Unusual information here. We own a pair of Russians, a Romanian, an Albanian, and three Chinese, including the "M" variant that uses AK mags.
The sights are coarse, but Mojo sells a better set. The triggers are no worse in many cases than some of the other hunting rifles before the advent of the Accu-Trigger by Savage forced the manufacturers to upgrade their lines.
If you want a larger capacity mag, there is a fixed 20 round available that is the old Chinese mag for the Police. The Chinese kept the SKS in use for police, feeling that the AK was too military for law-enforcement.
Ammunition is now available that is clearly superior to the old, and mostly poorly stored 7.62x39 of years ago. It's also non-corrosive. Try the 154 gr. Wolf SP load for hunting. It is right around the same .30-30 power levels in standard loadings.
With better ammunition, the SKS is hunting reliable out to 100-125 yards. It will easily hit, and kill, deer at that range.
The "good for women" statement probably involves the shorter length-of-pull that the SKS uses, as most of the people were smaller in stature that it was issued to.
They're fun to shoot, easy to clean, and ammo is still cheap. While the stocks aren't fine walnut, they are usually a dense-grained hardwood. In the case of the Yugo SKS, it's often mahogany.
While they were available for $75.00 in the 1980's, the price has risen dramatically over the years, as different versions became available, and inflation kicked in.
They don't enjoy the cachet of a nice bolt-action sporting rifle, but it's doubtful if the animal will know the difference.