With all of the SKS's so cheap, I was thinking about converting one to a brush deer rifle. What would be a good cartrige? anyone have any ideas? Maybe take a 35rem and shorten it(wildcat).
Mike

The 7.62 x 39 is plenty fine as a close range deer cartridge, similar to a 30-30. With the accuracy of most SKS's you are going to be limited in range anyway. Handload with a decent expanding bullet and you're home free.

I've got a Yugo 59/66 version that I mounted a red dot on and it's accurate enough out to 100 yards for hunting.

Bguy's right but if you just want the project, the 7.62 x 39 has been necked up to 35 cal with no other change. It is a near balistic twin of the 35 Rem because it runs a little higher in pressure. You get that wonderful ability to shoot pistol bullets, too.

You have to either relace the barrel or rebore an existing one. I guess you'd have to find a reborer and ask if reaming out a chromed bore is a problem. Prolly not. If it were me I'd use a threaded action, not pinned like the cheaper Chinese.

There was a gunshop specializing in this conversion years ago and I saw a write-up in a gun mag about it by Ross Seyfreid.

MikeN..

Turning a milsurp into something else usually takes the "cheap" out of the equation.

Yea! it ends up being not so cheap, but real neat!
Mike

A few years back I read a article in one of the domestic gunrags about a 35x39mm wildcat that produced 35 Remington ballistics. These folks might be able to tell you more http://www.homestead.com/accuracyriflesystems3/calibers.html

More recently the Russians have created a 9x39mm round for their special operators. See http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/special_purpose_small_arms_ammun.htm for more details

The Yugo SKS has a milled reciever and a non-chrome lined barrel.
Mine is fairly accurate. I had a trigger job done and converted the firing pin to a sping-loaded pin to help with slam fires. The Yugo is probably a better platform for a money pit than a Russian or Chinese SKS.

ZM

Mike...

Yep, they can be neat. Have fun.

6mm PPC

Having seen more then one deer killed in the brush with a SKS I would leave it in 7.62x39 and go hunting. It well save you lots of money and kill lots of deer.

the russians, spatnaz, has a 9x39, though it was a .366 bullet.. an entry weapon, so to speak.

SOF did an article in the early 80s on it

i had thought about doing one in ppc.. even if 7.62 ppc.. then got bored with the sks, and just shoot mine once in a while..


i put a sidemount scope, trigger job, and a stock extention.. it's a 1.5 to 2" gun.. at 100, so it's minute o'deer to 200

with the new 150gr wolfs (haven't tried them) it's supposed to basically be between the 300 sav and 30/30

jeffe

One more vote to leave it as is. We've used bone-stock SKS's for deer in the brush for years. You could put it in a light synthetic stock and put a red dot on it, but I wouldn't bother with changing the caliber. Among other things, that would eliminate the use of all that cheap milsurp ammo for practice.