Sks hunting question

[Readyrod]

I'm curious what game (big and small) people have hunted and taken with an sks. Can you tell me your sks hunting stories? If you can add some stuff like bullet info, range, and scope or not it would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

[MCgunner]

I've taken a deer with mine, 80 yards frontal shot. It'll take anything a .30-30 will. I wouldn't hesitate to use one hog hunting or black bear hunting, for that matter, if it was my only choice. I do have better hunting rifles. Wolf 154 soft point is accurate and deadly.

I took the scope off of mine. I see it more as a good general purpose truck gun/ranch rifle than as a hunting rifle when I have 3 scoped rifles to choose from in .257 Roberts, .308 Winchester, and 7mm Rem Magnum and all three are 1 MOA or better guns.

 

[Readyrod]

Anyone else?

 

[HB]

I have a Yugo and it is more accurate than my M94 in 30-30 but much heavier. I like it as a cold and bad weather deer and humid summer hog gun. I havent shot anything with it yet but I'm sure it will do the job. I've fired several types of steel cased ammo into phonebooks and all have had severe jacket/core seperation issues, even the 123 grain soft points. I would invest in the brasses case hunting ammo if you were to take it hunting.

HB

 

[ofitg]

Shot a 200-pound hog years ago with a SKS. He was facing away from me, so I shot him in the back with a US-made softpoint (I forget the brand). The bullet broke his spine and continued forward through his internals..... that one shot was all it took.
Range was about 20 yards. Iron sights.

 

[janobles14]

used mine on deer drives and killed a few with it. anywhere between 20 and 100 yds. winchester 123/4 gr soft points

 

[nathan]

My first kill using my Russian SKS was in 1996. I paid $ 50 for a day hunt. I used Russian military surplus ammo HP, shot a 80 lb pig at 15 yds. The spine was hit and cut it in half. Pig was still squealing loud and barely can run. Finished it with a headshot. Yeah, those HPs are pretty deadly !

 

[trigga]

although i prefer an ak47 over the sks, my cousin has taken three deer with his so far. i don't know whether it's him or the gun but he took several shots and very little hits just to bring down one deer. used the walmart 123 gr umc hp and wolf 154 gr lead noise. best accuracy out of the wolf but bigger damage with the umc. stay away from the dust cover scope mounts and range within 100 yards. he was never able to get consistent groupings with a scope at 100 so 50 is more realistic. these guns were design for iron sights and that's what i like to keeps mines.

 

[Readyrod]

Looks like the sks is good for hogs and deer. Any other good stories out there.

 

[CajunBass]

Well, it's not really a "hunting story" but I did call the game commission to make sure a SKS was legal to use in Virginia. I've always hunted in shotgun/buckshot country until a couple years ago when I moved to where rifles were legal. At the time a Yugo SKS was the only rifle I had. I was 99.9% sure it was ok but wanted to make sure.

No problem with the cartridge and Virginia has no magazine capacity regulations so I knew it was ok for those. My question was the bayonet. I thought I had read somewhere that bayonets weren't legal. When I asked the guy at the DGIF about it, he laughed and said "Just keep it folded and don't use it, and you'll be fine."

I carried it a couple of times, but never shot anything with it. I got a 30/30 by the time the next season rolled around.

 

[MCgunner]

SKSs are heavy enough without adding the bayonet. That's the first thing I took off mine before adding a polymer stock. I don't even know what I did with 'em. My rifle, I cut the bayonet lug off. All it was good for is grabbing brush as I walked and causing a racket. I always carry the gun upside down on my off shoulder with the sling and the bottom faces forward. I can whip it up almost as quick from that position as I can from port arms. But, I'd walk along and that bayonet lug would grab brush and rattle it. I also installed a 5 round mag on that gun, not because of any restrictive laws, but it makes carrying the gun with one hand easier. The mag sticks out right at the balance point of the rifle, always seems the case, and with a flush magazine, it's a lot easier to tote. As I mostly use the gun as a knock about truck gun, ease of carry is important to me.

Another mod on both my guns is an ambidextrous safety since I shoot left handed. I got more in aftermarket on these things than the guns cost me. That rifle cost me 75 bucks and the stock alone was 75. But, at least IMHO, the gun is a far better field gun with the mods. Besides, the camo on the stock is cool lookin'.

Since this pic, I have removed the scope and the case deflector and made a truck gun out of it. I also pulled the slip on recoil pad off. I only had it on there to give me eye relief on the scope. Not the greatest hunting set up anyway and I have that scope on my new CVA Wolf now, making much better use of it.

 

[Jbabbler]

I have a Norinco SKS but have never hunted with it. That being said, my best friend loves to hunt and he carries his 91/30 Mosin Nagant and his wife uses an SKS. She brought down a 200# buck @ roughly 75yards this past year with Wolf HP. It dropped where it stood.

 

[seldomseensmith]

The best thing you can do for that rifle is add some better iron sights. Try tech-sights, far more accurate than stock.

 

[blacktailhunter]

I shot a 1 by 6 blacktail at 200 yrds it droped as soon as i pulled the triger.

 

[CajunBass]

SKSs are heavy enough without adding the bayonet.

You got a point there, but I wasn't seriously hunting. I was just walking out back about 50 yards or so, and sitting on the side of the hill and watching the creek bottom. I'd hate to have to lug that thing very far.