7.62x39mm SKS

On a different forum a member posted about a new rifle he just got. It was a military rifle. And that got me thinking about my military rifles. I realized I had not shot them in over 10 years. So I decided to do something about that.

I have a Chinese made SKS 7.62x39mm semi auto rifle. I also bought a lot of cartridges for it, thinking how fun it would be to shoot it. Somewhere along the line I acquired a scope mount for the rifle. So I put the scope mount in it and mounted a 1x32mm T/C scope. No magnification but then I never considered it a long range rifle.

So I started at 25 yards to see where it would hit. All shooting was done from a yard chair and with shooting sticks.



It was hitting low right. So I cranked it up to where I thought it would be hitting. And shot three more. Well that looked about the right height, so I made an adjustment and shot two rounds (#3) and couldn't figure why it hardly moved. Reading the lens cap it said 1/2 inch at 100 yards.. so at 25 yards that meant it needed a lot of adjustment. So I really cranked it over. (#4) I fired once and realized I might have over done it. So I went back to the right and down a little and shot a group. Not too bad, I took my time. And then just to prove I could do it, I shot low.. and it did hit the bull.

Here is where I really got confused...



I moved back to 50 yards, verified by my range finder. Shot #1 was my mistake. See I was shooting off shooting sticks since I wanted to be sure to stop these shells and my range bench was set at 100 yards. So I just took a chair and my shooting stick. As I fired #1 the rifle slipped in the stick.

I then shot group #2 at 50 yards and was kind of surprised to see it hit so high above the bull. Granted I was a little high at 25 yards but I never expected this. So I made an adjustment. #3 group was a little better, so another minor adjustment was made and then I shot #4 group. I really was not upset over the size of the group. This would be more then enough for a deer hunt. Especially in my area.

I then put up all sorts of junk and was blasting things with the rifle. And of course I had to put a 10 rounder rapid fire through it, just to wake the neighbors up. But over all I dumped 70 rounds through it pretty quick. No recoil, the see through sites work well for this rifle. The iron sights are on, as is the scope now.

This is an impressive little gun. I hunted with it for a couple days one year, when I was making drives in the swamp. But have never shot a deer with it. I have been told by a friend of mine who's niece shot a deer with his, that they do take deer out real well. She took a nice 4 point at 30 yards with his. I probably will put it back on the shelf and it will sit another ten years before I shoot it again. But it was kind of fun today shooting it.

Cayuga what kind of ammo were you shooting? I'd not leave it set another 10, it looks like it would be too much fun for that!

What happened was when I purchased the rifle, and five other friends at the same time got the same rifle (we got a heck of a deal on them) we purchased a full case of ammunition from Sportsman's Guide. It was Russian military spec Full Metal Jacket ammunition. When the ammunition came, they of course only wanted like 50 rounds, so I ended up with a lot of ammunition.

Then as they shot off their ammunition they'd come to me wanting it for the same price they paid for the original ammunition. And of course, I would sell them the amount they wanted. Well I was running low, so I purchased a second case of ammunition. And this time I purchased a case of Russian Military spec only this time, hollow point ammunition. I also purchased three boxes of Winchester Soft Tip ammunition for hunting.

So I have shot the rifle a lot. It does not take long to burn through 100 rounds of ammunition with this thing if your just having fun. I also got a bag of stripper clips that if you load them before hand, you can reload the weapon in just seconds. Some of them goof balls even got the 30 shot magazines before they were declared illegal to purchase by the Clinton Administration. I never did.

We used to tear the woods up with these rifles when we would all get together for a shoot day. There was an old sand pit near us and we'd go there and set things out. Some of them fools would just cut loose with the things.

Its strange, I have talked to the original people that purchased the rifles, and only myself and one other still own the rifles. All the rest sold or traded them off.

Actually for a small in stature person or a young child, that hunts close quarter.. this is an excellent hunting rifle. You load the magazine, and don't have to carry shells, its a safe little rifle, has little to no recoil, and because of the dimensions of the stock, fits smaller people real well. I have considered getting that plastic stock for it, through Cheaper then Dirt. For $59.00, its a Monte Carlo model and made for larger people like me. But I really do not shoot the rifle much.

SKS.....

I have an Russian SKS I bought in the 90's. I did spend money on a trigger job that only slighty improved the pull but not the trigger creep.

I removed the 12 3/4 inch stock and replaced it with a synthetic stock with proper length of pull. The bayonet was removed as well as the bayonet bracket. With Winchester ball ammo I can hit a leaf on the rifle range berm at 100 yards with the iron sights.....works for me.

I never did scope mine but wish I had. I saw a similar rifle at my rifle range in the 90's that was drilled and tapped for a side mount. The side mount was in my opinion superior over having a base in the receiver top cover.

The SKS are fun rifles but I enjoy my Garand more.

Chocdog

So in your opinion that Monte Carlo stock would be a good purchase for me? I have considered one, and it would make the rifle a little more comfortable to be to shoot. I have a lot of creep in my trigger as well.

Those 30 round magazines are available now. Before you order a plastic stock take a look at this.

That looks very nice. BUT I am sure its more then $59.00. I don't shoot the rifle all that much. Its one of my .. got a hair to shoot something kind of rifles. So I have little desire to invest a lot of money into it. I am wondering if that plastic stock would make it more comfortable to shoot.

Cayuga,

If the synthetic stock is made by ATI you might have to do a bit a inletting to fit the receiver.Also the quality is not great on the ATI stocks...but it gets the job done.You might want to check out the boyd's stocks.They are pricey, but he has sales all the time.

Nice SKS by the way.

Cell

Since I seldom shoot the rifle, I really do not NEED a plastic stock. I saw them in the Cheaper then Dirt catalog they send me (they want my money bad). Actually I like the wood stock, and the little rifle does shoot pretty good. I was thinking of mounting a Simmons 4x32mm scope on it, and see if I could shake the scope apart. I like to see what a scope can take, and these are very inexpensive scopes.

Dave sense when does NEED have anything to do with it.

cayuga said:

So in your opinion that Monte Carlo stock would be a good purchase for me? I have considered one, and it would make the rifle a little more comfortable to be to shoot. I have a lot of creep in my trigger as well.

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Yes I do. You have to be sure the replacement fiberglass stock is not coming out of a "MOLD" that dublicates the origional SKS stock length. If that is the case you have not improved anything.

I can't recall the manufacturer of my fiber stock but it is 14 inches in pull
along with a better check weld.

Chocdog

Dave sense when does NEED have anything to do with it.

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Actually that is very true. I have so many rifles I could not shoot them all in a month if I shot a different rifle each day. So the idea of need is rather foolish come to think of it. Actually I refinished the stock of the SKS from a terrible red to what you see today. I hand sanded it down and then varnished it. It came out rather nice, for a military rifle.

Yes I do. You have to be sure the replacement fiberglass stock is not coming out of a "MOLD" that dublicates the origional SKS stock length. If that is the case you have not improved anything.

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I have been checking out different stocks. I've called a number of companies and found some from $200.00 all the way to $49.00 and I an sure I get what I pay for. Actually these laminate stocks for the rifle really make an attractive rifle.

I have no desire to have it look like an assault rifle. Although a couple reviews I found on one site where they discussed the fit of the Chinese VS the Russian model, there was an assault stock that the buyers claimed the rifle fell right into with no adjustment. They also claimed it helped with the over all fit, balance and handling of the rifle.

Another poster suggested a stock extension and I have never even thought of that... so I am still up in the air with this rifle. I might change to a 4x32mm scope and see what it will do with that. I have an old stock extension from my other military rifle..



This is a model 99 Ariaska 7.7x58mm or 7.7 Japanese bolt action rifle as they are referred to sometimes. This thing was refinished by my father. Then given to me. He shortened the barrel, and cut the stock down. It has a Lyman peep sight he put on it. And believe this or not, it is deadly accurate. The rifle shoots a 165 grain Boat-tail made by Norma. My father and I have taken a lot of deer with it.

In fact many years ago, when I was married, I lived in Southern Wi.. the deer herd was out of control down there. And my wife's family were big deer hunters. That year they were giving out three tags each for doe only. Well they bough licenses for my mother in law, and I bought one for the wife. So they all hunted. And my mother in law needed a rifle.. so I loaned her the 7.7 Japanese Ariaska. She ended up doing a perfect 80 yards shot on a doe, and had never fired the rifle in her life.

I've had a boatload of SKS' over the years and I must say they are my absolute favorite mil-surp. There are a few things you can do to improve accuracy with the issue stock. Most SKS' have alot of end play in the inletting. By this I mean hold the wrist of the stock and the barrel and pull in opposite directions. This play is ruinious to acuracy. Rather than take a chance with glass bedding and locking the rifle into the stock, I used sticky address labels and put layers of them on the reciever tang ( the piece the trigger group attaches to) until the fit to the stock was quite snug.You want the front face of the reciever TIGHT against the stock bolt. Just that cut group size by a 3rd. Next, leave the bayonet on. Of the 2 dozen SKS' I've had every one ( Yugos,Russians,Chicoms and Romys) were more accurate with the bayonet than without it. You MUST make sure the bayonet touches only the stock ferrule ( nose cap) and is free from any contact with the forend. Also make sure the retainer fits tightly to the front sight base. NO SLOP.When shooting, rest the rifle on the sandbag with the magazine in contact with the back of the bag. Keep the bayonet off the bag.Lastly , shoot good ammunition! My reloads were neck sized cases( winchesters or federals) CCI200 primers and 26.5gr RL7 under a 123gr Hornady. Set up like this my SKS' generally shot well under 2 inches for 3 at 100. My Russian( Izzy) shot close to an inch, and a Chicom Type 56 I had would shoot under 4 inches at 200 yards. Also, the best scope mount for an SKS is a home job. Got the idea off 303british.com. Take a piece of angle iron and drill and tap the SKS for at least 4 screws.Position the angle iron so the top points AWAY from the reciever opening. Drill and tap the top for your choice of mount base( I used modified Leupold QR's) and you will have a rock solid mount that keeps zero, doesn't interfere with clip loading , open sight use or ejection and gives an adequate cheek weld with the issue stock. The SKS is not a bullet hose when properly bedded ,sighted( the issue patridge sights are excellent) and fed. Lastly, shoot the rifle with your BEST technique. Shoot it like you expect it to be accurate and it WILL reward you.

Condef. Rifleman,

Could you post a picture of your home made mount.

Chocdog

I wish I could..Wish I still had the rifle too!!! The end result is similar to the offset mount for top ejecting Winchester M94's.I used 1/8th inch thick angle iron for the base. The portion that attaches to the reciever wall was trimmed so minimal stock work was needed. You can position the base for best eye relief, but be very careful not to damage the serial number( the BATFE will not like it)Be equally careful to position the screws so they dont effect the bolt guide rail.You WILL need locktite. Also, use larger screws as most SKS recievers are soft and skinny screws can tear out or loosen up. Round off the sharp edges. Check out 303british.com and find the indestructable scope mount link.

your going to need more of a cheek rest if your going to put optic's on the rifle. Close your eyes and dress the rifle as if your going to shoot, then open your eyes and see where your sight line is. Most likely below the scope. This fundamental practice is used in longrange shooting other rifle competitive shooting. Its call proper cheek-to-stock weld. The new after-market stocks like Choates SKS conventional stock is a good one & that is what I have, Timbersmith makes a fine laminated one for the SKS too, boyd stocks naaaah, I've had problems with their on my personal rifles & some of my customers rifles and their customer service stinks. A ajustable cheek rest on a conventional stock is the way to go. You can adjust the height to you or whom ever is using it. I suggest bedding the pressure points to the action to remove forward & rearward motion.