For those who wish to engage in commercial hunting, weapons such as Simonov's self-loading carbine (SKS) are the best option. This model has found its buyer among both professionals and beginners. Any hunt must necessarily end with a trophy. An optical sight for the SKS carbine will help to ensure this.
By setting this device correctly, even a novice hunter can achieve good results.
What is the device?
This device is a complex system. It contains:
- Lens.
- Eyepiece. This element of the optical sight adjusts the visibility in accordance with the vision of the shooter.
- Inverting system. It is located between the eyepiece and the objective. Her task is toform an image from an inverted position to a straight one.
- Reticle in the form of a pattern (stencil), which is applied to the lens glass. Today, the attention of buyers is provided with various optical sights equipped with four types of sighting reticles. Their choice depends on the tasks that the optical device performs.
- A special mechanism by which amendments are made if necessary. Firing adjustment is performed primarily in rapidly changing conditions.
A modern optical sight for the SKS carbine, as well as for other similar models of hunting weapons, contains a special coating. It is an anti-reflective layer that is applied to the lens and provides good visibility in low light conditions.
Caliber
Traditionally, hunting in Russia is carried out using caliber 7, 62 x 39 mm. These bullets, in comparison with combat bullets, have a weak stopping effect, which often becomes the reason for many hunters' stories about the unprecedented vitality of the beast. As a result of an inaccurate hit in the vital organs, hunting may be ineffective. For caliber 7, 62 x 39 mm, a distance not exceeding one hundred meters is provided. At this distance, the desired effect is likely. From a hundred meters, you can hit the target exactly with optics. Therefore, many hunters very often ask the question, how to install an optical sight on a carbine?
About installing the aiming device
The optical sight for the SKS 7 62 x39 carbine is installed using special side mounts. They are equipped with many Russian-made carbines. Foreign-made weapons are equipped with an aiming system, which is performed by a dovetail. It has the form of a bar, which is located in the upper part of the case. It is structurally impossible to install optics on the SCS in its pure form. It is recommended for this purpose to use a side rail attached to the receiver of the carbine. Optionally, one-piece brackets and rings can also be used.
They are sold in shops for hunting and fishing. According to gunsmiths, such mounting tools are not very effective. The best option for the Simonov carbine is the mounting of optics using a quick-release bracket. The place for its installation is the left side of the receiver in the SCS. It can also be equipped with a laser designator, allowing shooting at dusk. If necessary, shoot from an open sight, the bracket does not interfere at all.
On the problems of self-improvement of the device
Simonov's self-loading weapon was not originally intended for sniper shooting. The sighting of optics in the Soviet Union was carried out on other models. For this reason, the carbine device itself did not provide for the use of optical sighting devices on it. Such a weapon design was a problem for those hunters who wanted to equip their SKS (carbine) with an optical system. Reviewsowners testify that after mounting a homemade bracket, it had two drawbacks:
- Extracted spent shell casings hit the bracket.
- Weak fastening of the bracket with the base of the carbine, resulting in a shift in the optical sighting system. This negatively affected the accuracy of shooting.
What determines successful shooting with a scope?
When using an optical sight for the SKS carbine, the shooter must take into account the following factors:
- bullet trajectory;
- strength of the wind.
The quality of shooting is affected by the rigidity of the connection between the optical sight and the weapon. To achieve the required reliability of fastening rings or bracket, you can use the lapping procedure.
What do you need for work?
Before starting work, the master needs to acquire the following tools:
- Abrasive paste.
- Lapping rod. Its diameter should correspond to the diameter of the channel of the optical sight.
- Rod for checking the alignment of the rings.
- Torque wrenches equipped with a scale.
- Torque screwdriver.
The main task of grinding is to achieve alignment of the brackets: the centers of their rings must be located on the same axis.
Which scope to choose?
- For the SKS carbine, a device with a cross-shaped reticle is ideal. The shape of the cross is different from other typessimplicity and convenience for quickly pointing the weapon at the target. Optical systems with a cross-shaped grid are used primarily for hunting. This system is effective when shooting at a distance of 30 meters.
- You can also purchase an optical sight equipped with a “Stump” reticle. It was used by the German troops during the Great Patriotic War. This reticle allows the shooter to quickly aim the weapon at the target. The device comes with a rangefinder scale.
- Mil-Dot reticle allows you to determine the size of the target.
Grid type "PSO-1" shows the distance to the target. This type, despite its spectacular appearance, is not in great demand among hunters. This is explained by the fact that it is difficult for persons who have not served in the army to make an amendment using the PSO-1 grid scale
Popular hunting pattern
In Russia, one of the most common types of weapons among hunters is the product of the designer Simonov - SKS - a carbine. Owner reviews testify to its simplicity and unpretentiousness in operation. Another advantage of the carbine is its ease of maintenance. Comparing the SCS with the Kalashnikov assault rifle, the owners of the carbine note the reliability of its system, which is ensured not by stamped, as in AK, but by forged and milled parts.
How to choose an optical sight for a carbine?
In order to equip your weapon with a high-quality sight, experienced hunters are advised to adhere to the following recommendations:
- The choice of optical sight for a carbine should be carried out in accordance with the time of day when it will be operated. Night or twilight hunters are advised to buy optical systems with a lens diameter of at least 5 cm. For day hunters, scopes with lenses no larger than 4 cm are suitable.
- Before buying a sight, you need to determine its magnification. This is a very important characteristic that optical devices for carbines have, since the aiming speed and accuracy of hits will depend on this indicator. Some systems may have magnifications up to twenty times. It is variable and constant. For hunting small game, the maximum magnification that a carbine optical sight can have is used. Feedback from hunters and owners of such systems indicates that when buying optics for weapons, you should not always rely on magnification parameters and lens size.
- The material from which the device itself is made is of great importance. It is desirable that those carbines that are operated mainly in extreme conditions or that have very strong recoil are equipped with sights that are made using aluminum alloys. Such products are characterized by a high level of tightness due to the internal filling with nitrogen.
- Efficiency of shooting also depends on the quality of the purchased model and on how the sighting of the optical sight on the SKS carbine was carried out.
Getting Started
This procedureis performed in two stages. At the first stage, a “rough”, or rough, binding of the weapon to the target is carried out. Shots are fired in a square with dimensions of 250x350 mm using an open sight. The distance in this case should not exceed one hundred meters. A good result can be considered such hits, in which on the sight icon from a distance of one hundred meters the bullets fall into the center of the square. To zero in from a distance of three hundred meters, the division of the open sight must be set to III.
The distance between the holes in the target should not exceed 20-30 mm. It is advisable to zero the Simonov carbine in a standing position, since such a position is considered standard when hunting. If the bullets continue to fall to the center, it means that the rough zeroing was done correctly.
Second stage
The effectiveness and speed of this procedure depends on the availability of special tools for the shooter. These are shooting vise, targets, carbine stops.
Fixing starts after fixing the carbine in a special machine. In an optical sight, it is necessary to bring the crosshair to the center of the visual field in advance. For this purpose, a bracket adjustment mechanism is used. Using an open sight with a square or aiming stump, set the crosshairs. This work is laborious and requires a lot of patience. The shooter must be careful, because with the slightest inaccurate movement, the system can be broken and everything will have to be started all over again. Checking the correctness of the pointingoptics are recommended to be checked with an open sight. The age of the weapon affects the accuracy of hits. The results of hits in a new weapon may differ from shooting from a shot barrel. Today, most SCS get into gun shops directly from warehouses. The buyer should take this into account when zeroing in weapons. All data on the carbine are contained in his passport. When buying, it is recommended to familiarize yourself with them.
An inexperienced hunter who decides to equip his SCS with an optical sighting device is recommended to start with systems with low magnification. Today, on the gun counters, a wide selection of various optical sights is provided to the attention of buyers. Among them, products from manufacturers such as Sentinel, Veber, Leupold are very popular.
When choosing a brand of a device, it is necessary to take into account the conditions in which it will be used. The scope is a precision instrument and should be handled with care.
