More n00b gun questions...

Bruise?

I'm far from expert, but...how about you START shooting at that 15meter target you used with your .22? Then move the target out to the next gradation...25 or 50 meters, then beyond. Your sight picture will develop as you shoot.

You may get a sense of the rifle and how it shoots at the close distance and be able to adapt as the range extends.

Have fun. Wear ear/eye protection.
 
Looks like you are probably minute-of-man, which is good enough if you can get the group centered.

I second Kismet, start close (25 yards is fine, 50 OK if you can see your hits)and work on getting a consistent group. Adjust the sights for windage (left-right) and elevation (up-down) if you can, I've never used a SKS. Not sure of the 7.62x39 ballistics, but a bullseye at 50 will likely mean the same at 100, or at least on the paper. When you get comfortable, move to 100 yards and sight in at the 100 marking on your sight. When set, the rifle's sights should be in the ballpark for other ranges.

IIRC the SKS sights are the short sight-radius post and notch. There's a reason why rifles moved to longer sight radius and aperture-type sights. It is meant as a military rifle (i.e. minute of man), not a tack driver.
 
You could always be a better shooter. That is said about everybody. Very few of us practice enough to get the max out of their chosen weapon. The SKS isn't a precision instrument and you seem to be getting about the same accuracy I've noticed in the few times I've used them. They are fun to shoot and quite cheap to feed. If you want real precision go to an AR-15 type platform.
 
With groups like that you should do what I like to do. Instead of paper targets, use 1 gallon plastic milk cartons completely filled with water. You don't get to see what kind of group you are shooting, but you know instantly, without a telescope, and for damned certain, whether you hit it or not. :D But if you're shooting at a bona fide shootin' range, they might not appreciate you helpin' 'em water the lawn. And you only get one hit per target.:grumpy:

BTW, About the only thing more fun than using milk cartons filled with water is using milk cartons filled with oxy-acetylene cutting mixture from a cutting torch and shooting them with tracers. You do the math.:rolleyes:
 
Military arms and their ammunition are not all created equal. The Garand is known for accuracy despite a lot of small moving parts, a no-no in gun design. But the ammo was pretty good, too. I think some of the new Wolf Russian Short stuff is fair. It is my impression the SKS did not have the same quality of ammo available to it as did the Swedish 96, for instance, which groups very well, or the German Mauser.

I think if you made ammo to fit most SKS's they'd shoot fairly well, maybe about as good as a Winchester lever. Maybe I'm wrong. CE Harris could always make hits with them with select loads. Remember, the surplus stuff has velocity variations in the in the same box as much or more than 200 fps. You can't shoot groups if one round starts at 2000 fps and another starts at 2200 and another at 1900.

I'd buy some Black Hills stuff and Wolf and see what happens. If Federal makes the little Soviet round in American Eagle brand I'd try that too.
I wouldn't worry if my bore were a thousanth or two over .311


munk
 
SKS's all seem to have rather short stocks and that might not be condusive to getting a property hold and or sight picture. I've know people that have found comfort in lengthening their issue stocks. Might be worth a look.
 
munk said:
The Garand is known for accuracy despite a lot of small moving parts, a no-no in gun design.
Click to expand...

The Garand features a lot of gun design no-no's. The more we learn, the more that we realize that we need to learn more.

But on that topic, I'm wondering where the Garand's reputation is derived from. Even the pricey accurized ones that weren't dreamed of during WWII can't keep up with the M14's and the M16's in service rifle matches. They can be pretty accurate when done up right. (Which the military never did with them, as a rule.) Service grade...well, they're accurate enough, but hardly world class. Remember that most governments got away with making handpicked service rifles into acceptable sniper rifles, and that the Garand was a notable failure in this role.

Is it simple nostalgia?

Another theory of mine is in terms of practical accuracy: while its theoretical accuracy is adequate, its practical accuracy was better than most other weapons in use during the same period of time. The sights were superb compared to the short sight radius and imprecision offered by the notch sights that almost everyone else used; additionally, even out of the box the Garand trigger is pretty good as milsurp triggers go. It hangs well offhand. There's no magazine jutting out underneath to catch on the sling or hose up a tight prone position. Perhaps it's the human factors that made it what it was.

Maybe it's a bit of both. I'm veering, though.

Back on topic: I caution everyone to be very careful of purchasing aftermarket accessories for their SKS. (Or AK, for that matter.) For every good product, there are nine or ten products that aren't so good. Buyer beware.
 
Bruce, that target doesn't look too awful bad. My old chicom is a 4" at 100yds with various surplus ammo. I have never fed it anything else/better. I am definitely a better shot than 4" from the bench; if I hold my mouth just right I can get 2" from my model 94 w/open sights and handloads. I've heard good things from folks that have had quality trigger jobs done.

I am also looking at modifying mine to use a different rear sight, some sort of peep that is mounted to the reciever. I haven't figured it out yet, but I will some day. I hate the open sights that are on it, and it's short sight radius.
Other than that, it goes bang every time I pull the trigger. On the other hand, my friends went goofy - it went bang bang bang bang every time he pulled the trigger:eek: Had to get a new trigger assy.
 
The first time I shot something that wasn't a squirt gun was in March. I reckon I was expecting to be able to do as well as the folks with the fine optics with open sights. :rolleyes:

All in all, I find shooting stuff relaxing. I also figure cultivating my inner redneck can't be a bad thing as well. :)
 
All in all, I find shooting stuff relaxing. I also figure cultivating my inner redneck can't be a bad thing as well. :)[/QUOTE]

Shooting is allot of fun, BruiseLeee. Now that the bug has bitten, try to find a .22 rimfire to practice. Used ones are cheap, ammo is cheap and the pricipals in markmanship are the same. When I was getting ready for my hog hunt, I shot at least 3 times a week with the same action .22 firearm I was going to use to hunt pigs.

I was training my memory skills economically. ;)

100 yds should be max when first learning. 50 yard targets are the best teachers. Misses or a string of shots don't tell much about your technique.
Closer shots let you "see" what is going on. A 7.62 intermediate Russian is on par with a 30 / 30. It is accepted this cartridge is a short range game getter.

Good luck.
 
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