Is an SKS/MN/[milsurp here] ok for hunting?

[Rojoe67]

sks......... WHY NOT

I have taken 3 deer (MI - Whitetails) with a nice little SKS the Russian' built in 1950. The thing is an interesting weapon but not a norm in the normal deer woods....if such thing is such.

As other postings explain it is close to 30-30 balistics but shot placement and the correct soft point ammo 123-125 grain is important.

I would stay under the 150 yard mark.........an my personal feelings I don't like going over 100 with it. I have a 4 power scope and feel it is worth the few bucks to be all the gun can be. The sights on mine work fine too...... but a scope with a look 4 times bigger helps when I need the help....

Hope you found the info not only a rerun but a little helpful?

 

[drinks]

Rifle choice

I have a MN M44, way oversize bore, factory ammo is 4" at 25 yds, have to hand load .314 cast to get 2" at 50 yds, several people I know have M38's, M44's and 91/30, the results are all over the place, 1" at 100 to 4'x4' at 25 yds.
I also have a S-R K31, a little more money , but all I have heard about were from good to excellent, mine has a .297-.307 barrel and with a 2x scout scope will do 1" at 50 yds for me all day. The cartridge is about equal to a .308, factory ammo is available , new , empty cases are available cheap, regular .308 dia . bullets are all you need.
In my opinion, much less of a gamble than a MN.
Don

 

[Walter]

I killed my first deer with an M-1 rifle shooting Remington 150 gr. JSP
bullets. It was a 7 point buck.
The rifle is a Winchester, built in 1943, and rebuilt in the 60's for NG use.
I bought it from a police officer who got it from the old DCM program.
I paid 300 bucks for it in 1975, and I wouldn't take twice that for it today.
It is a "shooter".

Walter

 

[44-40]

I don't like the short bolt handle or the crude manufacture of the mn,they are about as elegant as my mother inlaw sitting on the pot.There is no arguing they work,but not for me,I would think a sporterized 303 whether you dropped it in a stock or someone else did the wood work,a much nicer rifle.Also the german rifles of 8mm are much nicer built. Rather than wait for a show why don't you find a dealer that will work with you and order something.Look up S.O.G. on the web

 

[rbernie]

This is an Enfield No4Mk1 (chambered in 303 British) set up for hunting:

This is the 1895 Chilean Mauser (7x57) that I used to harvest this year's deer:

Not including the scope and mounts, I've got less than $300 tied up in each of these (and a fair bit of sweat equity). Both will shoot MOA or better with handloads or certainly factory loads, hot-or-cold. For both of them, all I really did was reblue-n-restock them (altho I'm working on another stock for the Mauser), 'smith in a drop-n trigger, and work out a scope mounting system. Otherwise, they are exactly as they came off the line, original barrels and all. (In the case of the Mauser, that 'born-on' date was better than 100 years ago. The Enfield is the baby of the two, having been born in 1944.)

I don't have a picture of the SKS that I set up for brush hunting, but the TechSight rear peep and Barnaul softpoints were keys in that setup. It's too bad that I've not yet had a chance to use it in the field. I have a restocked-but-otherwise-intact Enfield No4 that, when downloaded with the 7.62x39's 123gr bullets, kinda took over the SKS's role as my 'go-to' open-sight brush gun. (I decided that I liked the Enfield over the SKS because it was more versatile - I could use 123gr, 150gr, or 180+gr bullet loadings in the same rifle.)

I've also got an Eddystone 1917 (30-06) and Mauser 1893 small-ring in 8x57 in the works as well.

 

[Mannlicher]

well, I hunt hogs with my SOCOM 16. Not cheap, but darned effective with the EOTech sight mounted.