Boar Hunting....8mm Mauser or Yugo SKS?

Which would you get?

  • Yugo SKS

    Votes: 29 37.2%
  • M48 Yugo 8mm

    Votes: 49 62.8%

  • Total voters
    78
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However, consider the military Lee Enfield's reputation for speed. The record is 38 aimed shots in 60 seconds, all in a 12" circle at 300 yards.

I know of the oft hailed Enfield speed. How could I not? Seems every thread I open has someone talking about it, regardless of the actual topic. :neener: But speed is no good if there is no boom, neh? I chances of not being able to feed a round because of the push feed system aren't too high. But if you ARE the victim of a Murphy then the lion isn't going to say "well, try again tomorrow kid", and saunter back into the bush.

Then there are the German troops who thought they were under fire from massed machine guns. The LE feeding system certainly worked well in "high stress" situations didn't it?

That example doesn't prove that there were no feeding mishaps. If one, two or fifteen guys had feeding problems, there are hundreds of other fellows behind you. The Germans wouldn't notice a few missin' rounds. There might not have been a push feed related jam/foul up in the whole war. But I've seen no evidence either way. And there is one slight difference. If a Hun knocked you over, you wouldn't try to work your rifle. You'd try to beat him to death with it or wrestle 'im. But that isn't a great option with a lion. The rifle MUST feed, if you want to come home with everything you left with.

I don't know how many people, if any, were mauled because they used a push feed. Maybe none. If so, great! I don't worship the Mauser design. It is like anything, it has weaknesses. Tote your Enfield into the bush. I'll take a Mauser though, if I ever do decide to do something nutty like hunt an Oliphaunt. (Now where can I get a good deal on an Enfield? I need to relieve myself of some money. :D)
 
Not to support the hijack of a perfectly good thread into an Enfield-v-Mauser shouting match, but...

Based on the SMLE/No4 'snap-over-looking' extractor design, I always thought that my Enfields were push feed. I said so on a number of occasions. Nobody told me I was wrong. But one day at the range, I was in the middle of working the bolt on a No4Mk1, going into battery but only about halfway thru the forward stroke, when they called a cease fire. I instinctively reversed direction on the bolt, popped out the cartridge, cleared the mag, and went on my merry way. No big deal - I do this all the time with my Mausers.

It was only later that day that I realized what I had done - that the Enfield had acted like a CRF design. So that evening I took a handful of shells and proceeded to spend about an hour trying to get the No4Mk1 to push-feed instead of CRF. I couldn't. Every single time, that big ol' 303R rim just slid right up under that extractor as the cartridge released from the magazine, just like Peter Paul Mauser's best effort. Now, to be fair, I have to admit that I didn't try to cycle the action upside-down to see if it would pass the 'real' CRF test. But I was impressed that it did NOT seem to suffer from the most common of push-feed issues, namely the short-stroke double feed.

Of course, my Mauser 95's 109-year-old extractor will also do the impossible and snap over the rim of a cartridge dropped into the receiver. So much for the CRF not supporting emergency non-mag-fed loading...
 
Interesting results RB. I admit, I've not much experiance with the Enfield. I've never noticed that before. Never looked, really. I'll have to bum an Enfield off someone and try that.
 
I'd go with the 8mm, especially if you are wanting to use cheap ammo. More power, heavier bullets. Of course it would be better.

That said, there's nothing wrong with using the SKS, if you are selective about shot placement, keep it short range, keep it to 100lb animals or less (they're better eating anyway), and use a quality soft point. If you start going after 300lb boars, taking long shots, and/or hitting them in the wrong place, then you're definitely asking for trouble.

Both are okay, the 8mm is better, the SKS has more limitations but will still work fine if used within it's limitations.
 
Not that I want to interrupt here, but Enfield is NOT a consideration here. We're talking about $100 to $175 rifles here.
 
Where would the POA on a boar be? If he's sideways to you, would you aim at the shoulder, or behind the shoulder for a heart/lung shot? Not being a hunter, I'd guess the shoulder. If you break that it should pin him down and he wouldn't be able to charge you, correct? If he's facing you, he's not tall enough to aim under the head for a heart/lung shot. You'd have to hit him between the eyes it seems to me.
 
Not that I want to interrupt here, but Enfield is NOT a consideration here. We're talking about $100 to $175 rifles here.
I bought my first Enfield a year ago for $200, and my last two Enfields were bought within the last six months for less than $150. My Norinco SKS cost more than either of these two...

Just a data point.
 
On an offhand note, talking of the Enfield rifle and large dangerous game, I believe it was Frederick Selous who killed pretty much everything that walked on the continent of Africa with his trusty .303.
 
Paper plates......

Regardless of which rifle you pick, you need to shoot it untl you can consistantly keep your shots on a six inch paper plate. If you can do that at 100 yards, that's your range (or less) for hunting.

Frankly, neither choice is very good - you'll have to fight crappy sights and heavy trigger pulls with both, though IME, the SKS can be found with OK triggers. The Mausers tend to have heavy triggers and terrible sights, though they clean up very well.

I think you'd be much better off saving some more money and getting a .30-30 or a Savage 110 with the Accu-trigger and a scope.

Don't forget to practice. :)
 
Lee Enfield controlled feed...

I tested two of my rifles last night by loading the magazines and then holding them upside down while working the bolt. Both fed flawlessly.
 
Fwiw

A friend of mine who owns a Magazine Lee Metford with the early 8 round straight magazine and a New Zealand Carbine with 6 round magazine just tested this and both rifles work perfectly at any angle.

I'm seeing LEs for the same money or less than Mausers. Ammo is not super common, but still readily available enough to be economical. I still say an LE with a 180grn SP is the best choice for hogs.
 
There was an Enfield up around here for about 180 bucks. Pretty good condition and I loved the bolt on it, but that .303 ammo. Where the hell are you gonna find ammo like that in west Texas, where the closest ammo store is the grocer.

I've seen 30-30

30-06

and I think even 7.62*39....

haven't seen 8mm mauser, but Walmart carries it.

Never seen .303.
 
Most large sporting goods stores (Galyans, Academy, etc.) carry it. Every gun store I've ever been in carried it. I buy most of mine via the Internet (if I'm buying ammo at all), and I certainly buy my 303R bullets-n-brass via the Internet so that I can load my own.

<rant>

Not to pick on anyone here (certainly not you, alduro), but this kind of question always puzzles me. How can it be that ammo availability at WalMart or the local grocery store/quickie mart would be such a bloody issue to anyone hunting within the continental US? If I pack the rifle to go hunting, I pack some ammo to go with it (so long as I'm not flying) - it's a natural and normal thing to do. Heck, MidwayUSA or CheaperThanDirt or Natchez Shooting Supply will deliver CASES of just about flavor of any caliber ever chambered to anywhere in the US within four days of placing the order via phone or Internet. All I have to do is remember to bring some with me, or have it delivered to wherever I'm gonna be.

Moreover, if I'm going hunting chances are that I've chosen my specific ammo in advance so that I can match it to the intended game. So why would I want to (not have to - want to) rely upon whatever I can scrounge up locally for my hunting ammo?

</rant>
 
yeah, id go with the 8mm,

1. the gun is cheaper
2. the ammo is cheaper
3. the round is more powerfull.
 
rbernie...

It's not as if you will run out of ammo hunting, but what if the hunting goes crappy and you decide, aw heck, lets just shoot some cans. (Happens a lot)...20 rounds of ammo goes quick.
 
Ok while I realize not everyone can afford the best in gear... the idea of taking a hog with a cheap rifle and 'cheap surplus' ammo kind of chaps me.

You want to use a surplus rifle that has some history? No problem. Please run 200 rounds through it and be able to hit a pop can at 100 yards. WITH the ammo you intend to hunt with.

Most states require you to use expanding bullets ie a soft point to hunt game. 8mm isn't that hard to find with a good, heavy for caliber bullet with good sectional density.

Most commercial 8mm Mauser loadings are closer to a 30-30 than a 30-06.

8mm Mauser Remington Express 170 gr soft point core lokt: MV 2360fps/ME 2102 ft/lbs
30-30 Remington Express 170 gr soft point core lokt: MV 2200fps/ME 1827 ft/lbs
30-06 Remington Express 180 gr soft point core lokt: MV 2700fps/ME 2913 ft/lbs

It's not a terribly 'powerful' cartridge compared to .270/.308/.30-06 but probably 'enough' if you can put it on target.
 
Personally I am not a rifle guy. Nor am I a hunter. I am an excellent shot (or was at one point) with a Winchester 30-30 as a kid and hunted all kinds of stuff.

Now I no longer have any kind of rifle save an SKS. I have considered a shotgun instead or a slug barrel for my 870. For some reason I am drawn to how mausers look and feel. Somthing cool about them.

The SKS is just plain fun to shoot.

Recently (this weekend) I shot an M44 7.62x54 and LOVED it. So why not hunt with somthing you enjoy shooting?
 
I strictly hunt with a recurve bow and have hunted wild boar.
I have experience with the two rifles in question though...

I'd have to go with a Mauser if you're hunting in heavy cover, or hilly terrain.
For a long reaching, corn/soybean field area, I'd go with the mauser too.
The SKS... well, it'll kill a smaller hog, but if you run up on a large member of the swine family, you'll regret not having enough gun.

So, as advised previously, if these are your only choices, go with the mauser.
Heck, I'd take an Enfiled over the SKS. But I have great respect for the 303 round too. Aussies and Kiwis still use them to hunt crocs.
One thing you need to be sure to do is understand your pig physiology before you go out after one. Not knowing or understanding how a pig's insides are built and protected can get you in trouble in the field no matter what you choose to shoot it with whether bow, rifle, or blunderbuss.
 
It's not as if you will run out of ammo hunting, but what if the hunting goes crappy and you decide, aw heck, lets just shoot some cans. (Happens a lot)...20 rounds of ammo goes quick.
Wow - that's a perspective that hadn't occured to me. I guess in that case you could always pack two or three boxes of ammo in the car.
 
7.62x39 SP

I've been involved in another discussion I started here in Hunting (.30-30 vs 7.62x39) and I'd use the soft point over FMJ or the non-expanding HP. Here in Alabama, shots are in mere yards, so I'm not worried about bullet drop on the 154-gr vs. the 122-gr bullet. Also, if I could go with the head shot, I would. Starting Feb. 1, we'll be hunting hogs with .22 rifles, since Management Area rules make us hunt with weapons & ammo appropriate for the (squirrel & rabbit) season. There's no closed season on hogs here, but there's not a lot of clubs that'll let you hunt 'em, either. Needless to say, our Lower Delta is packed with 'em, and the fee is low ($16) so that's where I'm going.

Not only that, but our management area will allow 11 rounds in the gun, so a stock SKS will hold 10 in the mag; to keep everything statewide-legal-like, I've replaced my SKS' mags with the 5-rd. version, but I still like the quick follow-up shots.

Needless to say, I have a Mosin-Nagant I haven't test-fired yet; I'll bet THAT'LL put a hog down!
 
Regards the crappy sights on the Mauser, all I have to say is Mojo. I put these on my Turk, and Miss Kaysa (my Swedish Mauser). They really do make a big difference, for the better. I haven't had a chance to properly sight in my Turk yet, but the Swede is a dream with the Mojos. Mind you, the issue sights on the Swede were much better than Turk's anyway, and with the Mojos, they're both now in "awsome" catagory for iron sights. Incidentally, there are also Mojos available for the SKS.

If you want a scope, there are a few folks (inc. here) out there making mounts that replace the rear iron sight. You have to use a scout scope or a pistol scope with those mounts.

As far as triggers go, yeah the Turk has a horribly heavy, creepy one. I haven't looked into getting it worked on, but I believe there are "drop-in" replacement triggers that can be had that are much better.

WRT commercial ammo price and availability, the SKS would have to win. I have yet to see 8x57 non-FMJ commercial loads that a) aren't emasculated and b) are less than $18/20. You can easilly buy SKS ammo for $90/500 (same as $3.60/20). I have seen 8x57 soft points for $8/20, but that was crappy quality, and low pressure stuff. If you handload, the ammo price hardly matters. Also, if you handload, you can work up some devastating 8mm loads (I have 150gr softpoint loads that launch at 3007fps).

In the end which of the two rifles would I choose? I'd take the 8mm Mauser - with Mojos, and handloaded ammo. And a trigger job if time and money afforded.
 
sumpnz & Dr Rob:

Check out the S&B 196gr softpoint:
MV 2592
ME 2923

I can't recall what I paid for a box of 20, but it can't have been too much, as I am one pretty cheap.
 
Those numbers are a lot better. If it's cheap you can afford to shoot a lot of it before you take it hunting.

Case in point: I wanted some "blasting ammo" for my O3A3 so I bought some Wolf 168 gr 30-06 Soft point... the stuff was so innacurate that I'd give it away, even though 'on paper' the load looked good.

Sometimes cheaper isn't better.
 
Dr Rob:

The S&B load did OK in my M48 Yugo. All on a paper plate at 100 yards, from seated position. Not great...OK. A whole lot better than Turk or Romanian milsurp, which requires me to be on a bench to keep them all minute of paper plate at 100 yards.

You're not going to shoot itty bitty groups with a M48, no matter what you stoke it with. It surely is no Swede & my Schmidt-Rubin could take it with its bolt tied behind its back.

Hey alduro:

There's an idea: buy a K31 Schmidt-Rubin & stoke it with softpoints. Initial outlay is less, but ammo costs are higher (even with Swiss GP11 "milsurp").

[GP11 "milsurp" gets "funky quotes" because it is the finest milsurp ammo I have ever shot. I'd put it up against commercial match ammo WRT quality.]
 
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