SKS 420 yard shots

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420 yards with the SKS's rear site set at it's lowest setting! I wonder how much hold over he had to use? I also have to wonder how he could even see the target using what should have been a significant holdover while it was being blocked from his line of sight by the gas tube/barrel? Hell, as bad as my eyes are I would not have been able to see the target at all without a scope.
 
No amount of gadgets and gizmos can make up for good marksmanship. This man is using a rifle the way it was intended. Remember this video every time you see someone with an AK/SKS saying they need a scope/red dot for 50 yard shots.
 
I'm certainly going to remember this video regarding an SKS, iron sights, and 50 yard shots. ;)
 
Wow he wasn't hitting a coffee can was he? Most of the rounds were impacting around the target.
I suggest some of you try this for yourself and you might be surprised how close you get. Then set a real target and see if you can actually hit it. Getting close is quite easy, shooting MOA or less is much harder. That rifle shoots as designed if the shooter can hold up his end. Wouldn't trade one of mine for a Mini!
 
This guy is amazing! I never knew shots like that were possible especially with irons sights and no scopes. In the right hands, these rifles are unbelievable.

While I won't question a good shot, he did unload a 50 round mag at that target, one would hope that you would hit it eventually. I'm not that good of a shot and I think I could even do it given 50 tries :D
 
To answer your question X-Rap...uh, NO! Not only was he not hitting a coffee can I doubt he could even see it. His back site was set on the lowest setting. I may have been born at night but it wasn't last night. Now, if he wishes to set the camera up behind him at let us view the target, him shooting, and the bullet impacts at the same time I may give this redacted video some credit. But, he did not! Like PT Barnum said...there is one born every minute. :rolleyes:
 
At the last tactical rifle match I shot I hit the 400 yard plate 5 out of 5 times and took less than 15 rounds to do so with my FAL using only the irons. Some folks will tell you the FAL, SKS, or AK is not that accurate but from personal experience it can be done. Sure there are more accurate rifles out there but if you practice enough and know your rifle a 400 yard shot is doable. Oh and it surprised the hell out of me when the spotter called HIT the first time... I was blown away. Oh and at 400 yards the 40" tall by 18" wide plate was totally covered by my front sight.
 
t when you have that lag in time of impact you can pick a hold over and repeat the hit once you walk it onto the target by shooting and looking to see impact.
We used to shoot at snags in dry washes down in the Burro Mtns. from sick distances with 22 pistols, if you can see the impact you will eventually get pretty close.
I don't question him being the shooter I just contend it is no great feat.
 
Any person with military and or LEO experience will tell you that the front sight is the most important thing in fixed sight shooting. Look at the video. This guy has the rear sight of the SKS on it's lowest setting. He cannot possibly see the target in relation to the front sight of his firearm. He is holding over and cannot see his target. To do this at a known range and distance where you can identify a landmark is not going to work on an unfamiliar terrain and is false on it's face. Please, explain to me why in the world would this man shoot that rifle at a very distant target with the rear sight set at it's lowest setting? And the video...simply place it behind you if you are trying to prove something. This is all bull**** in my eyes. At the angle he was shooting the stack of logs off of he would have been looking at clouds.
 
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Ok I see you know there is no possible way to make that shot without elevating the rear:rolleyes:you are right:banghead:
 
I am not degrading the SKS, AK or any fixed sight firearm. I am not wishing to argue with anyone. Gus McCrae...did you not acquire the target in your sights before firing? Look at the video guys. The shooter could not possibly see his target at 420 yards with the rear sight of the SKS set on it's lowest setting. Lets get real here.
 
Well, if I can hit soda cans at 100 yards with an open-sight .22 (actually, with a couple different .22s - Browning BL, a Marlin, and a Stevens 15A), why can't he hit a metal plate at 400 yards? We don't know how big the plate was, true, but it's obviously bigger than a sheet of paper.

Q
 
did you not acquire the target in your sights before firing?
Of course I did. Why would you not? I watched the video and find it to be a bit goofy. Personally I think the video is full of it. My rear sight was set at 200m, the lowest factory setting. I left the rear sight at the lowest setting because the match I was shooting was fast paced with targets from 200 to 400 yards and I did not want to move the sights around and get lost. I acquired the target and adjusted my hold over from there. This guy is shooting off of 3 stacked wooden blocks with an elevation that can best be described as "volley" fire, so yes I doubt the his ability to hit the target at that range. And at that range the plate is totally covered by the front sight so it is really more of I think it is there that anything else. I know that you are not trying to attack me personally and I hope that I do not come across as defensive but hitting a long range target with the rear sight set low can be done IF you know your holds.
 
Quoheleth...because the trajectory of the 7.62x39 requires a vast holdover at 420 yards. Combined with his rear sight being set at it's lowest trajectory setting and his physical inability to see his target with the SKS being set at it's lowest setting it is a no-brainer. Try hitting one of your sode cans at 420 yards with your 22! You would have to look underneath your 22 to even get a glimpse of your target at that range if you could even sight your 22 in at that range. This is all nonsense. Good grief guys...is anyone on this thread a real riflemen. One of the most basic rules of gun safety is to never shoot unless you can see your target. Look at the video...again, look at the video. There is absolutely no way the shooter can shoot a 7.62x39 cartridge and hit a target at 420 yards with the rear sight of the SKS set on it's lowest setting with an unmodified rifle and be able to see his target. NO WAY!
 
I am not degrading the SKS, AK or any fixed sight firearm. I am not wishing to argue with anyone. Gus McCrae...did you not acquire the target in your sights before firing? Look at the video guys. The shooter could not possibly see his target at 420 yards with the rear sight of the SKS set on it's lowest setting. Lets get real here.
I'm not trying to argue either just point out that there is no reason to not believe the guy made the shot based in him not using the rear site for elevation.
Here's the trick.
Shoot at your target with a soft backstop to allow visual of bullet impact sighting dead on with the irons.
Note the drop from point of aim and adjust up and allow for wind, try again until you are on.
From the shooting position it is a simple matter of a slight shift of the head to the right to see around the gun and see the impact.
There will likely be some object on the hill to use as an aiming point so it can be quite repeatable.

This can be done with any gun that shoots a bullet heavy enough to see its impact.
Now if you want better than minute of sheet of plywood then you will want to use the battle sights and the aperture type are the best and will give results that gus achieved. Double this if someone is on the other end but for just fun and shooting up the hillside the guy with the SKS is doing nothing special.

Out in the west we have lots of open space and you can pick a rock on a hill or in an old creek bed and blast away, I won't say its marksmanship but you will learn some about trajectory and what a gun can do.
 
I'm guessing from the video that the target was higher in elevation than the range floor which is not uncommon for steel plates and other reactive targets, making the high angle of the gun make a little more sense. I'm am just pulling this out of my hat but I guess the hold over for the sks at that distance will be about 5-6 feet with a 100yd. zero.
I'm not trying to beat you up t only suggest you get out and try some different stuff before you dig your heals in to much.
 
Okay Gus McCrae and X-Rap! I cannot tell either of you what to do with your firearms. You may shoot them in any fashion you wish. I simply choose to first identify my targets and be able to see what I am shooting at before I pull the trigger. Looking around, over, or underneath a firearm before I fire is something I am not comfortable doing. The video is still bull**** in my eyes and I'll never advocate shooting blind at anything. Perhaps I'm just old fashioned and you guys are the new wave.
 
See here is where I take issue. You are saying that by engaging targets at that range with iron sights that I am somehow unsafe. Are High Power and PALMA shooters unsafe for using irons to shoot 600 and 1000 yards respectively? I was shooting on a closed range during a match. The maximum distance on the range was a little over 400 yards with more than adequate berms on all three sides. I was in a very controlled environment. I would agree that doing this off of a safe range environment is a bad idea.
 
Yep I was waiting for the safety card, bring it out when all else fails.
Any person with LE or Military will have some experience with night fires and other situations in which the whole range is not illuminated and in view.
Check and see how close I am with the 5-6' hold over and tell me you couldn't safely make that shot on a dedicated range or open side of a mountain.

You can't learn everything from some internet forum. Go out and shoot once and a while.
 
There is absolutely no way the shooter can shoot a 7.62x39 cartridge and hit a target at 420 yards with the rear sight of the SKS set on it's lowest setting with an unmodified rifle and be able to see his target. NO WAY!

I believe you're vastly over-stating your case. A cursory Google search turns up information stating that at 400 yards 7.62x39 is going to drop somewhere between 40 and 70 inches depending on how the gun is zeroed. From the video, it's clear that the backstop is sufficient, and even assuming the worst case, that he's holding over by 70 inches, I doubt he's seeing anything other than the back stop.

Okay Gus McCrae and X-Rap! I cannot tell either of you what to do with your firearms. You may shoot them in any fashion you wish. I simply choose to first identify my targets and be able to see what I am shooting at before I pull the trigger.

I happen to be the Assistant Match Director for the tactical rifle match that Gus is talking about. Not only does he conduct himself safely on the firing line, he also did surprisingly well shooting an iron-sighted FAL.

For anyone who's shooting iron sights in field conditions at any serious distance, it's quite common to get on target, acquire the sights, and then adjust your hold upward in order to compensate for bullet drop. There's fundamentally nothing unsafe or unsound about this, as people have been using estimated holdover to engage targets for as long as combustion-powered firearms have been in use.
 
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