Sks deer hunt ammo ?

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james rogers

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What commercial ammo do you guys think is best to take whitetail deer using an SKS?

I will be hunting in an area where most shots will be 50 to 75 yards, but up to 135 yards is a possibility. I am not sure if the SKS is good for clean kills at that distance or not with an average shot placement.

I know there may be some differing opinions on this subject. That is one thing I really like about THR.

I will not be reloading, but if you have a load you believe is the real deal, it would still be interesting to hear about it.

I just got the SKS last month and shot it for the 1st time last weekend. I figure I will have to take a deer with it.
 
Sorry no help but I'd like to hear the answer as well, SKS is a fairly close approximation to a 30-30 (and is my bad weather deer gun)

HB
 
The 7.62x39 is a near twin to the 30-30 ballistically so it is quite capable of taking deer at the same ranges as the 30-30. If you limit yourself to 150 yds or less, you should be fine using a soft point bullet of course. Try a couple different brands and go with the best grouping one. They do make a heavier soft point, 154gr. in some, that might be good too. Practice and be confident. Added this link to Midway's list of 7.62x39 ammo.

http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/Bro...3&categoryId=7534&categoryString=653***690***

NCsmitty
 
i have also have good results on drives with my sks and winchester soft points. wally world usually carries them by the box o' 20.
 
I have taken many deer with the Federal sp seems to work great for my SKS. One was a 200+ lb buck about 100 yds dropped in his tracks. Just try different ammo and get the best groups and stick with it.
 
"...SKS is a fairly close approximation to a 30-30..." It's not. Typical 7.62 x 39 SP ammo uses a 125 grain bullet. A typical .30-30 uses a 170 grain bullet.
The closest comparison is Remington 'Managed Recoil' ammo using like bullet weights. The 7.62 actually has a slight advantage in energy and trajectory out to 200 yards, but 125 grain bullets are not a standard .30-30 load. Finding 'Managed Recoil' ammo would likeky be an issue too.
 
"...SKS is a fairly close approximation to a 30-30..." It's not. Typical 7.62 x 39 SP ammo uses a 125 grain bullet. A typical .30-30 uses a 170 grain bullet.
The closest comparison is Remington 'Managed Recoil' ammo using like bullet weights. The 7.62 actually has a slight advantage in energy and trajectory out to 200 yards, but 125 grain bullets are not a standard .30-30 load. Finding 'Managed Recoil' ammo would likeky be an issue too.
Click to expand...

O yes it is. I know you 30-30 guy's like to believe that your cartridge is closer to 300 weatherby than it is to 7.62x39mm but the fact of the matter is there's no other 30 cal cartridge that is so closely matched to 30-30 ballistically save maybe 30rem which is simply 30-30 rimless

For what you say to be even remotly true you must ignore the 150grn 30-30 load that 95% of shooters opt for and equally ignore the 154grn WOLF load that has 95% of the velocity the 150grn 30-30 has. You must also omit that ALL published ballistics are for those magical and mythical 24" 30-30's, If you are shootin a 20" carbine like 99.98% of shooters you subtract 150fps right off the top of ANY published velocity given for 30-30

I like both cartridges equally well and own many oddball firearms in both chambering, but let's be real here. The difference ballistically betwixt these two rounds is even less then the minuscule difference 308 has from 30-06, yet 06 guy's don't nearly get their panties in as big a bunch as 30-30ophiles do at the comparison
 
Wow this thread woke up a little, I saw some ballisics on some norma ammo in a 2003 Shooters Bible 150 gr and 180 gr. The 150 at 2953 fps and 2905 ftlb muzzle and 2622ftlb and 2291fps at 100 yards. The 180 2575 fps and 2651 ftlb and at 100 with 2360fps and 2226ftlb. It shows + 2.4 at 100 for a 200 center on the 180. Can this be for real? Anyone ever used any of this ammo? Sounds too good to be true.
 
Wow this thread woke up a little, I saw some ballisics on some norma ammo in a 2003 Shooters Bible 150 gr and 180 gr. The 150 at 2953 fps and 2905 ftlb muzzle and 2622ftlb and 2291fps at 100 yards. The 180 2575 fps and 2651 ftlb and at 100 with 2360fps and 2226ftlb. It shows + 2.4 at 100 for a 200 center on the 180. Can this be for real? Anyone ever used any of this ammo? Sounds too good to be true.
Click to expand...


I think you're confusing 7.62X39 with 7.62X54R
 
I have taken deer with an AK-47 variant rifle(SLR-95) as well as a SKS. I used Wolf HP in all my kills and it worked just fine with me. Shot placement is the key and I didn't shoot over 150 yards. I tried SP rounds but found that the tip would get deformed in the loading process from the mag in the SLR-95 and that has to throw off accuracy. I wouldn't hesitate to take a shot at a deer with an SKS or AK. The HP doesn't blow up the deer if you were wondering. Good luck.

The rifle I use now is Ruger M77 with Mannlicher in .308. It is my all time favorite rifle and I have tried quite a few. Light weight, accurate and quick to the shoulder.
 
Well it is listed as I posted under 7.62x39, but I'll bet you are right. Someone screwed up.
 
If possible limit shots to less than 100 yds and that 7.62 x 39 will take game well.
 
my cousin is using the factory winchester hp and remington umc, no complaints so far.
 
In the late 90s I killed 8-10 deer with the SKS and the hollow point 123 grain Wolf ammo. Never had to shoot a deer twice. Tried the Winchester stuff and it was very inaccurate.
 
I've heard of people filing the end of ball ammo to expose the lead core.

I don't know how it would work, but it would be better than FMJ, I would think.

If you don't have much extra cash, and do have some ball ammo, it's worth a try (if it's a legal thing to do as I don't want to mislead you into doing something that may be illegal).:uhoh:
 
I've heard of people filing the end of ball ammo to expose the lead core.
Click to expand...
Do Not do that.

First, it won't work worth a darn for a hunting bullet anyway!

Second, it is very dangerous!

A FMJ bullet, by necessity, has an open jacket base and a closed nose.

Soft point & HP bullets have a closed base and open nose.

If you file off the closed tip of a FMJ, then you have a copper tube filled with lead, open at both ends.

When you fire it, there is a possibility the lead core will squirt out of the open tube, leaving the hollow jacket stuck in the barrel.

The next shot will lead to:
An Unfortunate Series of Events!

.
 
Thank you rcmodel for pointing that out! Now that you mention it, I remember reading about that somewhere but forgot it, as I had heard of the filing later on. I think someone was mentioning in a post I read that they were doing that in Vietnam.:confused::uhoh:

Anyway, it makes sense that the bullet jacket could get stuck without the shooter being aware that it happened.:eek:

The next shot would most likely blow the bolt out :eek:and/or rupture the barrel :eek:and/or chamber!:eek:
 
Military ammunition may be totally jacketed, so the lead isn't going to squirt out. However, the chances of evenly opening the tip is slim, and accuracy will suffer.
 
I've got a few boxes of that Wolf HP ammo laying around, I'll try it this year, to see if it works. (I'd imagine the difference at 70 yards is mostly academic.)

It runs about $5.50 a box here, at big box places, occasionally down to $4.95.

Meanwhile, the Core-Lokt is at least a buck a round.
 
Military ammunition may be totally jacketed, so the lead isn't going to squirt out.
Click to expand...
NO, it isn't.

By the very nature of the way bullets are made, one end or the other of the jacket has to be open for the lead core to be inserted prior to swaging the bullet into shape.

Some FMJ military bullets may have a copper disk covering the base of the lead core, but it is still not attached to the jacket.

So it is still "open" at the base of the jacket.

The only totally enclosed bullet jacket is made by electro-plating copper onto the core.
But military bullets, so far, are never made that way.
 
I can vouche for what rcmodel is saying as I'm loading some 55g FMJ bullets and there is visible lead in the bottom of the copper jacket opening (if you want to call it an opening).
 
I have a few round s of these Norc SP. I would like to test these someday.



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