't know. I am praying that it isn't rust.

When I purchased my SKS, I also purchased the $69.00 SKS package that contains the following items:

1) 4X mil-dot scope
2) upper receiver replacement w/ machined-in, see-through scope base
3) aluminum scope rings
4) 10 stripper clips/cleaning kit
5) gas port tool
6) SKS manual

I noted immediately that the replacement receiver upper does not fit tightly. In fact, there is .03" of play between the receiver and the replacement upper with scope base. Given that extreme amount of movement, I see little sense in mounting a scope on mine. I will stick to the iron sights. By the way, I really like the SKS iron sights.

As soon as I get a free day to go to the range, I will write up a report. For what it's worth, I too would at least look into the K31 Swiss. It can't hurt. In my area the SKSs can be had to any where from $150.00 to $200.00. For my collector's grade SKS I paid $189.00, and externally, at least, it is in excellent condition. The bore, again, we'll see.

Regarding the 7.62X39, Remington makes some fine 125 grain hunting rounds in spired soft point. The .30-30 Win and the 7.62X39 are very close in power. The .30-30 gets the nod over the 7.62X39 only because of the factory availability of 170 grain bullets for hogs and the like. I would not hesitate to use the 7.62X39 for deer out to 150 yards, accuracy permitting in your particular rifle. Of course one could consider hand-loads as well. I believe that Wolf manufactures some 150 grain spired soft point rounds.

Edit to add: If for no other reason than that you like the SKS, I would recoomend purchasing one. I would do so sooner rather than later. I have been watching the prices. While they are not going up in price too horridly fast, the availability of the very nice-lloking SKSs are becoming more difficult to locate. I would get two Yugo SKSs. Get the $189.00 collector's grade for the wall-hanger, and the $159.00 issued-grade for beating through the woods. Just my take on it. By the way if you mean figuratively loving the SKS, that's cool. :)
 
SKS is perfect for White Tail deer. If you really want to scope it, then I recommend the B-Square scope mount.
1_bsquareskscombofm1302.jpg
 
If you want a SKS with a removable magazine, look for a Norinco model D (Paratrooper/Cowboy companion) Otherwise, CZ makes a nice bolt action chambered for the 7.62X39. Each one is affordable enough to where over time, maybe you could get both and share ammo between the two. Montana Whitetail will fall to a 7.62X39 at 150 yrds!
 
Disclaimer up front. I don't hunt. Nothing against it but never developed an interest. So why would I pipe in here? Because I'm pretty sure I can be neutral on the topic. :neener:

Every ballistics report (scientific or from people hunting in the field) I have read puts the .30-30 and the 7.62x39 into almost exactly the same range. The biggest difference I know of is that the .30-30 has a wider variety of bullet types to choose from.

A good portion of the hunting community seems to feel that a .30-30 type round is the "minimum" caliber to use for hunting deer (whitetail) but the old timers I knew growing up almost all used .30-30 and there were a number of them that used .243 Winchester! Also the terrain I grew up in was mountainous so a shot of over 100 yards was extremely rare.

My SKS is strictly a "fun gun" or a home defense gun if (God forbid) TSHTF. Still if I were to decide that going on a hunt might be fun I don't think I would have any hesitation to use the SKS as long as I had a clear understanding of it's limitations.
 
I thing everyone should have at least 1 SKS.

The 125 Winchester Power Points are good deer rounds out to around 150 yards.

The cheep recever covers work fine. Don't know about the B-Square.
 
I just looked up the power data re: the .30-30 Win and the 7.62X39. Historically (over the past 34 years that I have read hunting magazines) conventional wisdom has held that the power required to effectively and efficiently (ethically) harvest a whitetail deer is between 1,000 FPE to 1,200 FPE. Different writers have held different views.

In the Guns & Ammo 2005 Annual, pages 158 and 159, the data listed for the .30-30 Win and the 7.62X39 are as follows:

7.62X39 w/ 150 grain spire point @ 200 yards = 1,105 FPE.

.30-30 Win w/ 150 grain spire point @ 200 yards = 1,017 FPE.

Given these facts, we can see that for certain, the 7.62X39 is every bit as-powerful-as, and then some as compared to a .30-30 Winchester. However, I still maintain that the nod goes to the .30-30 Win. with 170 grain bullets for such game a boar. For whitetail deer, the 7.62X39 has sufficient power to be used ethically.
 
1) I wouldn't use any scope mount that replaced the dust cover. Friend of mine did, and I outgrouped him with a 6" .357.

2) Use iron sights. At deer-hunting ranges, that's all you need.

3) You're going to have a harder time finding ammo - You DO NOT want to use the european/asian "hollowpoints" on deer. Because they don't expand. They just break up and bananna and stuff.

4) DO NOT think that because you have a quick second shot that your first doesn't have to be perfect. Get in the habit of loading single shots, and practice that way for a while. That's my major gripe with the use of semi autos by Bubba.
 
One major differance between 7.62x39 and 30-30 is bullet style - 30-30 runs in a tube mag, and most pointed bullet styles are contra-indicated for tube mag use. Therefore, the SKS box mag will allow for any bulet style it will reliably feed.


One thing that would be funny is to have someone replace the bayonet with a swing down, removable hunting knife...kinda rifle mounted hunting accessory.
 
Before you buy an SKS and do anything to it, do a quick board search on the issue of SKS legal issues and read the threads. The Yugo SKS is not like any other rifle that can be modified at will (geez, I feel like I say this whenever the topic comes up). It has a unique status as a C&R nonsporting rifle, and any modifications to it void the C&R status, making it illegal under 922r (an imported rifle of nonsporting nature). You can remove evil features and/or add US parts to make it legal again, but it's a fair amount of work and expense.

If a small block of wood in the magazine will make it legal for hunting, great. If not, then the SKS might not be the answer for your hunting- maybe better to get a 5 round mag and a Romanian AK- same round, a touch less accuracy, every bit as legal, and then you can really put the fear of God into your hunting buddies.
 
Please note my hunting friends are not anti gun they are certainly not against SKS's (most of them have one) but they seem to be against it for HUNTING, which confuses me.

That's because they are not thinking about hunting rationally, but instead of mixing it in with tradition, emotion, and myth.

An SKS wouldn't be my first choice for hunting deer, but if somebody shows me they've got one capable of lethal accuracy at ranges in the deer woods (50-100 yards), I don't see any reason they shouldn't be able to use it.

jm
 
Shoot, I hunt deer from time to time with a 1894 in .357mag! So an SKS would be fine for most deer unless they are downright HUGE! Don;t worry about what your freinds think about hunting with one, Ill bet they all start using theirs to hunt as soon as you bag a deer with yours!
 
but if somebody shows me they've got one capable of lethal accuracy at ranges in the deer woods (50-100 yards),

All three of my Norincos hold 2 inches at 100 yds. I sighted them all in on big pieces of busted clays taken off the skeet range next door at the range.

The rear elevator is dead on once sighted for 100. The gong at 300 is 10 for 10 just using the elevator at the 3 mark once sighted properly though as others have mentioned, I'd keep the shots to 125 yrds or so on deer just for the ooomph factor to make a clean kill.

Ultra reliable longarms, easy to maintain and just a lot of fun in a 10 rd package.

Brownie
 
I'd take a SKS before a Mini-30, and many people have hunted with Mini-30s.

The 7.62x39 is a more powerful round than .30-30, and so long as you make that one good clean shot, it doesn't matter what you used.

Personally, I would suggest you find a Russian or Romanian SKS, because they seem nicer than the others.
 
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