I got alotttttta questions.

Alright so ive been hunting/shooting all my life but this is my first deer hunt. A friend is takin me out but the only two rifles i own are an SKS and a 91/30 Nagant. Im thinking about going with the Nagant and know the caliber is more than enough for deer, probably gonna load with Wolf gold cup.

That being said i dont shoot rifles very often and dont know to much about rifle marksmanship. I pretty much know the bullet arcs and what not. Im gonna try to limit myself to 150 yards with iron sights but was wondering what exactly are the shooting basics? If im in a stand where do i aim on the deer to compensate for drop? Just right at the vitals? I know shit about bullet trajectory and so on.

Ive also only shot this rifle out to about 35 yards or so

Both rifles you have will kill deer. Go out and shoot them at further distances. Take whichever you like better, or whichever does better at the further distances.

A lack of preparation usually ends up in a fail especially when hunting.

Simply put you owe it to your game to be able to make a clean and humane kill.

This is what makes hunting a sport and you a true sportsman.

I don't mean to make you feel bad, but any junior hunter in my state is taught this before they go afield.

My advise is that you plan and prepare for next years hunting season. Then you may very well earn the respect of your fellow hunters and not their scorn.

First question is how far do you actually think you will be shooting? I hunt in Missouri and the furthest shot I have shot a deer was 50 yards. Make sure you know your distances and please at least practice at 100 yards minimum. If you can't hit a 8" area the rifle will be useless at all but point blank range. Shooting at these distances from an elevated position shoot point of aim as it really won't make much difference. If your shooting iron sights this is especially true. The area you are looking to aim for is just behind the front leg and about 15" below the spine. This is where the heart lungs are at. Be aware that a a gut shot deer can run several miles and take hours to die a horrible painful death. If in doubt DON'T shoot!

ETA:

I'd say your max range for the Mosin is 35 yards if that's the only range you've ever shot. You're going to need many, many rounds of practice at 50-200 yards before you should even think about lobbing lead at deer 150 yards away. Mosin Nagants have awful sights and a long, heavy trigger pull. Even with practice I'd be very surprised if you could keep all your shots on a pie plate at 150 yards.

My advice is limit your shots to under 100 yards (after practicing a lot) or borrow a better tool for the job. There's no excuse for wounding your first deer by attempting a shot that you're not comfortable with. It's a sign of a sloppy hunter and makes all hunters look bad.

I'm in a similar situation like the OP, I don't have a deer rifle, but I do have a Mosin. I have not shot it yet. After considering the liklihood of me missing or making a bad shot, I decided to borrow a scoped .270 bolt for this adventure. I don't have the time between now and the hunting trip to become confident with the MN.

How much time do you have before the trip?

If you can get to a range between now and then I would zero it in at 100 yards if that's teh max range you think you'll be taking shots. That way from 0––>100 you will hit high(lungs) 100-150 you should be close enough to spot on.

As far as treestand shots, generally the distance will be close enough if woods hunting that it won't matter. Farther distances you need to figure your actual distance to a target. What I mean is say a deer is 100 yards from the tree and your 20 ft up the tree. The shot is more then 100 yards due to triangualtion so you'd want to aim 1-2 inches higher then normal.

If your buddy thinks you can wait 2-3 weeks I would get at least 2 range sessions in at 100 yards. You owe it to the deer and yourself to at least pratice at a realistic range.

I understand what your saying and agree 100 percent ,like i said i am not new to hunting at all and ive been hunting all my life and am fortunate enough to get out to the field 2-3 days a week. I have just always hunted waterfowl/dove/upland/turkey and never anything with a rifle.


As to everyone else, ive got about a month before we go out so i plan on practicing as much as possible.

I know where the vitals are, what I was asking is like if im on a hill or in a stand do i compensate in my aiming by aiming high or low from 50 yars or say 200 yards? I dont know much about how rifle bullets fly is what im sayin.

As to realistically, i just talked to him an hour ago and he said we may just sit up on a hill about 200 yards away from where a high traffic area is. So luckily ill be prone, but like i said do i just aim right where i want the bullet to hit or what? Are there any good websites and reading for this? I havent been able to find any!

Is it unrealistic thinking i could take a 200 yard shot with iron sights?

OP, just my two cents, but how are you with that sks? Are you using the stock sights or is it by chance scoped? For several years, the sks was the biggest non-shotgun caliber that I had and it is adequate for small to medium sized deer. Four of us used to only hunt with sks' when we were younger because both the guns and ammo were INEXPENSIVE as hell. I am a big sks fan myself.

I don't think you'll have any problems inside of 100-150 yards even with regular sights, but another option is scoping it. I put a cheapy $25 b-square scope on for my teenage daughter and both she and my brother-in-law, who has never shot a rifle, were nailing bullseyes from 100. I think you'll have more room for error with the scope myself. Also, use soft points opposed to fmj.

Im alright with the SKS, honestly idk if i got lucky but the Mosin trigger isnt to bad, and about a million times better than my SKS trigger. Both are completely stock and im a broke college kid who doesnt have to much cash to spare on optics.

I hear ya. Just hunt with whatever you're best with and limit your shot to where you'll hit point of aim. If that's 50, then so be it. You're already a hunter and if you've been hunting all your life, I'm sure you're ethical. Go with your gut and I think you'll be good. Good luck to you!!!

Thanks brother! Glad to see all the people on here so conscious of responsible hunting. Too many in-breds in my neck of the woods who dont give a damn.

the fact that ethics are constantly reiterated, makes me glad to spend so much time on here.

If your shooting down hill @ 200 yards you will always aim a bit low, but like I said before your sights on the Mosin will make that a moot point anyway. So aim for center mass and hopw for the best. If you think you are going to hunt deer again next year, then buy a proper scoped rifle like a Savage package gun in .243 and be done with it.

Either gun will do the job. I have known/seen guys who used both of them.
Problem is, you need to check the state laws on ammo where you will be hunting.
Many states prohibit FMJ for hunting. It is not an ideal round.

As for Optics. Many cheap options out there. Check the EE. You might be able to find something in your budget.
It will get you through the season, and upgrade later on as time allows.

OR––-
Check the EE for a Hunting gun. Pawn shops for hunting gun.

Yea ill definitely be using soft point, like i said i want a quick kill.

Honestly my budget for shipping/mount/optic total would probably be no more than 50 bucks, so im thinkin just save it.

Someone above mentioned it.
RANGE TIME- Get it.
If you have only shot accurately to 35 yards. Then that is your max range.
Again check the EE for optics. You might find a cheaper scope in your price range. (There are a couple. NO they are not mine)
I just picked up a good deal on a cheaper 3x9x40. I wanted for my Ruger 10/22, but it would suit your needs.

HOWEVER.... Iron sights work just fine. Remember Military qualify out to 300m with iron sights on M16/M4s.

I would not shoot irons on game at 200 with anything but my ar. maybe a garand. they both have peep sights and a long sight radius.

if you can't shoot and hit a 6" target 100% of the time, you need to get closer.

if you are really broke, i will send you an sks scope mount to borrow. and a scope, too. neither will impress your friends, but they will get the job done. just send it back when you are done.

for shooting downhill, gravity is a constant force as the bullet travels. this means the bullet will fall at the same rate for the horizontal distance traveled, and ONLY the horizontal distance.
SO, lets say your bullet drops 24inches at 250 yards, and 48 inches at 500 yards, just to make the numbers easy.
if you are shooting at a target that is down hill at 45 degrees and the physical distance from you to the target (like if you used a laser range finder) is 500 yards,
the bullet will only drop 24 inches from your point of aim because it has only traveled a horizontal distance of 250 yards.

so for hunting, unless the distances are very long or the angle very steep, your point of impact will change very little. not enough to matter for the most part.

Go out and buy a remington model 700 .308 winchester caliber rifle and top it off with either a leupold, nikon, redfield, burris, weaver or bushnell scope. After that, buy some 150, 165 or 180 grain spitzer ammunition and sight in with that ammo at a range of around 200 or 300 yards. Don't forget your hunting license and a strap for your rifle. Good luck and don't forget to post pics of your hunt after you get your first kill of the season.

I appreciate wishin me luck! Remington 700 has been on the wish list for years, but like i said im pretty strapped for cash.

your best bet might be to ask around your friends/relatives and see if someone has a rifle they wouldnt mind letting you borrow. most hunting enthuiasts I know (including myself) have more than enough capable rifles to be able to loan one for a couple weeks. just make sure to put some rounds downrange before hunting with it and be sure to properly clean and wipe down the gun during use. A sure way to not get a second chance at borrowing a gun it to return it with rust starting to form. othet than that, get some soft points for the mosin and do some longer distance practicing, and good luck!

this. to do otherwise is irresponsible and makes all other hunters look like dopes.

Well, you've got several weeks to go. I would use the Mosin-Nagant if the range is anything over 100 yards. I would practice with it. And I would buy some of the heavy softpoints that are around for it.

Maybe, if you scoped the SKS, it would be fine. Or borrow a scoped rifle from someone. You could probably find a Marlin .30-30 in a pawnshop, that might already have a scope on it, for a couple hundred. Trade the SKS and the M-N for it? That should be good and accurate past 200.

Like i said, im 19, ive been hunting since i was 8ish, and spent years following my old man in the woods before that.

Also you say you hunt a lot of birds and turkey? What shotguns do you have in the stable? Maybe one of those would work better for you? Just another option is all.

I was thinkin about that, but all of em are smoothbore and he said wed probably be shootin from 200 yards away, so i settled on the rifles, taking them to the range this week to see how i perform, will post back.

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.