Upgrading the SKS

A few years back I purchased my first semi-automatic rifle in the form of a Yugoslavian SKS. I managed to pick it up for much cheaper than its brother, the AK-47 and I've been pleased with the way the rifle has operated.

It wasn't until recently that I decided the old rifle needed a facelift. I was having difficulty aquiring a sight picture in low-light conditions or at night. The rifle was also a little awkward to carry around in the truck. I wanted quick target aquisition and the ability to sling more than 10 rounds for wild pigs. After doing a bit of research, I found several different after market stocks that are available for the SKS. There were three different things I was looking for in a new stock: The ability to accept detachable magazines, rails for a holographic sight, and rails for a foregrip.

The TAPCO Intrafuse 6-position SKS stock seemed to fit all of my requirements.

In addition to my own spec requirements, I also didn't want to spend an arm and a leg. It would have been VERY easy to spend upwards of $500 upgrading this $250 rifle. I set my price limit at $150 and started shopping around.

It wasn't long before I had everything I wanted picked out.
-TAPCO Intrafuse 6-position SKS Stock
-TAPCO Intrafuse 20rd Detachable SKS Mag
-TAPCO Intrafuse Vertical Foregrip 4.5"
-Sightmark Sure Shot Reflex Holographic Sight

I was relatively surprised at how easy it was to install the new stock. One must first disassemble the rifle.

After this comes the only slightly difficult part of the installation process; removing the old wood covering on the gas chamber. There is a small pin that holds the wood into place. This must be removed. It's slightly tapered so it is important to push it out from the skinnier end. The difficult part (at least for me) was actually removing the pin. It took a hammer, driving pin, lubricant, and quite a bit of force to finally knock the pin out.

Once out, it's a simple process of of putting the plastic polymer cover in the wood cover's place. Chances are the it won't fit at first, so take a small file and file away some of the excess plastic until the fit becomes snug. From there, just reassemble the rifle into the new stock, saving the pistol grip for the end. The pistol grip is hollow and has one master screw that should be tightened at the end of assembly. Attach the foregrip and holographic sight and "ta-da". Modernized SKS.

Gear reviews on individual parts soon to come. Stay tuned!

A day of shooting

A few weeks back I realized that I hadn't practiced shooting in a very long time. I feel as though practicing shooting is a necessity, especially if one plans to hunt during the fall season. It doesn't take much for that rifle scope to get all outta whack and I'd hate myself forever if I missed a big buck because I didn't make sure my scope was sighted in.

I knew that the shooting range in my county was closed on odd-ball days, so I called ahead to verify that they were open. After the phone rang for a good minute, someone finally picked up and said that the range has been closed permanently. This was certainly news to me. Unfortunately the nearest public range aside from that one is 40 minutes away in Alabama. So it looked like I was in for a drive...

I took my girlfriend Chelsea as well as her friend Brittney and her boyfriend Jarrod with me. My girlfriend had never fired my 30-06 or my SKS so I took both in order to sight them in and let her shoot them.

Hard to top shooting guns with a beautiful girl

My 30-06 was just a hair off. Ended up being about an inch to the right at 100 yards. They had a 200 yard range there, but we didn't have time for me to play around with it. Everyone got a chance to shoot the 30-06 and even though it kicks relatively bad, there were no bruises on anyone.

Checking my shot placement

Me calling out shot placement for Jarrod

The look on Brittney's face says it all

When I initially loaded the SKS for my girlfriend, I told her that it didn't have much kick because of the gas blowback. I fired one round down range to make sure things were working and was shocked at how hard it kicked.

I don't remember it kicking -that- bad, I thought to myself as I handed it over to Chelsea. Oh well...

She pulled the trigger...and nothing happened. I took the gun back, and discovered that the rifle had not ejected the old brass. I cocked the gun again, and handed it off. The gun fired, and of course, kicked pretty hard. I knew something wasn't right as I noticed this time that the round had not been ejected again. After fiddling with the gun for a moment, I noticed that a little lever was out of place toward the front of the barrel. I moved it into a different position and effectively turned the gas blowback -back- on. After that, everyone had a hoot shooting it.

Chelsea laying waste with the SKS

 
I was thoroughly pleased with how well my SKS shot. I hadn't shot it for over a year and with iron sights at 100 yards I actually managed to shoot the bulls eye out and had a very good grouping. Sadly, I didn't bring my camera with me and just forgot to take my own pictures with Chelsea's camera.

I also brought a .22 pump rifle (from the early 1900's...1912 sticks out for some reason) that has been passed down through my family. Even though everyone else enjoyed shooting the 30-06 and SKS, I enjoy shooting the .22 more. It's just fun to shoot.

I do wish that I had easier access to a place to shoot. Having to pay a bunch of money and drive 40+ minutes just to shoot for a few hours almost isn't worth it. Even though the 30-06 ammo was reloaded, ammo in general isn't exactly cheap. I suppose though, at the end of the day, it's all worth it when you shoot that buck, or hog, or whatever, and aren't kicking yourself for not sighting in the gun. So get out there and practice. The season is just around the corner...and don't forget about those bows!