7.62x39 ain’t a bad cartridge for this, equal to a 30-30 & the sks is a reasonably light & fast handling carbine given aftermarket optic sights you got something useful.
I like my SKS all right and you are correct about the sights. The ones on it are horrible. But I probably won’t ever do anything about it because my hunting days are over. I just used it for the first time in years last week to dispatch a woodchuck that the dog had treed.