Need PSL Advice

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Adolphus

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Not sure if this belongs in "Hunting" or "Rifles" so if it needs to be moved I apologize.

I am an avid white tail hunter in northern Michigan, currently using both my grandfathers antique Browning 12 Gauge, and my Grandfathers .308, both of which were left to me after his death. I have been saving up for a new rifle because I would like to clean up my Grandfathers guns and keep them on display instead of using them in the field where something can happen to them. I was looking at the PSL's because from what I read they are relatively accurate and I'm not going to lie, I love the look of them. Where I am hunting in the field I have a field thats about 30 yards across and 200 yards long that I'm in a raised blind at one end of.

I guess I was just wondering if there is a PSL version that is slimmed down for hunting like the Dragunov Tigr. I'm afraid of what a game round would do to a White Tail after going through a standard PSL.

I don't know nearly as much about guns as I'd like, so if I am horrible mistaken please let me know.
 
You could get an AK hunter-style stock and replace the stock with it. For that matter, you might be able to hook up with a guy who has a Saiga and do a direct trade, stock and trigger groups and build a Saiga-esque PSL.

Ash
 
I guess I was just wondering if there is a PSL version that is slimmed down for hunting like the Dragunov Tigr. I'm afraid of what a game round would do to a White Tail after going through a standard PSL.

I don't know nearly as much about guns as I'd like, so if I am horrible mistaken please let me know.
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I really have no idea what the post above me is talking about. But...

The PSL-54's (romak 3, ssg-97, FPK, whatever...) are in 7.62x54r which is in terms of balistics (for your stated purposes) basicly exactly the same as your .308 would be. Its not going to do anything to a deer any diffrent then a .308 will. You can get softpoints and FMJ's alike for both calibers. The PSL is going to be a 10 shot, detachable magazine fed semi-auto, meaning you can pull the trigger 10 times before having to do anything. Ill assume the .308 in question is a bolt action.

If you really want one, they come and go at the $729-749 price that they are worth. Classicarms.us has some for $729 with the scope, magazines, pouch and small parts right now. The ammo for it is easy to find, almost as easy as .308, and right now, maybe easier and cheaper both for the time being. And as i said, you should hunt with soft points, which you already know. Plenty places have JSP 7.62x54r for the PSL's. They will shoot just fine for any hunting purposes, especially only out to 2-300 yards.
 
Typically everyone at my camp shoots hollowpoints, I'm assuming that is comparable to soft points. I am aware of what semi-auto is by the way, my .308 is bolt, while my Browning is a semi auto, as is my Ruger 10/22 (Love that little gun).

Would the PSL be a reliable hunting rifle? Or is it too much work and have signifacent reliability problems for the field. I'd rather not have to tinker with my rifle at 6am in november 20 feet up in the air.
 
PSL's are great rifles.
Basically an oversized AK with 28" barrel.

AIM has them on sale for $669 with scope 2-mags and asst accessories.

Took my FPK paratrooper (same rifle w/18" barrel) went through 100 rds w/o a jam or any other problems.

Sportsmans Guide has Barnaul SP ammo.
 
The PSL is a slightly scaled up RPK. And thus uses the same locking mech. and gas system as the AK's, but the parts arent interchangeable. They carry similar reliability to the AK system as well. Once you get it sighted in, and 'broken in' it should be as reliable as a semi as there is.

$669 is a great deal even if its a PSL-54c

But i dont see them anywhere for anything under $729 with the scope and other small parts.
 
I have taken game with my PSL. I don't know what you mean by slimmed down, the PSL is not bulky it is just long. Mine has always been very reliable and fairly accurate out to 200 yards (I have not shot father than that). I think it will do alright for deer as you described but not near as accurate as a bolt gun.
My preference for a long range semi-auto is the AR-10 or M1A both in .308. Both are more accurate than the PSL but cost quite a bit more than the PSL. I would also suggest you make sure hunting laws allow these types of rifle where you hunt.
 
Beyond magazine capacity I see no reason for them to not allow this rifle, they do require that duck and goose guns have a 3 shell maximum, but that is for shotguns, not rifles.

Mind if I ask what you would reccomend for a bolt? I mean there is a deffinate 6 inch kill zone on most white-tail, and even at 200 yards I was under the impression that this gun would shoot well in that zone.
 
6 inches with a PSL and non surplus ammo is easily obtained out to at least 300 yards. And there is no reason besides magazine capacity that could even possibly get you into trouble hunting with this setup. At the moment they only known magazines are 10 rounds, and that is usually the limit if there is one. So there is about zero things that would disqualify the PSL's for large game hunting in the 47 good states that i know of...
 
I know for a fact that 10 mag clips are allowed, my 10/22 that I use for small game has a 10 round rotary clip. So this gun is legal. Now it's just a matter of weather or not it's the right one for me.
 
I too liked my PSL until it blew up. I am convinced that this rifle, as it is imported without the safety sear, is a hand grenade. You may never have any issues. I urge you to not get one.

For about the same price I would seriously look at the Saiga in 308. Hunting ammo is readily available anywhere you look. It is more robust in some ways.

There are other semi auto 308's out there, even a Garand with a 5 round clip could be used if you wanted to.
 
How is this design different than the Saiga, which also lacks the safety sear? Or, for that matter, any AK lacking the sear as all of them lack the sear (non NFA ones, that is)?

Ash
 
Mind if I ask what you would reccomend for a bolt? I mean there is a deffinate 6 inch kill zone on most white-tail, and even at 200 yards I was under the impression that this gun would shoot well in that zone.
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I agree the PSL should do alright for what you want I was just saying there are much better semi-auto rifles out there. I really like the AR-10 for hunting, not as long as the PSL and much better cheek weld for the scope.
pigswithar10.jpg
My preference for a bolt gun is the Browning A-Bolt. I have used one for several years now after retiring my mod 700 and have not looked back. Mine is the Eclipse with the thumbhole stock, great shooting rifle. I took this little buck with a heart shot at just over 275 yards last deer season.
7pointbuckandme1221.jpg
 
Thanks for all of the advice, I will look into both the ar-10 and the browning, I like the idea of the thumbhole stock because the standard rifle stock is a little uncomfortable for me.

Impressive shot by the way, at my camp we aim a little further back to keep the heart in tact, as that is sort of a delicacy around our camp.
 
The PSL is a nice rifle...I just got a PSL-54C from J&G for $750. To me it wasn't a decision based on semi auto + .30cal - I wanted a PSL because they are interesting rifles. That's why you should get one. BUT The DPMS AR 10 Long Range is the Gun of the Week for $906 at The Gun Scource Bottom line there are many rifles in this price range. The Saiga 308 for around $400 is probably the best value!
 
there is nothing any diffrent about the way the hammer is allowed to fall upon the firing pin on the PSL's vs Saigas or non full auto ak's

nothing at all

I too liked my PSL until it blew up. I am convinced that this rifle, as it is imported without the safety sear, is a hand grenade.
Click to expand...

Then everything that uses that same trigger group, bolt group, and gas system setup is also a "hand grenade" including the saiga that you reccomend.

Is it not?
 
Leibstandarte said
there is nothing any diffrent about the way the hammer is allowed to fall upon the firing pin on the PSL's vs Saigas or non full auto ak's

nothing at all
Click to expand...

Yes. You are right. But there is far more dimensional consistency in commercial or even military 308 cartridges than there is with the 7.62x54r. In fact, the Polish light ball wouldn't even consistently chamber in my PSL. The Czech silvertip with the laquered cases and black primers was flawless. The Czech light ball with the copper washed cases was dimensionally inconsistent. Some would chamber, some would not. Some would *almost* chamber, enough to allow the firing pin to strike, but not have the cartridge fully seated in the chamber, or at least that's my take on it.

Here's the evidence.

IMG_0127.gif

IMG_0126.gif

Judging from where the cartridge burst, this is my take on what happened. I don't know for SURE what happened. I am convinced had there been a safety sear, this would not have happened.

If I'm wrong about this, YOU TELL ME what happened? This is my best guess.

I'm not knocking these rifles. I really liked mine. I'm only relaying my experience so that you too may avoid suffering.

In essence, it is really a dimensional consistency issue with the x54r which is exacerbated by the lack of the safety sear in this rifle. If it were a 308 or 7.62 Nato rifle, I would have no reservations. Hence the recommendation for the Saiga, which is 308.

FWIW. Do with the informatoin what you will, but when your rifle goes KABOOM, you will have knowingly undertaken a risk which I have considerately warned you of. Perhaps I'll just remain silent and watch these things happen to others... I dunno.
 
I know for a fact that 10 mag clips are allowed, my 10/22 that I use for small game has a 10 round rotary clip. So this gun is legal. Now it's just a matter of weather or not it's the right one for me.
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Small game and big game have two very distinct sets of regulations. In most states, 5 rounds is max for big game.

As an aside, while the PSL will work for this application, there are better choices. Not a huge variety of off-the-shelf hunting ammo in 7.62x54R, and the PSL itself is a very loooooooooooong rifle. Trust me, really long rifles are an annoyance in the field. My 26" barreled Remington 700 .375 Ultra is constantly getting snagged on tree branches and the like. The PSL is even longer. That, and the PSL is not the most comfortable rifle to sling over your shoulder (which is definitely where a hunting rifle spends most of it's time).

I really enjoy mine on the range or just plinking, but for hunting I grab a bolt gun.
 
Perhaps you would have a comparable bolt rifle within this price range that either has a skeleton stock or pistol grip? Also the PSL comes with a hard case, scope, and 2 mags. Granted the scope isn't the most liked, but both a hard case and a scope are things I will need to purchase for my new rifle. I'm sure those together are easily a 400 dollar investment.
 
Why do you want a pistol grip or dragunov-type stock?

And FWIW, even using premium ammo in the PSL, most any decent bolt gun will shoot circles around it.

I'm sure those together are easily a 400 dollar investment.
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Depends. You could get a Nikon Pro-staff 3-9x and a decent case for under $200, and the Nikon scope is worlds better than the 4x P scope on the Romak. I've also never heard of PSL's being shipped with hard cases. They typically come in a crappy, deformed, ripped-up, cosmoline-soaked two piece cardboard box with all the accessories jumbled about. At least, both of mine did.

And be prepared to spend an entire evening cleaning the grease out of the rifle and magazines. If you save it, you'll probably be able to re-pack the wheel bearings on your old truck two or three times.
 
Sorry, I thought I mentioned previously that the traditional rifle grip is uncomfortable for me due to a kick boxing accident last year. Having my wrist in that position for too long and my hand locks up and I can't move it, let alone squeeze a trigger.
 
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