Sks and 7.62x39 for deer for youth or small wife

[john 800]

A freind of mine has a pretty clean sks he offered to sell me for $300. I was thinking that is probably more than a fair price in thos day and age with the option to buy a pile of ammo with it for another couple hundred dollars. I am thinking of picking up the rifle and ammo and that it should work for deer hunting with the right bullets, i have 2 girls and a pettite wife that have some intrest in trying deer hunting. Looks like tbe round should do the job at short woods hunting distances. Anyone have experience with it as a deer round?
I have some h322 i think, so if i could round some .310 dia hunting bullets i should be in business.

 

[Sniper338]

Not an ideal deer hunting rifle at all...

The cartridge will kill a deer fine... id be skeptical trying to teach someone to shoot with it, on top of having buck fever, being nervous, no experience, no skill, etc.

Better off with a single shot 410 slug.

In all honesty, Id break the law and have a kid shoot a deer with a .22lr in the neck... before I gave a kid an sks and said here little feller go kill a deer!

 

[jds holler]

I would base the decision entirely upon whether your little chicks are strong enough to hold the SKS and shoot it comfortably off-hand. --AND, keep the shots on a pie plate at a the intended shooting range. By the way, that should be the minimum criteria for any of us with our deer rifles.

The 762x39 cartridge is very similar to 30-30, and with a conventional hunting bullet within a hundred yards will work fine. There are piles of deer that have been stacked up with them.

SKS's are basically an open sight proposition, which again puts ya into the basic 100 yard zone. Getting a proper scope mount on a SKS involves modifying the rifle, and becomes more trouble than most folks want to take. jd

 

[MQ1]

Back before the Clinton “assault weapon” ban, I bought a bunch of different model sks...a couple Chinese, a couple Russian...and so on. I played with them scoped and unscoped and could not get them to ever group much better than an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper...at 100 yards...no matter the ammo. I was happy to sell them once the ban was in effect...doubling my money.

I would buy a solid 30/30 lever action rifle if it was my wife and kids.

MQ1

 

[john 800]

Not an ideal deer hunting rifle at all...

The cartridge will kill a deer fine... id be skeptical trying to teach someone to shoot with it, on top of having buck fever, being nervous, no experience, no skill, etc.

Better off with a single shot 410 slug.

In all honesty, Id break the law and have a kid shoot a deer with a .22lr in the neck... before I gave a kid an sks and said here little feller go kill a deer!

Honestly I am not familiar at all with sks, aks pr any of their variants. Is there something about it that would make it any harder to learn to shoot with than any other rifle? Stock shape, bad trigger? I was planning to put a red dot on it with one of the scout style scope mounts that are available. I could pick something else up for the kids as well, as i am not opposed to a different route

 

[john 800]

Back before the Clinton “assault weapon” ban, I bought a bunch of different model sks...a couple Chinese, a couple Russian...and so on. I played with them scoped and unscoped and could not get them to ever group much better than an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper...at 100 yards...no matter the ammo. I was happy to sell them once the ban was in effect...doubling my money.

I would buy a solid 30/30 lever action rifle if it was my wife and kids.

MQ1

Seems you were typing when i sent my last reply so I didn’t see it. If that is the normi may just keep it for plinking and get the kids a youth bolt action and be done.

 

[riflewoman]

I wouldn’t expect much better than 4MOA accuracy even with brass cased commercial hunting ammo. So that will limit it to 100 yards give or take. Scope mounting will be an issue and the sight suck. So, all that said it is a great way to introduce a small person to shooting and even hunting... for hunting I’d go look for a Remington Model 7 in 243 or (perhaps) 260. Have everybody shoot it to get a basic common zero and go play.

 

[MQ1]

Seems you were typing when i sent my last reply so I didn’t see it. If that is the normi may just keep it for plinking and get the kids a youth bolt action and be done.

Make sure the trigger is fairly stiff and the safety works well. The trigger groups in some of the cheaper ones were not very good metal (or manufacturing), and if someone did any trigger-work, or shot it a bunch, some of the cheaper ones could go full auto.

 

[86alaskan]

buy the sks and the ammo for a steal, then get a pawn shop marlin 336 30-30 or old savage 10/110 in 243 for the kiddos to shoot. the lever or bolt will be much easier to have confidence in, and that plays a huge role when you're trying to kill something. While the sks may work, have a little compassion and respect for taking a life and get a rifle that's designed for and much better suited for hunting.

 

[jds holler]

I'll admit to having a soft spot for the SKS. They were an interest of mine for awhile, and I've done considerable in the way of reloading for them, shooting cast bullets, and trying to squeeze the best accuracy out of them. I know guys who claim to get 1 MOA out of them, but I'll call them bullshitters to their face.

My best one, with a scope, is what I'll call an "almost 2MOA" rifle. I've shot several 2" groups with it and would have many more except for the tendency for a flyer landing an inch or more out of the group. Riflewoman isn't far off the mark in her 4 MOA estimation for the rifles in general.

Still, I think they're a cool, durable little rifle that is fun to shoot and suitable for close range deer, hog, coyote, and -- what have you. I do considerable ground squirrel shooting with mine, and I've never felt under gunned. jd

 

[stacy]

FORGET THE SKS AND FIND THEM A HOWA MINI ACTION LIKE THIS IN 7.62X39 HERES WHAT THEY DO

 

[snert]

Or a TC contender carbine.

I agree with the other guys...buy the SKS cause he is giving it to you and you can sell it later for more (if you are ok with that...or keep it as a good buy) but for the kids, head on down to walmart, buy a Rem 700 youth model in 243, or find a Howa, or as said, a TC carbine or an Encore in a light recoiling round and go for it.

 

[RegionRat]

I put peep sights on an SKS. When handed to my daughters in their young age, they were able to shoot the rig offhand at kill size plates out to 200 yards. One of my daughters could only be described as petite.

I would also add, with bulk comm bloc surplus ammo to practice with, your kids would do fine with an SKS while you organize a more modern scoped hunting rifle.

I would say grab the SKS and a crate of ammo while you still can, and then get to work on something better, but let them get rounds under their belt with the SKS in the meantime. By the time they burn 2160 rounds, they will be ready for whatever comes next.

 

[Sniper338]

Seems you were typing when i sent my last reply so I didn’t see it. If that is the normi may just keep it for plinking and get the kids a youth bolt action and be done.

You'd be way further ahead

 

[Dogshirt]

When my granddaughter got her license at 10 I told her I would buy her a rifle. She took two days and
came back, "I want a Howa .25-06 grandpa, and they are on sale at Sportsman's Warehouse."
The scoped package didn't cost much more than what he wants for the SKS.

 

[2506]

I would not go there for the purpose you intend. They are just too complicated and dangerous for the average person. SKS's are notorious for slam fire when loading incorrectly. People put a round in the chamber and let the bolt go home and BANG. They must feed from the magazine. The triggers are notorious for being heavy with a great deal of creep. It is hard to scope them properly and keep the mount from working loose. Accuracy is minute of a man usually. You hear people say the 7.62x39 is equal to a 30-30 Win in performance. AINT'S SO. They are just looking at muzzle velocity but not a bullet weight. There is a great difference between 123 gr bullets and 150 to 170 gr going the same speed. I have killed deer with both calibers and the 30-30 Win is much more proficient in getting the job done. I got lucky with one SKS and found a hand load that is very accurate and used 123 Hornady SP over a cases full of H322. I used this rifle just because I wanted to see what it would do. I was hunting in the swamps where shots were very close.
For the money you are talking you can get a Savage Axis with the Accutrigger in 243 Win and have the wife and kids set.

 

[bluealtered]

The SKS was made for cleaning out buildings towards the end of WW II, for that it worked just as designed. The reason it has moa of man at 200yds is because that was what it was made for. Will it bring home a deer at 200yds, ...yes. Cleanly? ... maybe.
No i wouldn't use it to teach someone to hunt with it as a starter rifle. When teaching someone to hunt you want to use a firearm that is easy and fun to shoot so they will enjoy shooting it and hitting what they are aiming at.

I certainly would buy it and the ammo as something simply to kill tin cans and just have fun with. After all hitting a pie plate at 25-50yds when starting out shooting is fun for kids and anyone just starting to learn the art of shooting. It shows them that yes they can do it, from there you can start teaching them accuracy.

 

[Knuckledragger]

CZ also makes a bolt action carbine in 7.62X39 and they are tack-drivers. Bought 1 for my Nephew to deer hunt with. Here in Maine shots over 100 yds are rare. Hornady makes 123 gr. Z-Max bullets that work well on deer.

 

[msalm]

I kind of like the caliber choice, but will agree you’ll be better off with the Howa Mini or CZ in the same caliber, I prefer the mini. Even better would be the Howa Mini in 6.5 Grendel, less recoil and great performance on deer. I have several in both calibers and either makes a great youth/ladies first deer rifle.

 

[js2013]

Have your wife/daughters handle the SKS and see what they think. Personally I like the SKS and wouldn't have any problem using one for a short range deer rifle.