The "SKS Match Rifle" written by Ed Doonan was published in the Mar/Apr 1996 #120, issue of the Fouling Shot.
You may think this title is an oxymoron and, to a certain extent, you would be right. But, you can make your SKS shoot well enough with cast bullets to be competitive in our 100-yard offhand matches at Wind Hill Range.
I got an SKS because they are cheap, because I don't think the government wants me to own one, and I wanted to see how the rifle worked. My SKS is a low serial number Chinese model with milled parts and a screwed in barrel. Local experts tell me it was probably made in the 1950's. It came with at least five pounds of Chinese grease packed everywhere, including the stock. At one time it was blued because traces still remain under the stock. Basically the metal finish is bright. Strangely enough, it doesn't rust even in our humid midwestern summers. Despite the lack of finish the SKS shows no sign of having ever been fired. There was no copper fouling in the bore, no wear on the boh face, no carbon in the gas system - nothing. It does show signs of handling so it was probably limited to use as a training rifle.
The bolt is simple in concept, with a strong extractor. The SKS works much like the 99 Savage. In the Savage, the lever pushes the boh up to lock, in the SKS, the bolt carrier pushes the rear of the bolt down; the idea is the same. The trigger mechanism is a mess and not easy to rework because of all the transfer and linkage problems. However, the safety is very clever, you know instantly whether it is on or off by feei and it can be moved into the off position without a sound.
You may think this title is an oxymoron and, to a certain extent, you would be right. But, you can make your SKS shoot well enough with cast bullets to be competitive in our 100-yard offhand matches at Wind Hill Range.
I got an SKS because they are cheap, because I don't think the government wants me to own one, and I wanted to see how the rifle worked. My SKS is a low serial number Chinese model with milled parts and a screwed in barrel. Local experts tell me it was probably made in the 1950's. It came with at least five pounds of Chinese grease packed everywhere, including the stock. At one time it was blued because traces still remain under the stock. Basically the metal finish is bright. Strangely enough, it doesn't rust even in our humid midwestern summers. Despite the lack of finish the SKS shows no sign of having ever been fired. There was no copper fouling in the bore, no wear on the boh face, no carbon in the gas system - nothing. It does show signs of handling so it was probably limited to use as a training rifle.
The bolt is simple in concept, with a strong extractor. The SKS works much like the 99 Savage. In the Savage, the lever pushes the boh up to lock, in the SKS, the bolt carrier pushes the rear of the bolt down; the idea is the same. The trigger mechanism is a mess and not easy to rework because of all the transfer and linkage problems. However, the safety is very clever, you know instantly whether it is on or off by feei and it can be moved into the off position without a sound.
Five shots from the bench at 100-yards v..;th the Lyman 311299 at 1,400 fps.
Ten shots offhand at 100 yards.
Right away, a tight fitting bore patch revealed something I didn't like. At first I thought it was the gas port, but it turned out to be the cross pins used to attach accessories to the barrels. Oversize pins had been driven in with such force they formed bulges on the inside of the barrel.
Probably the greatest deterrent to accuracy is the very poor manner in which the action is held in the stock. Basically the trigger assembly clamps the receiver in place; somewhat like the Ml Garand. This allows the rifle to be field stripped with nothing more than the point of a bullet. Great from a military point of view, but poor from an accuracy standpoint.
I removed the bayonet, cleaning rod, and gas piston, and took the rifle to the range. I had heard the SKS was a sturdy little rifle but, I was not overly impressed with the machining. I paid $89.95 for the rifle and, if it was going to fail, I was going to break it before I put any work into it.
I started with a 200 grain 311299 bullet at 1,400 fps and worked up slowly until I reached approximately 2,000 fps. The rifle was never designed to shoot a 200 grain bullet that fast. I am merely reporting what I did and certainly don't recommend anyone else trying it. Groups measured between four and six inches, which is about what I had expected. At this point the brass was still okay, but the rifle was really hard to open. Remember I was using it as a straight pull single shot. I checked the head-space, locking lug, and the bolt and nothing had changed.
Satisfied with the rifle's strength, I re-worked the trigger so I only had one stage of creep instead of three and I mounted a Lyman #75 sight on the receiver. I glass-bedded the stock, free floating the barrel and gas tube assembly. While the front stock ferrule is still in place, the stock doesn't actually contact it. The gas tube was shortened slightly so it had a perceptible back and forth movement.
Fellow SKS conspirator, CBA member Wes Harms put a plastic replacement stock on his SKS. Since the stock lacked the through-bolt in front of the trigger guard, and was quite limber, he simply epoxied the receiver to the stock and floated everything else. This worked well, you can still field strip it and if you need to take the stock ofl: just put the rifle in a freezer overnight and then give the action a good rap with a wooden mallet and the stock will literally drop off.
I wanted to eliminate the pin bulges in the barreL so fire-lapping was next. In my experience with fire lapping, the worse the barreL the greater the improvement. Fire lapping made a great improvement in this barreL cutting group size in half I do not shoot open military sight well, so at least part of the improvement in accuracy was due to the Lyman receiver sight. Shooters have asked me if the lapping removed the chrome plating in the barrel. I really don't know. It appears it did not, at least at the muzzle. Still the pin bumps were gone and the bore absolutely sparkled.
Even while fire lapping I was getting groups that were better than expected. Groups were running 2-2 W', with about 80% of the shots grouping averaging around 1 W'. I was surprised; I hadn't expected the rifle to shoot well enough to serve any useful purpose. I consider two minutes of angle to be perfectly adequate for my offhand shooting. If you are a hunter and are willing to use the SKS as a straight pull rifle, it should make an adequate deer rifle. From what I read, persons who know say that a 180 grain bullet at 1,800 fps works for deer.
I know you military purist are probably shuddering in horror, but I see nothing wrong with a straight-pull, magazine feed rifle, even though it was meant to be a semi-auto. In fact I shot an Ml, in NRA competition for years, with the gas plug vented. It shot more accurately, I didn't have to worry about my 600 yard load bending the operating rod, and the brass was easier to find.
The real problem with magazine feeding was the overall length of the cartridges I was using; of course, there are cast bullets designed specifically for the SKS. My rifle will just accept the Lyman 311291 without the gas check going below the neck of the case. If you shoot the SKS as a single shot, the length of cast bullets become less of a problem In fact the 7.62x39 is very friendly to any sort of cast bullet that will fit. You will be amazed at how easy it is to find a good cast bullet load for this small case.
One problem that can happen when shooting overly long rounds, is that, while it is possible to load the round, if for some reason the bolt won't close, or the rifle won't fire, it is very difficult to unload the rifle. The round is too long to eject and the back of the case is firmly held in place by the SKS's sturdy extractor. You will have to pry up the extractor with a small screwdriver, while holding back the bolt. This sounds easy, but it takes one more set of hands than humans are issued.
I have to admit I have never developed the ultimate load for the SKS. Just as it is, it shoots so much better than expected, any additional load development seems futile. It's a shame, the rifle shows signs that it wants to shoot.
I don't hunt and I certainly own rifles that are better offhand rifles than the SKS. I bought the rifle on an impulse and fully intended to pass it on after playing with it a while. I am not particularly interested in military rifles, still the SKS continues to intrigue me. Offhand scores with it are comparable to many rifles that shoot better from the bench. It is great fun to shoot against the $2,000 single shots. If you lose, which I quite often do, you can say "Oh well, it's just and SKS", but if you should happen to beat one of those expensive rifles - mercy! They would never hear the end of it. @
Probably the greatest deterrent to accuracy is the very poor manner in which the action is held in the stock. Basically the trigger assembly clamps the receiver in place; somewhat like the Ml Garand. This allows the rifle to be field stripped with nothing more than the point of a bullet. Great from a military point of view, but poor from an accuracy standpoint.
I removed the bayonet, cleaning rod, and gas piston, and took the rifle to the range. I had heard the SKS was a sturdy little rifle but, I was not overly impressed with the machining. I paid $89.95 for the rifle and, if it was going to fail, I was going to break it before I put any work into it.
I started with a 200 grain 311299 bullet at 1,400 fps and worked up slowly until I reached approximately 2,000 fps. The rifle was never designed to shoot a 200 grain bullet that fast. I am merely reporting what I did and certainly don't recommend anyone else trying it. Groups measured between four and six inches, which is about what I had expected. At this point the brass was still okay, but the rifle was really hard to open. Remember I was using it as a straight pull single shot. I checked the head-space, locking lug, and the bolt and nothing had changed.
Satisfied with the rifle's strength, I re-worked the trigger so I only had one stage of creep instead of three and I mounted a Lyman #75 sight on the receiver. I glass-bedded the stock, free floating the barrel and gas tube assembly. While the front stock ferrule is still in place, the stock doesn't actually contact it. The gas tube was shortened slightly so it had a perceptible back and forth movement.
Fellow SKS conspirator, CBA member Wes Harms put a plastic replacement stock on his SKS. Since the stock lacked the through-bolt in front of the trigger guard, and was quite limber, he simply epoxied the receiver to the stock and floated everything else. This worked well, you can still field strip it and if you need to take the stock ofl: just put the rifle in a freezer overnight and then give the action a good rap with a wooden mallet and the stock will literally drop off.
I wanted to eliminate the pin bulges in the barreL so fire-lapping was next. In my experience with fire lapping, the worse the barreL the greater the improvement. Fire lapping made a great improvement in this barreL cutting group size in half I do not shoot open military sight well, so at least part of the improvement in accuracy was due to the Lyman receiver sight. Shooters have asked me if the lapping removed the chrome plating in the barrel. I really don't know. It appears it did not, at least at the muzzle. Still the pin bumps were gone and the bore absolutely sparkled.
Even while fire lapping I was getting groups that were better than expected. Groups were running 2-2 W', with about 80% of the shots grouping averaging around 1 W'. I was surprised; I hadn't expected the rifle to shoot well enough to serve any useful purpose. I consider two minutes of angle to be perfectly adequate for my offhand shooting. If you are a hunter and are willing to use the SKS as a straight pull rifle, it should make an adequate deer rifle. From what I read, persons who know say that a 180 grain bullet at 1,800 fps works for deer.
I know you military purist are probably shuddering in horror, but I see nothing wrong with a straight-pull, magazine feed rifle, even though it was meant to be a semi-auto. In fact I shot an Ml, in NRA competition for years, with the gas plug vented. It shot more accurately, I didn't have to worry about my 600 yard load bending the operating rod, and the brass was easier to find.
The real problem with magazine feeding was the overall length of the cartridges I was using; of course, there are cast bullets designed specifically for the SKS. My rifle will just accept the Lyman 311291 without the gas check going below the neck of the case. If you shoot the SKS as a single shot, the length of cast bullets become less of a problem In fact the 7.62x39 is very friendly to any sort of cast bullet that will fit. You will be amazed at how easy it is to find a good cast bullet load for this small case.
One problem that can happen when shooting overly long rounds, is that, while it is possible to load the round, if for some reason the bolt won't close, or the rifle won't fire, it is very difficult to unload the rifle. The round is too long to eject and the back of the case is firmly held in place by the SKS's sturdy extractor. You will have to pry up the extractor with a small screwdriver, while holding back the bolt. This sounds easy, but it takes one more set of hands than humans are issued.
I have to admit I have never developed the ultimate load for the SKS. Just as it is, it shoots so much better than expected, any additional load development seems futile. It's a shame, the rifle shows signs that it wants to shoot.
I don't hunt and I certainly own rifles that are better offhand rifles than the SKS. I bought the rifle on an impulse and fully intended to pass it on after playing with it a while. I am not particularly interested in military rifles, still the SKS continues to intrigue me. Offhand scores with it are comparable to many rifles that shoot better from the bench. It is great fun to shoot against the $2,000 single shots. If you lose, which I quite often do, you can say "Oh well, it's just and SKS", but if you should happen to beat one of those expensive rifles - mercy! They would never hear the end of it. @