7.62x39 Stopping Power

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PistoletCatfish

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I know this has been discussed a lot, but I still wonder...


With a good Hollow Point from Corbon or Hornady, what kind of "stopping power" does the 7.62x39mm have? (I guess "terminal ballistics" would be a better term, but I really mean putting a man down unable to fight)

How would it compare to a 5.45x39 Hornady Ballistic Tip/HP? Is the 7.62x39, in a good loading, a good stopper?
 
PistoletCatfish said:
I know this has been discussed a lot, but I still wonder...


With a good Hollow Point from Corbon or Hornady, what kind of "stopping power" does the 7.62x39mm have? (I guess "terminal ballistics" would be a better term, but I really mean putting a man down unable to fight)

How would it compare to a 5.45x39 Hornady Ballistic Tip/HP? Is the 7.62x39, in a good loading, a good stopper?
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Quite similar (in experience noticing wound channels from a 16" Saiga) to a 30-30 soft point. Not just in ballistics; the effects on deer have been mirrored. As for humans, couldn't tell ya.
 
As noted, the round is very similar to the most common loadings of .30-30. If you hit an living being in a vital spot, it will stop everything that it was doing. If you hit it in a limb or the gut or some other not immediately lethal location, the "stopping" effect will depend entirely on things out of your control (most notably the condition and mindset of the being you shot).

Just like any other round.

The round has the ability to penetrate all the way through your target from any direction, and the bullet you've selected will expand and do proper damage on the way through. With those two conditions met, there's really little more you can get from moving to larger or faster cartridges, except the ability to do the same job at longer ranges more easily.
 
PistoletCatfish said:
I know this has been discussed a lot, but I still wonder...


With a good Hollow Point from Corbon or Hornady, what kind of "stopping power" does the 7.62x39mm have? (I guess "terminal ballistics" would be a better term, but I really mean putting a man down unable to fight)

How would it compare to a 5.45x39 Hornady Ballistic Tip/HP? Is the 7.62x39, in a good loading, a good stopper?
Click to expand...
Welcome to THR btw!!!
 
The 7.62x39 is the most popular military round on this planet. It has killed more people than all other military rounds combined. I have the 16" Saiga Meanmrmustard mentioned and can say it is deadly on deer in its range. Deer vitals are laid out about the same as ours,so what works on one should work on the other.
 
5.45x39 is "more deadly" in theory. The bullet "can" tumble and create horrible wound channel.

Regarding the 7.62x39, please someone correct me if I am wrong, but 300 meters is about the max distance you want to use it (like 30-30 about).

One detail, we had 4-5 years ago an home invasion. The bad guy was shot 3 times in the torso from about 12 feet with a sks loaded with Wolf SP. none expanded and they went through the guy, through the floor. How do I know? I know it from the mouth of the shooter. I still have his message in my mailbox.
 
One thing to consider is the tendency of long, thin, small caliber (5.45, 5.56, 6mm) bullets to tumble when pasing through brush. 7.62x39 is much more forgiving in this regard. That doesn't answer your question about terminal performance, but in order to even have terminal performance a bullet has to arrive on target.
 
No comparison between 7.62 and 5.45 when expanding bullets are used as the OP's question states. This is ASSuming the bullets actually expand.
 
Using the 7.62 x 39 HP designated as 8M, it is devastating. It does fragment considerably causing massive exit wound. I ve seen it first hand when my son shot a hog at 25 yds. I still have those pics but too nasty looking.
 
Having been shot through the thigh with a 7.62x39mm FMJ Ball round, I can tell you that you do not feel like doing anything other than running , or in my case hopping, away from the fight as fast as possible. The range was well over 100 yards and it put me right on my face. While it passed through both sides (left to right) only an inch or inch and a half under the skin, the entire area latter turned black, blue and purple from my knee to a few inches above Mr. Happy.
 
Ouch. Southeast Asian War Games?

One thing to remember is the Wolf and other milspec "hollow point" rounds aren't designed to expand. They might, but they probably will just deform, from what little reading I've done on the subject. A V-Max or other expanding bullet might work very well, but as mentioned, the FMJ version has been doing very well over many years.
 
but I really mean putting a man down unable to fight
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For any thing that we civilians need it for, at the reasonable ranges we should be shooting BG's, 7.62x39 definately gets the job done. At such ranges it's really hard hitting (as Float Pilot attested to).
 
I have shot 2 hogs (250lbs+) with Wolf 154 grain soft points. Both were dead before they hit the ground. Tennis ball size exit wound. Both were shot at 60 yards or less. 762X39 will continue to be my hog gun.

From my personal experience, yours may be different.
 
Having been shot through the thigh with a 7.62x39mm FMJ Ball round, I can tell you that you do not feel like doing anything other than running , or in my case hopping, away from the fight as fast as possible. The range was well over 100 yards and it put me right on my face. While it passed through both sides (left to right) only an inch or inch and a half under the skin, the entire area latter turned black, blue and purple from my knee to a few inches above Mr. Happy.
Click to expand...

OUCH! I feel for you. At least it wasn't within a couple of feet, I bet that would've put even more of a number on you!


One detail, we had 4-5 years ago an home invasion. The bad guy was shot 3 times in the torso from about 12 feet with a sks loaded with Wolf SP. none expanded and they went through the guy, through the floor. How do I know? I know it from the mouth of the shooter. I still have his message in my mailbox.
Click to expand...

I was considering using my 16" bbl SKS for home and truck defense, that's why I was asking. Although I'm not sure I'd trust Wolf/Brown Bear/Tula HP's of SP's, I'd rather go with Corbon or Hornady V-MAX. Did it stop the attacker?
 
I have shot 2 hogs (250lbs+) with Wolf 154 grain soft points. Both were dead before they hit the ground. Tennis ball size exit wound. Both were shot at 60 yards or less. 762X39 will continue to be my hog gun.
Click to expand...

That is what I expect out of the 154 sp; extremely hard hitting round
 
My Dad (1922-2004) killed many whitetails and couple mulies with his SKS rifle. Most were taken at less than 100 yards in thickly wooded situations. Dad liked Winchester Power Point ammo for hunting and Wolf ammo for target practise. Winchester ammo is far more accurate, probably due to consistent pressure.

TR

wtbuckheavyforest.jpg
 
The guy was dead right there within 2 minutes.
Short story:
A military guy came from his day around 1600 at home. He sees his home has been bulglarized, stuff piled up in middle of room, his handguns missing. He picks up his SKS in the back of his wardrobe. Calls 911. Sees a --deleted-- guy coming in his backyard and he gets in. He says to 911 he is afraid and will have to shoot the guy. Shoots the guy. Then guy dying says:"Why did you shoot me, I came to look because I saw someone coming in."

They found the stolen stuff in the dead guy bedroom. He was just out of prison a couple days ago. Even while dying, that --deleted-- was lying. I wonder if he still tries to lie in hell now to Satan....
 
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My mom's boyfriend regularly and reliably harvests deer with 7.62x39 hollowpoint. He has a thing for his old SKS. They do the job plenty well.
 
The guy was dead right there within 2 minutes.
Short story:
A military guy came from his day around 1600 at home. He sees his home has been bulglarized, stuff piled up in middle of room, his handguns missing. He picks up his SKS in the back of his wardrobe. Calls 911. Sees a --deleted-- guy coming in his backyard and he gets in. He says to 911 he is afraid and will have to shoot the guy. Shoots the guy. Then guy dying says:"Why did you shoot me, I came to look because I saw someone coming in."

They found the stolen stuff in the dead guy bedroom. He was just out of prison a couple days ago. Even while dying, that --deleted-- was lying. I wonder if he still tries to lie in hell now to Satan....
Click to expand...

Damn!
 
T.R. said:
My Dad (1922-2004) killed many whitetails and couple mulies with his SKS rifle. Most were taken at less than 100 yards in thickly wooded situations. Dad liked Winchester Power Point ammo for hunting and Wolf ammo for target practise. Winchester ammo is far more accurate, probably due to consistent pressure.

TR

wtbuckheavyforest.jpg
Click to expand...
Why'd you have to show that! I'm already chomping at the bit for November, and it's not even Aug yet.
 
This one weighed in at an estimated 500lbs, and was taken at contact distance. Left/right quartering heart shot (first shot) was a killing shot and stopped just under the offside hide. I put a few more into him for insurance since he kept trying to get back up, but the 7.62x39 did the job.

I've taken a lot more, but this is the biggest.

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