Who says 7.62x39 doesn't kill deer.

Although I struck out, 7.62x39 is what I took on my most recent deer hunting trip. Trust it completely. I had it out the other day, shooting at 200 yards very accurately, and it was slapping an 8" plate with authority. Don't see who I would need anything more.

I've killed 2 deer quite dead with my SKS over the years and it is now my dedicated night hunting hog gun with a green laser on a 3x9x40 Bushnell Banner. I generally am shooting at 50 yards, but one of those deer was taken at 80 with a 135 grain .308" Sierra Game King.

Now days I like Wolf or equivalent 154 grain factory soft point. Accurate stuff in the SKS and it shoots 2200 fps over my chrony. That's about what I was getting from that now discontinued Sierra 135 grain bullet. The stuff has proven deadly on good sized pigs.

And, hey, last season I took a 6 point with less....a .223 firing a 62 grain Barnes TSX at about 2800 fps.

2 of my daughters have SKS's and one has a CZ527 in 7.62x39.

They hunt alot, and anything 200 yards and closer is probably gonna get shot, if need be.

I use a .22 caliber to deer hunt 200 yds or less. I'm that confident in the round and the accuracy that I wouldn't hesitate to take a 175 yard shot with it. As for the 7.62, it shoots kinda like a rainbow but has a lot of energy behind the projectile. I don't think there are many naysayers of this round really. Maybe I just don't know a lot of people lol.

7.62x39mm is in a lot more common usage than you might think. I love my CZ 527M/CSR in that caliber. Haven't had the chance to go after any big game with it, but with my 123gr Hornaday SST load I think it would do just fine. Difference is it is a .311 barrel, not .308.

One of one of my favorite cartridges, I can go through several thousand rounds a year. I have 2 ARs, 1 Ruger ranch, one Cz 527, and 3 AKs in this caliber. I have gotten rid of a Ruger Mini 30. I have shot numerous hogs and witnessed many does and 3 bucks falling to the caliber. One of these was 250#. All have had short tracking with vital hits. We use the SST or any .308 bullet we choose including that FTX in 135, 140 and 160gr. We have had excellent results with cast. All shots have been within 200 yards, and the most impressive at that distance. I wouldn't take the gun to a place I had to shoot further. I have hit a coyote fairly easily at 300 yards. We practice a lot at yardages to 400 yards.

One thing I have not done is used the inexpensive Russian ammo on game. I have done some bullet tests, and find the Barnaul and Tula soft points to expand well in water, but have not tried it on real game. I suppose that will happen this winter on our pig hunt. I do have quite a bit of confidence surprisingly in the Hornady bullets including the SST steel loading. Its not going particularly fast, but in our hands, its been very deadly while at the same time not blowing up the carcass. The bolt action carbines are very light and handy and particularly like the no nonsense Ruger. I'm not particularly worried about taking care of it, so it has become my farm gun. Its on the Kawasaki no matter what I'm doing. In the CZ and Ruger, they are among the most accurate field rifles I have.

A few years before the dawn of this century, SKS rifles were selling for less than $150. and thousands have become trusted deer rifles. Although not famous for stellar accuracy they're certainly capable of taking deer within reasonable distances. A hunter does not need a tack driver to collect his winter's venison. My Dad (1922 - 2004) hunted with an SKS in Michigan and had very good luck with this outfit toppling deer effortlessly. He shot Winchester Power Point ammo.

TR

I don't know anybody who says 7.62x39 doesn't kill deer. I know plenty of folks who do not think it is an ideal caliber, but then again, lots of very capable calibers aren't ideal.

I bought my SKSs in about 1992. The paratrooper carbine was $115, the rifle was $75. The carbine has the typical SKS spongy trigger, but the rifles is quite crisp, unusual for an SKS. There are gunsmiths that can clean them up, but I left the carbine along. I can deal with the trigger. I put a folding stock on the carbine and keep it behind the seat of my truck. The rifle wears an optic and has become my favorite hog slayer. I have better rifles to shoot deer with, but the caliber is a jewel. It'll take anything a .30-30 will take and lord knows there's been plenty of game of all sizes taken with the venerable .30-30.

Here's my rifle. It wears a Choate camo stock (the original Norinco stock was made for 12 year olds), an ambi safety (I shoot lefty), a scope with a necessary case deflector, and the laser. I cut the bayonet lug off (grabbed every twig in the woods) and installed a 5 round magazine so that the rifle would be a bit more handy with a flat profile on the bottom. I had the scope off it for a long time, makes for a handier knock about rifle, but I decided I needed it for hogs, would get more use out of it for that.

I don't know anyone in their right mind that would say 7.62x39 wouldn't take out a deer. Shoot, I know people who take deer with .223. 7.62 is very similar to 30-30 and thousands of deer have fallen to the 30-30 over the years.

10/10 would use my sks to shoot deer.

Ive used a 750 semi auto Ruger in 243, to take a Deer. Ive used a Crossbow, and i would use my SKS. One thing is i am near sighted, i do like my Iron sites, but my 243 has a zeroed Scope. So, i like that scope and dont have to use my glasses.. but i would not hesitate to use a 7.62x39 round on any Florida animal or zombie

CarJunkieLS1 said:

I guess it's guys I know and work with that all have a case of magnumitis. Because I get asked all the time "why don't you use a "proper" caliber at the least a .243.

Well I use MSR's because my shoulder after the surgery I just can't take the recoil. Less recoil let's me practice alot more and they are accurate.

These same guys don't practice any and just check sight in before season and the hunt. Then they wonder why they sometimes lose deer...can't teach them guys nothing.

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The Hornady .310, Spire, 123 grain Soft Tip is just dandy on deer out to 200 yards. While it is slightly slower than a .30-30 from a Winchester '94 with a 20" barrel, it's right there with the same velocity when that .30-30 is launched from the '94 with a 16 " barrel. A person who tells you a .30-30 Winchester isn't a deer cartridge (or anything that duplicates that performance) is simply not informed enough to be heeded.

When I was younger and working to supplement my main job, so was employed at a gunshop, it wasn't uncommon to hear from the poor shots, or merely those that would benefit from some practice, poo-poo old cartridges and salivate over the newest and best belted-magnum-molar-shaker-round to come upon the market.

Happily, I was able to steer several customers toward cartridges like .243 Winchester, .270 Winchester, and .35 Whelen in bolt actions, and .30-30 plus a few .35 Remington cartridges in lever action rifles. Every one of those customers was laughed at by their friends who told them "the minimum you should get is a .300 WinMag, or a .338 WinMag." Every one of them spent time on the range with their rifles, found excellently accurate loads, and gee...., harvested a lot of deer with those "under power" rounds.

LD

I have had a Ruger mini 30 since I was a kid and have killed probably 15 deer with it. My kids still use it all of the time and I loan it out to people to take kids hunting. The recoil is so mild it has probably killed close to 10 "first deer" for different people. I've never lost a deer with it and is still my go to rifle for hunting in thick brush for its easy compact size.

Like most others here, I don't know of anybody that claims a 7.62x39 is not enough gun for whitetail deer. I think if anything, the bad hype came about when the SKSs first became readily available and folks tried to hunt with the FMJ surplus ammo that came with them. Iffin I remember correctly, I bought mine along with 1000 rounds of surplus ammo for $129. Was a fun gun, but once I shot up the surplus ammo, I sold the gun for about what I paid for it and the ammo.

123 grain federal fusion deadly in this rifle.

My 8 yr olds 1st buck . Killed with 7.62×39. 80 yds out, fell over after running only 70 yds. 180 lbs

I killed a few with that round some years ago in Tn. I was a E6 in the army in a nasty divorce, and I was forced to sell most of my guns to pay attorney fees. Back then a SKS was about $75 new, so I didn't sell it cause it wasn't worth anything. It ended up being used for deer for a couple of seasons. I believe I used Winchester soft points. The problem I had with it was every deer I shot with it, I never got an exit wound, so I never got much of a blood trail. I have new rifles now, but I still have that SKS.

FL-NC said:

I killed a few with that round some years ago in Tn. I was a E6 in the army in a nasty divorce, and I was forced to sell most of my guns to pay attorney fees. Back then a SKS was about $75 new, so I didn't sell it cause it wasn't worth anything. It ended up being used for deer for a couple of seasons. I believe I used Winchester soft points. The problem I had with it was every deer I shot with it, I never got an exit wound, so I never got much of a blood trail. I have new rifles now, but I still have that SKS.

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That's an ammo problem. I've yet to have a 154 wolf remain in a hog. I've shot hog with it over 200 lbs, no problem. There's more decent hunting ammo out for the caliber now days, too, than there was 25 years ago when I was handloading for it because I couldn't find anything appropriate in factory ammo. There's a better availability of appropriate .311" bullets to the handloader now days, too.

The 7.62x39 Russian is pretty darn comparable to the .30-30. Not it’s twin, but close enough...and there’s probably 10 million deer that have fallen to the Winchester round over the last 120- odd years...

I haven’t hunted with my Mini 30, but if I was going to use it in place of my .30-30 or .35 Rem I wouldn’t feel undergunned at all with hunting grade ammo.

Stay safe!

Gun writers, firearms marketing departments, 45 year old guys who live in their mother's basement and post about tactical stuff between bouts of particularly unsavory porn binging, and recoil junkies, among others, including those who don't believe that ye olde 30-30 still puts venison on plates with boring regularity.

Those guys, that's who.

7.62 is basically a light 30-30 so it'll definitely work great on deer as long as you're not shooting long range. I'd use it before a 223/5.56.