Ever Killed Whitetail With 7.62X39

[WardenWolf]

I've got an SKS, and I'd have no qualms about hunting whitetail with it. I've heard of people hunting whitetail with .223, although that is rather underpowered. The 7.62x39 round would be just right, though. Note that the SKS is favored by a lot of hunters because it is so easily restocked into something that more easily takes a scope. However, a Saiga in 7.62x39 is also an excellent choice, as it already comes with an accessory rail for attaching a scope and is very accurate. If you want to build her a gun, you might consider buying a Saiga and converting it for her.

 

[saturno_v]

And before you start fantasizing about big bears with anemic 170g 30-30 ammo is not in the realm of practicality for most of us. Especially considering this thread is about DEER

The 30-30 has been used for black bear hunting before your granparents were born...and will probably still be used when you and I will be under the proverbial 6 feet.....so relax....as firearms enthusiast you should know that.

I've killed deer and coyotes with both....they kill just the same. Which leads me to wonder what have YOU killed with either cartridge?

Actually none...still this does not make 2 cartridges firing the same bullet weight at over 200 fps of difference (same barrel length), with the 30 WCF capable of firing heavier pills, equal....again, the deer will not know the difference....I agree.

Honestly what is the deal with you taking any comparison to 30-30 as an affront and insult to your manhood. I know you want to believe the mighty 30WCF

Again, calm down...I love the 30 WCF but I have several rifles chambered for much more potent cartridges...actually the 30-06 is my absolute favourite chambering

Where are these mythical 24" 30-30's manufacturers like to use to come up with velocity figures?

Actually the Marlin XLRs are starting to show up more often at the range....2 of them at the same time just last week....

....by the way I own a MAK-90 and probably I'm going to get an SKS if I can find a good deal (prices are coming down a bit in my area)

 

[saskcop]

The 7.62x39 works well. I shot a very respectable Saskatchewan buck with my CZ858 (Canadian version of VZ58) last year. I was using PRVI 123 grain soft points. I shot the buck while he was trotting broadside at just over 90 yards and it dumped him on the spot. DOA. The autopsy revealed that the bullet did its job and left an excellent wound channel right through both lungs and exited out the far shoulder leaving a good size hole. Considering that SK whitetails are probably larger than the majority of American deer, the 7.62 will work no problem. Use good ammo and place your shot and you will be eating deer steak this winter. The Canadian version of the CZ858 is more or less the same as the VZ58 available in the States except that it has an 18.5" barrel. The PRVI ammo chronies almost 2500 fps out of the CZ. That is plenty of power for the largest deer. I have shot even larger game (which I won't get into here) with the Wolf 154 grain SP's. They don't expand quite as well, but they hit hard and really penetrate.

 

[armoredman]

I would love to see a pic with you and your rifle with that deer! Now, if we could only get 5 round mags down here to hunt with the vz-58....

 

[rbernie]

I hunted Texas deer for years with a homebuilt 7.62x39 AR15, using handloaded ammo. I even had the occasion to drop a 500lb hog at contact distance with it, once, and posted here about the results.

I would have no issues hunting whitetail inside of 250 yards with any 7.62x39 that is capable of better than 2MOA accuracy, assuming proper ammo is used and the shooter is actually capable of taking ethical shots.

 

[mongo4567]

I have a Mauser 94 that was converted to 7.62x39 and it shoots great. I was going set it up for my 10 year old son to take one. I ended up cutting down and weighting a stock on the Mauser so that a friend's small 8 year old could use it. He took a young deer with it this year and the Priv SP round did great.

 

[LoonWulf]

I have a friend who used to hunt with an unusually accurate mini-30 all the time, ive seen a bunch of one shots kills with that gun running 110s and 125s. Our axis deer run 120-150lbs on average. That being said my 06 would usualy nock them flat more often but they were no less dead.

 

[schnarrgj]

Yes I have killed deer with the 7.62x39. So have some of the nephews. If you do your job, it is more than capable of doing it's job.

 

[tango2echo]

I've killed a good number of deer (11 I think) with the 7.62x39 out of one of those "inacurate" Mini-30's. I bought a pawnshop Mini-30, gave it a trigger job, trigger shoe, x-power hammer spring, x-power recoil spring, AS adjustable gas block, Nikon 2-7x32 scope, and worked up a handload using H335. I'm pushing 2600fps+ with the 125gr Sierra SP. Plus, with the heavy recoil spring and gas block it has very little recoil. About like a .22mag. My 98lb wife and 74yo father have no trouble shooting it. The crosshairs don't even leave the target when fired from sandbags at the bench.

Oh, and after the mods it will do around 1.125" at 100 yards and around 3" at 200. I'm 5.75" low at 200 yards when sighted in at 100 yards, and only 10.5" low at 250 yards. There's still over 1000ftlbs of energy at 250.

For comparison, my 336 .30-30 is sighted in at 100 yards with the 140gr FNSP at 2650fps. It is 6.75" low at 200 yards and 13.5" low at 250 and drops below 1000ftlbs of energy at 210 yards.

So while there are plenty of guys out there that will tell you the 7.62x39 is no .30-30, in a way they're right. In some cases the 7.62x39 is better than the .30-30 in retained energy and trajectory.

 

[RangerHAAF]

It's a very good caliber for deer hunting. I won't make any power comparisons; I've killed several deer with my AK-47. Up close it's awesome; none of the deer that I hit went farther than 30 yards. I wanted to try the 7.62x39 in an AR format but the magazines were so problematic that I wound up trading that upper for a 6.8 SPC and it's been great.

 

[mbt2001]

For the record, the 30-30 and the 7.62 would work fine on black bear too. Provided a clean shot and good bullets enter the equation and provided that the black bear in question wasn't some freakishly large bear...

 

[lobo9er]

what is good 7.62x39 hunting ammo?

 

[Captcurt]

I am having a hard time picking a commercial gun in 7.62X39. I have found the cz, remington 799 (or 798, whichever is the short action) and a ruger compact 77. The ruger is a sweety.

 

[cyclopsshooter]

you can get an olympic arms flat top 7.62x39 upper with mag for like $550- it is quite good quality and accurate

go with 150 gr cor bon when hunting

 

[Mule]

I have harvested whitetail deer with both the .30-30 and the 7.62 X 39. I am a handloader and use the same bullet in both. Sierra 125gr FPHP. Terminal performance is exceptional.

 

[janobles14]

what is good 7.62x39 hunting ammo?

the best round i have found for hunting is the winchester soft point. they expand very well and are loaded more consistently it seems to me. they are just hard to find here sometimes.

my second choice is the silver bear soft point ammo. the expansion isnt mind boggling or anything but it does quite enough to drop a whitetail. they are to be found just about everywhere.

i have shot a smallish doe with wolf hp round and it basically acted like a FMJ. the only "expansion" was the jacket ripping off and embedding in the far side ribs.

 

[rklessdriver]

I've tagged a few White Tails and Hogs with the 7.62X39 over the past few years. I've used the 154gr SP from Wolf, the 123gr SP and the 122gr 8M3 JHP from Barnhaul. All animals DRT. I use a high front shoulder shot 90% of the time on deer. Couple of head shots on the piggies and one thru and thru both shoulders with a 154gr SP.

A 20" AR in 7.62X39 would be a great deer rifle for your wife.
Will

 

[paintballdude902]

i got one with an sks DRT

Where are these mythical 24" 30-30's manufacturers like to use to come up with velocity figures? I've never seen one longer than 20" in the wild.

really? winchester 94s with the 20" barrel are the carbine. look at the rifle versions. my dads first hunting rifle was a 94 with a 26" barrel. i wanna say they came in 20 24 and 26.

here are a few on gb
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=184325097

heres one with a 22" http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=185321373

 

[FROGO207]

I have a Savage 340 bolt in 30-30 that has a 26" barrel that I load up with pointy bullets. I can load with higher pressure loads also and it approximates the 300 Savage round as far as I can tell with 180 grain SP Core Loct bullets.

 

[TRGFTJob]

Love this site, Ive never witnessed so many people defending the 7.62x39, more to task, it is a very appropriate round for whitetail hunting, with the jacketed hollow points, it will drop any deer with one shot (if you do your part), it has little kick, and it doesn't make much noise, just keep the shot inside of 150 yards, there's not much of a charge behind the bullet and may produce questionable stopping power at ranges beyond that

 

[amprecon]

Killed a young buck last year from about 35 yards with my SLR-95.

 

[Glamdring]

DPX in 30-30 or 7.62x39 work the same AFAIK can't really tell them apart.

6.8 SPC which is about the same as the old 250 Savage if you want to make light recoil bolt gun. The 250 Savage might be a bit easier to get brass for since it is the basic 7x57/30-06/308 brass shortened.

 

[nathan]

An SKS in bear country . Do i feel undergun ? Not a bit. I feel comfortable with ten rounds in the mag with extra few clips in my pocket. THe SKS is easy to aim and rapid fire. Hit it where it needs to be when life and limb is at stake. Im talking of chest and headshots.

SKS and white tail deer. As long its within less than 100 yds distance, it be dead deer right there and venison back home.

 

[TooTaxed]

The best hunting ammo on the market for the 7.62x39mm is the Wolf 154-gr soft points, which were specifically loaded for hunting. They work just fine on deer and boar.

Bonus! It is about one third the cost of the Winchester and Remington hunting ammo, which is only 123-gr!