7.62x39 as a deer round?

[R.W.Dale]

Yes, krochus, a 7.62x39 handload will run a 170 gr. the same speed as a 30-30...few times...then you will have destroyed the rifle (and possibly yourself)while trying to prove a point.

Oh please! 2000 fps with a 170grn bullets isn't going to overstress even the rattiest SKS anytime soon. The 7.62x39 has a somewhat low but throughly modern pressure rating, the 30-30 on the other hand has slightly more case capacity carries a pressure rating more befit of cartridges used when Victoria was queen of England. The performance envelopes for these two rounds pretty much overlaps everywhere.

So tell us what a 170 grain 30-30 bullet at 2000 FPS will kill that a 154grn x39 projectile moving 150 fps faster won't we're only talking 16grs diffrence here, hardly an earth shattering amount.

. a Sierra 140 gr. GameKing w/ a muzzle velocity of 2940 fps. The bullet struck the boar in point of the shoulder as he quartered right and towards me. When I gutted the hog, I found the bullet under the skin behind the left shoulder. If a hog that size (150 +/- dressed) wrecked a quality hunting bullet such as the one pictured, can you imagine what it would do to the run-of-the-mill 123 gr. SP?

The x39 bullet would probably have penetrated fully due to it's not being overstressed by the inordinately high impact velocity of the kill you cite

your impact velocities would have been around 2840 fps with a 140g cup and core bullet. I'm amazed it penetrated at all and didn't blow up like a varmint bullet. You should write Sierra a letter praising their product. Next time try to match bullet construction to the impact speed you're using them at.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

Oh please! 2000 fps with a 170grn bullets isn't going to overstress even the rattiest SKS anytime soon.

Also, don't forget the gas system on the Yugo can be turned off, almost totally negating any concerns about excessive wear. Of course, then you'd have to cycle the bolt manually.

With Techsights, my Yugo is most accurate than any lever action I have experience with, which admittedly isn't much.

 

[JShirley]

2000 fps with a 170grn bullets isn't going to overstress even the rattiest SKS anytime soon.

I personally think the x39mm is a fine short to medium (150 meter) range deer round, but I don't want to shoot 170/2000 fps through an SKS!

35W, I also don't want to shoot a 140 grain .30-30 flying close to 3000 fps, either, unless it's out of a bolt-action or strong single shot.

If you look at krochus' original statement, it's true. The x39mm has primarily suffered from being loaded with cheap bullets and downloaded for surplus guns of unknown strength. Why don't you let it go, and move on.

John

 

[King Bear]

Also, don't forget the gas system on the Yugo can be turned off, almost totally negating any concerns about excessive wear. Of course, then you'd have to cycle the bolt manually.

Not to mention you'll get at least a small increase in velocity.

So you end up with a straight pull bolt action that's no slower to hand cycle than a levergun, with a cartridge that can perform the same duties. Don't see a problem..

Of course some want to focus only on the heavy end of the bullet spectrum, and in that, the .30-30 looks better, at least a short way from the muzzle.
Either way, I doubt the target can tell the difference.

 

[GunTech]

Comparisons of 7.62x39 vs 30-30 are only valid up to a point. If you compare 150gn bullets in both, but are restricted to a flat nose in the 30-30, the 30-30 starts with more energy, but the better BC of the 7.62x39 spitzer makes the difference past 100 yards. If you compare the same bullet in both cartridges, the 30-30 comes out on top.

 

[240SX]

I haven't had my Mini-30 (KMINI-30-P) for long, but I'm mine shoots just fine and I can't wait to deer hunt with it. I've used my Mini-14 for deer hunting, and have dropped more than I can count. As many people have already mentioned 7.26X39 will do just about what a 30-30 would do, however is 30-30 is a better round, right on gun tech. You've got to think that 7.26X39 is the same ammo the Kalashnikov AK - 47 shoots too and that is a semi-automatic, but may have (more than likely) was once a full-automatic rifle.

BTW: I've got Leopolds on both of my Rugers listed above, my patters at the range are nice and tight. Only a slight drop at 100 for the 7.26X39 and the .233 pretty right on.

 

[rbernie]

If you compare the same bullet in both cartridges, the 30-30 comes out on top.

I dunno; my 174gr RN 7.62x39 load chugs out of a 16" AR15 barrel at 1950fps on a 50F fall day, same as a 170gr FN from my 16" Marlin 336. The 174gr 7.62x39 load feeds from my MGW 10rd AR15 mags like a champ, and the bullet is stoutly built (being designed for use in 303R and 7.7 Japanese). It plows thru just about ANYTHING.

I love my 30-30 rifles, and 30-30 is second only the 223 as my most commonly-used practice round. I probably handloaded and shot close to a thousand rounds of 30-30 over the last two years alone. But if there is a measurable difference in field performance between the 7.62x39 and the 30-30 inside of 200 yards, I ain't seen it.

from the picture, it appears your hog was killed in the Post Oak Savannah region of Texas (near where I live). Maybe your hog really did weigh 500 lbs....scales do not lie. But I am friends with a number of ranchers and hunters who trap hogs daily and sell them by the pound to wholesalers. According to them a 300 lb. hog is huge, and from what I've seen in my 30+ years of living and hunting in Texas, I'd agree with them.

The hog was shot on a 2000 acre ranch north-northwest of Bridgeport. And yes, a five hundred pound hog is bloody big - especially at contact distance.

 

[GunTech]

rbernie, my comments was only in terms of calculated kinetic energy. I doubt anyone in the field could tell the difference. You have to have huge disparities in energy before there a noticeable performance difference on game. The difference between 30-30 and 7.62x39 is like the difference between 243 and 6mm Remington. In the field indistinguishable.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

shot placement is king, penetration is queen.

 

[dogngun]

This is pretty funny: there has been a lot of criticism of the 7.62X39 because it is "similar to the old .30-30."
That is not a bad thing if you think about it. A lot of deer got put in the freezer by the "old .30-30" over the last hundred and some years, and it is still around and still going strong. I'd use an SKS, if I could in my state, but I am not legally allowed to hunt with an autoloader in PA.

Use the JSP, not the hollow point, IMO.

Good luck.

mark

 

[gtmerkley]

7.62x39 has the same power as 30/30 ak47's are better then mini-30 so why buy one

 

[ds92]

In my opinion, you'd be better off with a 7.62x51 (.308) for long range but for up to 200 yards i think the 7.62x39 should suffice for light-skinned game.

 

[chris in va]

If I ever go hunting, my CZ carbine will be my primary choice. Had it all set up and sighted in last year but nobody took a 'newbie' out, so maybe this season.

 

[MCgunner]

I used to handload my Norinco SKS for deer, managed to take one at 80 yards with it. I've not used it much preferring a real hunting rifle (Remington) in .308, but hey, it works. I have converted the gun to night hunting hogs and have some Wolf 154 soft point for it. Yet to take anything with that load, yet to be proven, but I have confidence in it at night hunting ranges. It's accurate enough and powerful enough for the job. No, it's not quite a .30-30, but it ain't far behind and I don't think I could find a .30-30 for 75 bucks that is near as reliable. LOL

 

[nathan]

The ammo is as good as the .30 30.

 

[JohnMc]

If one goes by the "800 ft/lbs is humane" rule, according to data from the Winchester and Federal websites, both rounds, in soft points, are good out to ~200 yards, at least with what a non-reloader like me can get at WallyWorld or the local shop.
Looks to me like a toss up.

Hopefully, this looks right, but here's the data:
Winchester 30-30 150 gr. Super-X® Power-Point
Winchester 7.62x39 123 gr. Super-X® Soft Point
Federal 30-30 170 gr Win. Soft Point RN
Federal 7.62x39mm Soviet Soft Point 123 gr
Energy in foot-pounds

**** **30-30/Win* *7.62x39
*Yards* Win* Fed* Win* Fed
Muzzle 1902 1827 1527 1508
* *100 1357 1354 1129 1153
* *200**945**990**818**868
* *300**651**719**586**646
* *400**462**535**425**482
* *500**357**424**327* 370

 

[TheGrimReaper]

YES!!! The 7.62x39 is an excellent all around cartridge....it can take most game in N. America. Shoot it with confidence.