Can you hunt with AK-47?

[Conner Williams]

And AK-47 in Texas is quite legal to hunt with. Kicks less than a 30/30 and has about the same power. There is soft point hunting ammo made and it will take deer and hog quite easily. Noes not kick bad at all. If open sights used, it's a 100+ yard gun. If scope used, 200 yards would be a good max range.

And yep, I have one.

Deaf

Thanks!

 

[hdwhit]

Conner Williams wrote:
Can you hunt with AK-47?

Yes, but consult your state's hunting regulations for particulars.

You will need to use soft point or hollow point ammunition (again, consult your state's regulations).

With factory loads or reloads fabricated in accord with published data, you will not explode the gun.

As a practical matter, the AK is a short-range weapon so you'll probably have the best luck with it at ranges of 200 yards or less.

 

[adcoch1]

I've shot a few deer with an sks, and my brother dropped one with his ak, DRT. And i mean BANG!, flop. All were under 200 yards though, my brother's was about 55 yards with a 122grn hollowpoint. They work great close in.

 

[adcoch1]

Btw, +1 on the FUSION ammo.

 

[Conner Williams]

Yes, but consult your state's hunting regulations for particulars.

You will need to use soft point or hollow point ammunition (again, consult your state's regulations).

With factory loads or reloads fabricated in accord with published data, you will not explode the gun.

As a practical matter, the AK is a short-range weapon so you'll probably have the best luck with it at ranges of 200 yards or less.

Thanks

 

[Conner Williams]

I've shot a few deer with an sks, and my brother dropped one with his ak, DRT. And i mean BANG!, flop. All were under 200 yards though, my brother's was about 55 yards with a 122grn hollowpoint. They work great close in.

Thanks

 

[Davek1977]

had an ak up until 2 days ago....i'm not a superior marksman by any means, but have no issues getting ''practical'' accuracy out of most rifles. i wanted to love the ak platform, being an SKS fan, but whether it was the rifle or just how it fit me, i couldn't shoot it worth a damn, and was was never happier than when i got what i paid for the rifle in trade-in value. anything i could do with an ak, i found i could do better...personally...with my ar-15. while the 7.62x39 round is sufficeint to take deer, and i've taken several with the SKS, theres no way i'd have ever taken my AK hunting simply becaue i had zero confidence in its performance. its reliablity was steadfast, but thats the best thing i can say about my ak experinece.

 

[Hookeye]

I dunno what ones have "better" bbls. Did put in a couple of Tapco trigger kits and they indeed were an improvement.
Not the most fun to put in though...a bit more than changing out an AR.
Ergonomics IMHO suck, so one would have to change the grip, the stock, and then find a way to mount an optic in reasonable position (because factory sights suck).
They did make sporter AK stuff, or used to..............
Too much $ for such an iffy platform.
If you have one, maybe............if you are looking to buy one to hunt with? Pass.

 

[Hookeye]

I've shot a few deer with an sks, and my brother dropped one with his ak, DRT. And i mean BANG!, flop. All were under 200 yards though, my brother's was about 55 yards with a 122grn hollowpoint. They work great close in.

Bang flop..............happens. Esp when spines get hit (which doesn't say much about the cartridge or rifle...........unless that was where the shot was supposed to go).

 

[coloradokevin]

I am buying my first AK-47, but I have barely any experience with AK's. Could you hunt with a tactical AK in 7.62? Or would that just explode the poor thing? How bad does it kick?

There is nothing magical or super powerful about an AK-47 round. The AK-47 fires a 7.62x39mm cartridge, which is rather anemic when compared to most hunting rifles. Your classic .308 Winchester deer rifle is a 7.62x51mm cartridge, and the quintessential American hunting rifle (the venerable .30-06) shoots a 7.62x63mm cartridge. In short, the AK-47 is sufficiently powerful for deer, but it's certainly not going to "explode the poor thing".

This is a common misunderstanding about guns that are billed as "assault rifles". The American consumer has been led to believe that there's some extra "power" in that "assault weapon", and it simply doesn't exist. A civilian AK-47 is a semi-automatic rifle that accepts a 30-round magazine, and fires a cartridge that is significantly less powerful than the average big game hunting rifle that's in use today.

If you do want to use an AK variant for hunting, here are your real considerations:

1) Can you find suitably accurate ammo that isn't FMJ for the rifle? You need to have hunting ammo for hunting, and full metal jacket ammunition is not suitable for hunting.
2) Can you comply with your state's game laws with that rifle? Most places have magazine capacity limits for hunting, and you'll need to be in compliance with your gun to use it for hunting.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

Nervermind. It's been covered.

 

[hq]

I am buying my first AK-47, but I have barely any experience with AK's. Could you hunt with a tactical AK in 7.62?

A lot has been already said in this thread, but let's add my $.02 for a good measure.

7.62x39 has become one of my favorite deer rounds for a good reason. It's quite adequate for most deer all the way up to 200, in some cases even 250yd, recoil is mild, it's nowhere near as loud as many high pressure calibers and there are some excellent rifles and carbines chambered to it. If tactical AK is your aesthetic/functional cup of tea, why not, with a limited capacity hunting magazine. The majority of bad rep of 7.62x39 comes from pop culture, anti-gun propaganda and poor quality bulk ammo, none of which is an issue as long as you stick to brand name or handloaded hunting rounds and get the ballistic facts from reputable sources instead of Hollywood movies and Brady campaign press releases. In the real world it's a marvelous round for taking deer and medium game at moderate ranges so go right ahead and don't worry about it at all.

 

[Tirod]

Considering that 7.62x39 is about the same power and range as .30-30, it's adequate for the job. .30-30 nearly exterminated the whitetail deer and in typical woodland cover that deer hide in during the rut you can't see them out to 100m anyway. Mulies can be bigger but the same conditions can apply.

What kind of rifle the bullet is propelled from means absolutely nothing to the deer. Therefore you can use whatever gun you like - it's the political appearance that causes some to be upset, as it crosses traditional lines. The irony is that for all their discontent, the guns they might refer to as being "better" were largely military based bolt actions. When those first hit the hunting fields the older generation looked down on them, too. Some would make the case that if it wasn't loaded thru the muzzle it wasn't inherently ethical to use it.

We need to get past these quaint notions that the guns used 50 years ago are the only ones allowed. The use of military sporting arms in American history goes back before their was an America. As for the .30-30? In it's day the American military establishment hated on it - the gun that could shoot all week. It was a subject of controversy with Lincoln and his generals. He wanted it and they hated it, because of their antiquated notions of "precision shooting" and the difficulties of supplying ammo. They preferred limited, carefully aimed fire even tho the tactics of the day were mass volley, much more akin to machine gun fire. Even they didn't get it.

I started hunting in the 70's using an HK91. Today I use an AR pistol in 5.56. Don't expect the larger number of hunters to even begin to understand about it, they are mired in weapons and tactics from decades ago. It's all about tradition.

 

[MartinS]

It was made to hunt the most dangerous game on the planet.

 

[imashooter]

If you have an AK and want to hunt, The SKS shares the same round and makes for a very good hunting rifle.

 

[kBob]

Gosh a rootie! I do love the history lessons I get here on THR! They are often as much fun as the hysterical History section from the old Bullwinkle and Rocky show.

Got to love that Abe Lincoln, time traveler or sooth sayer, encouraging his generals to adopt a cartridge that would not be around for another 30 years yet. What a guy!

By the time the .30-30 was offered in the Model 1894 rifle or carbine, in 1895 BTW, the US Army had adopted a bolt action rifle, mind you one they quickly got rid of after war time experience , but one that shot a bullet of the same diameter that was heavier and did so with a higher velocity and from a five round magazine. Sure the '94 carbine could hold two more cartridges and the rifles four more, but reloading the Krag was faster and the Krag was easier to use from the prone position.

Now if we want to talk about Henry rifles and .44 Rim-fire.......Lincoln was actually hot for the Spencer, which fired a more powerful round than the Henry and to be honest was cheaper to make and far more sturdy and held half as many rounds as the Henry, but did just fine during the Northern Invasion once it got past the "Generals"

I do think that folks that hunt with High Cap rifles, even where it is legal, should know that many folks consider them "Slob Hunters" that depend on a second, third or fifteenth shot for bringing down game rather than a good stalk or a good position and a well aimed shot. Doesn't mean any of us in the woods with a AR, AK, SKS, M-1 Carbine, FNC, whatever, are slobs or would even consider taking a shot we had not worked for, but a lot of folks do feel that way BECAUSE SOME FOLKS (however few) ARE SLOB HUNTERS.

My only issue with hunting with an AK is there are better hunting rifles out there......but let's face it, you use what you've got. Back in the late 1980's when I was between M-1s and such and had no crank rifle with optics, I laid in some of the then all there was Midway brass cased boxer 7.62x39 123 grain soft points for the SKS I had. What little I shot was between the accuracy of the Lapua FMJ and everything else and close to the Lapua. Never took game with it. Never was sure of bullet diameter (other US manufacturers would later load M43-ish ammo with .308 bullets) but it shot WAY better than the Chinese steel core/Steel Case/lacured/ berdan/ pee smelling stuff most folks had then. My then frequent trips to the local VA hospital and job there for a while gave me great confidence that the 7.62x39 round worked on game in the 125 to 225 pound weight range fairly well, at least two legged game. I reasoned that even a soft point that merely broke of and encouraged early tumbling or wobbling might do well on pigs and white tail just fine. Hopefully the rhino collection to the south, elephant retirement center to the north and tiger rehab place to the north east would not prove to be issues......

If it is legal, and you can shoot the thing accurately, and you are a decent hunter in the first place and know the game, go for it. Just don't be upset by the occasional sneer of folks that see you.

-kBob

 

[rule303]

I have shot several deer with the 7.62x39mm, with an SKS and Ruger M77. All were shot with the Federal 123gr "Hi Shok" soft points, or hand loads with 123gr Hornady Interlocks. I think it is a great deer cartridge inside 200 yards. Can't say I would use the AK as a first choice in the deer woods, but it will most certainly do the job. I can't begin to think how many deer have been shot with the 7.62x39 around here. Back in the early 90's when SKS's were $100 it was the poor mans deer rifle of choice. That's how I ended up with my first SKS- new in the cosmoline Norinco SKS rifles were $99 with 100 rounds of FMJ ammo, and used 30-30's were bringing $150 at the time. Seemed like a no-brainer to a guy making $4.25 an hour back then.

 

[Llama Bob]

In addition to the ballistics and hunting regulation issues, you should make sure your AK is sufficiently accurate in your hands to hit the vitals of an animal at the range you're going to hunt. Get some 6" paper plates and shoot them at various distances. If you can't get 19 out of 20 rounds on the plate at a given distance shooting from a given position (standing, sitting, prone, kneeling etc.), it's beyond your practical range with the weapon in that position. Remember that barring very unusual hunting circumstances you won't have a bench to hunt from, so you shouldn't practice from one either.

If you already have a .30-06 that you don't like due to recoil (and this is very common - the .30-06 is over a lot of people's recoil limit in some guns and there's nothing unmanly about admitting it) you might want to look at what would be involved in making it more suitable. Several options:
- add a recoil pad, or switch to a better one (look at a limbsaver nitro - it'll tame beefier guns than a .30-06)
- use low recoil ammo (several vendors offer it for .30-06)
- have a gunsmith add a mercury cylinder to the stock which adds about 1lb of weight to the gun and spreads out the recoil making it subjectively more pleasant

 

[adcoch1]

Bang flop..............happens. Esp when spines get hit (which doesn't say much about the cartridge or rifle...........unless that was where the shot was supposed to go).

Yes, this drop was due to accurate shooting, a perfect neck shot. My first one was a head shot at 90 yards with the most accurate sks I've ever shot. It actually would group ten slow shots into a 1" at 100 yards. Easily the most accurate sks ive ever seen. Trained with it a ton too. Llama bob is completely correct to address the accuracy of your future AK, make sure you can shoot it well before relying on more ammo to solve the problem. A well placed shot works great, but ten poor shots may just tear up a deer that will still get away and end up coyote food. And none of us want that to happen

 

[Sunray]

The 7.62x39 is certainly adequate for deer with the right bullet.
"...Kicks less than a 30/30 and has about the same power..." With a bullet than weighs far less and far less energy. The 7.62 x 39's 123 grain bullet(an SST from Hornady) has pretty much run out of sufficient energy at 200 yards where it's also headed for the ground(drops like a brick past 200). Hornady's lightest .30-30, a 140, doesn't lose sufficient energy until about 300.
The only real issue with using an AK is the crappy sights. Only daft issue is the unwanted attention from the assorted busy bodies who think the only hunting rifle is a bolt action and that think they get a say in everything.
AK's have no felt recoil. Mind you, neither does an M1A in .308.
"...MOST 7.62X39 ammo is FMJ..." Nope. There's lots of commercial hunting ammo.

 

[hq]

In addition to the ballistics and hunting regulation issues, you should make sure your AK is sufficiently accurate in your hands to hit the vitals of an animal at the range you're going to hunt.

While that *may* be a consideration like with any hunting weapon, surprisingly rarely it actually is in practise when the actual accuracy of rifle at hand has been confirmed. Internet is full of horror stories about rifles you can't hit a barn door with and some individual guns are just awful, but there usually is nothing to worry about beforehand and if you end up with a genuine lemon, just exchange or RMA it. After that, just practise. And practise. And practise, until you're confident you can hit an 8" paper plate at 200yd no matter what. In hunting situation it's rarely the gun that hickups, it's the shooters nerves and nothing fixes that problem better than shooting the gun over and over again.

 

[hq]

The only real issue with using an AK is the crappy sights.

Yep, they're pretty bad. Tech sights' peep sight solves the problem easily. Good build quality, great design, very decent distance between front and rear sight and they just work. Optics aren't out of the question either, I suppose?

 

[Arizona_Mike]

kBob, I believe 7.62x39 what Czar Nicholas II's favorite deer cartridge.

Mike

 

[brunowbe]

OP, if you want an AK for hunting, look into the Vepr sporting models. They can be had in multiple calibers including 7.62x39, 5.45, .308, .30-06, 7.62x54r, and 5.56. There may be others available too, I don't remember. There are also multiple barrel lengths available. These come with 5 and 10 round mags. They'll run you about $700 give or take a few dollars. Optics can be added easily as well.

 

[kBob]

Maybe it is just me but the iron sights on an AK are better than what comes on a 94 or 336 in my mind. Still thinking that if I ever get the side mount off my '94 that I would like to put an aperature in those two back holes like a Redfield or Lyman, likely with the actual peep screwed out and just use the mount as a ghost ring. Another one of those round tuit issues around here and I have noted that every tuit I find here abouts is octagonal at best. I can look through the 4x Swift glass (but forget cheek weld) our look through the issue rear and front. Before you ask many years ago when I shot it more often the irons were at 75 yards and the glass at 150.

-kBob