Is an ak-47 effective enough to hunt Tx. whitetail?

[saenzrich]

I have been hunting for several years and have always used a 30-06 but recently sold and now only have an ak. Is this round good enough for hunting and should I use fmj or........

 

[benEzra]

Think of 7.62x39mm as a slightly downloaded .30-30 Winchester, and you'll have a good perspective of it. It's about half as powerful as a .30-06, so keep the range under 100 yards and make sure you are accurate enough with the gun to put the round where you want it, and you should do fine. Just don't take any shots that you wouldn't take with a Winchester 1894 lever-action shooting mild 150-grain .30-30 softpoints, and try to make it a 1-shot kill just like you would with any other rifle.

I'm not a hunter, but by all accounts, the best 7.62x39mm deer round is probably the Wolf 154-grain softpoint at around 2000 ft/sec; Cor-Bon also makes a hunting load if you want to pay for it, but it's waaaaay more expensive than the Wolf 154's.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/7.62x39mm Wolf 154gr Soft Point.html

 

[rcmodel]

Yes it is good enough.
It's basically a 30-30 that uses lighter pointy bullets.

Do Not even consider using FMJ ammo for hunting anything. (Well hogs maybe.)

Only SP or HP will expand and give a clean humane kill, and/or a blood trail to follow.

rc

 

[saenzrich]

Thanks for the responses they answered exactly what i was wondering this one more example of how helpful this forum is.

 

[rcmodel]

By the way!
I know nothing about Texas game laws, but you might want to check if they have any restrictions on magazine capacity.

Many states restrict mag capacity to five rounds for deer hunting.

rc

 

[doorman]

Texas has no magazine restrictions. Basically no full auto and no rimfire ammo.

RU

 

[ThePunisher'sArmory]

Is an ak-47 effective enough to hunt Tx. whitetail?
I would say yes........Especially if the deer are sooting back!!

 

[BADUNAME37]

With just the right shot, any gun could kill a deer. Even a pellet gun could kill a deer if you got a shot into its eye or ear and directly to the brain.

Yes, an AK will kill a deer, if you don't graze him and if you hit him somewhere where he is essentially "dead on his feet."

If you take a lousy shot to the gut, the deer may run several miles and die a slow, horrible death.

However, that could happen with any gun.

Point being, make certain you know your gun, and make certain you take a good shot.

 

[stchman]

The problem is not the 7.62x39 round, it is the rifle. AKs are not the most accurate rifle.

If your target is inside 100 yards then yes an AK will be fairly effective. Out past 200 yards AKs are hit or miss.

 

[benEzra]

If your target is inside 100 yards then yes an AK will be fairly effective. Out past 200 yards AKs are hit or miss.

IMO 7.62x39mm lacks the energy to be taking 200 yard shots on deer, even if you are shooting a half-MOA bolt action. Beyond 100-125 yards, 7.62x39mm may lack the oomph to humanely kill a deer even if the shot placement is good.

 

[nathan]

If its brush country, it be perfect deer gun.

 

[countertop]

Beyond 100-125 yards, 7.62x39mm may lack the oomph to humanely kill a deer even if the shot placement is good.

Well - you did say you weren't a hunter so . . . . .

There are plenty of dead deer - and dare I say dead humans - who were died after being shot beyond 125 yards with a 7.62x39mm round. Bubbas everwhere use it in their SKS for hunting with great effect. The problem, as others have pointed out, is that an AK lacks the inherent consistent accuracy out beyond a certain distance. But the round itself is fine.

Do your self (and the deer) a favor. Go get a paper plate and hang it out at 100 yard. If you can hit it 10 times out of 10 times, you will have no problem taking down a deer.

If you want to shoot further than that - put the plate out at 150 or 200 yards and do the same thing.

I'm comfortable with my scoped Marlin 336 shooting .30-30 out to about 200 yards - but at that distance it requires significant adjustment - an adjustment that you will only get with practice. I wouldn't trust my AK that far - but that's cause I just don't shoot it enough.

 

[MCgunner]

With a good load to 200 yards, not a problem for power. But, the AKs I've fired ranged from bad to atrocious concerning accuracy. I can think of about any other platform I'd rather use for hunting. I mean, the ergos on an AK are atrocious to the max, too. I don't see anything I like about those things, frankly, not for hunting. But, if it's all ya got and you can put 5 rounds into the center of a paper plate at 100 yards, just limit yardage to match accuracy and go hunting.

 

[goste]

I own one of the Norinco NMH-91's (I think that's what it is), and I used it to Harvest 2 CenTex Whitetails about 8 years ago. Both my shots were at about 125yds. I had one of the crappy reciever cover scope mounts, with a 3x9 Nikon.

Winchester makes a 123gr. softpoint for this cal. and I was impressed by the results.