I just wanna make SURE that within my range effectiveness, I put that bullet where it kills the deer and it don't run off limpin' from a poor shot and lost. I've never lost a deer, yet, in many years of hunting and don't plan to start. It almost happened a few times, but I found 'em and they were hit solid. I feel this is my obligation, to make a well placed one shot kill...remember that ethics thread?????
The way I hunt, firepower is totally moot. I often hunt with a contender pistol, in fact. That gun shoots 1.5 moa even though it's a handgun. To its effective range limit, it's a very effective gun.
Maybe I'm a little more anal about accuracy, but I just like my hunting rifles to shoot 1 moa or better. I know this is a high standard, but it's a very achievable standard with judicious handloading even for an out of the box hunting rifle. I have free floated and bedded a few rifles, but normally, a good bolt action hunting rifle, even a cheap one like the Savage 110 (more accurate than it has a right to be) will shoot 1 moa with a good load out of the box. I see no need to step down in accuracy and power from a hunting rifle to an AK. Just me, though. I particularly like my .308 caliber Remington stainless M7. It's lighter, handier, more accurate, and more potent than any AK on the planet for its intended purpose, hunting. Ain't very tacticool, but that ain't what hunting is about for me. To each his own, though. I have killed one deer with an SKS, at about 80 yards. That gun is only about a 3 moa gun. Keep your shots under 100 yards and pass on anything, but broadsides out at 75 to 100 yards and you should be okay if you can shoot 4 moa or less with the gun.