I’ve heard all of those stories about how inaccurate the AK is, but I’ve seen my fair share of 2 MOA guns that could hit out to 400yds very effectively if the shooter knew what they were doing.  Yesterday i witnessed 2 young adults nail targets out to 30oyds with an SKS rifle that was zeroed in at 200yds.   I would say that if they had optics that gave them a bullet compensator then they probable could have been effective out another 150yds.   The real problem with the SKS rifle is that it doesn’t really hold it’s zero once the mount is removed.   I would never recommend skipping cleaning the rifle because it does have a flaw in the design and there are some safety issues.

The SKS is a fine blasting and plinking rifle and although the range is limited by the 7.62×39 ballistics, it can be a step up into the semi-auto world for a novice shooter.   I’ve heard that the SKS was used as a sniper rifle in the Vietnam war, and although it’s not a great gun for that, with good ammunition, 2 MOA means  being capable of getting a head shot at 400yds if the shooter knows what they were doing.  We hauled a few of these around in soft gun cases, and they fit into a gun sock that I have left over from a Remington 870.   The SKS has a fixed magazine and with stripper clips, it feeds and reloads quickly.