7.62x39 for hunting? Thoughts? Opinions?

[LostinTexas_45]

Hunting with this round is becoming ,ore popular here in the untied states for a number of reasons. But what does everybody think of this caliber for hunting?

 

[ActionBob]

Should be fine at shorter ranges and if used in an accurate gun and with proper hunting bullets.

It's really just a 308 short...

 

[Divernhunter]

More like a lighter weight 30-30. It will work but is not really good for longer ranges just like a 30-30. Now that they make bolt action rifles it will be a bit more accepted with older school hunters.
My 2 Cents

 

[mdwest]

Depends on what you are hunting and where.

For deer and pigs at ranges of 125 yards or less.. I think its pretty ideal..

Low recoil.. ammo is plentiful and inexpensive..

A buddy of mine has one of the Ruger American "Ranch Rifles" in 7.62x39 that he calls his "Tractor Gun". He keeps it in the cab of his tractor when he is out on his farm to use on coyotes, etc.. or to have easy access to during bear and deer season if he sees one out on his property..

 

[flat8]

Nah. Too many other better choices.

 

[Red Leg]

When you can have a .308 in the same size package? Not me.

 

[IvW]

Not a good idea(for Africa anyway). So many better and more appropriate cartridges in 30 caliber available.

With a muzzle velocity of 2,350 fps with a 123-grain bullet it just does not have the sectional density and ballistics to make it a reliable hunting round.

 

[Chago]

I don't understand any benefit other than cheap surplus ammo. Which you could not hunt with anyways. Yes it's a 308 bullet, but half the powder. Other than coyotes I wouldn't use it on anything else. Deer would be fine too at short ranges. But again I don't understand why one just wouldn't shoot a 308 at this point. Only benefit I could see is for a junior or female hunter who are more recoil sensitive.

 

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Bought on of the first civilian AK's back in the late 80's/early 90s when they first came out.....finding ammo was a bear!!! Thought it would be an excellent firearm for hunting deer in close cover (in this case, cattail marsh) where you just got a fleeting glimpse of the game before it disappeared. Long story short......I was less than impressed with the terminal effect of the round on deer sized game ( I was using a 125 grain PMC soft point). A shotgun with slugs/buckshot would probably be just as handy and more lethal. At any rate, that's my experience............won't use one on deer sized game ever again; not so much for the rifle, but the round.........

 

[Lrntolive]

I've actually used hand loaded rounds of 7.62x39mm with Hornady soft points and Winchester brass to hunt whitetails in Virginia. Yes, it will take smaller game without issue IF handloads are used out to around 250 yards. I would not recommend using on anything larger than small whitetails. Larger whitetails, such as those I've hunted in Kansas, I would not shoot more than 150yards.

As others have said, it is a great round for youth as both my sons, 5 and 8, have shot this caliber without issue and will hunt deer with their rifles in the near future. Both are AR platform with hand loads of the 7.62x39 with the new Hornady SST in .311 (7.62mm). Accuracy is sufficient at 100 yards to be 1.25" MOA. Of course, that is with AR's I built with 18" heavy barrels.

 

[Bullthrower338]

I culled deer with an AK once, but this was not a hunt. It worked fine for what I was doing but I wouldn’t choose it as a hunting round. I love shooting them, own quite a few of them, but limit their use to throwing on a quad as a target of opportunity varmint gun. I’ve had a blast shooting jack rabbits in the desert with the 7.62x39 and it doesn’t empty your wallet as quickly as most ammo does. Tractor gun is a good description!lol. I will probably buy one of the rugers or a CZ at some point but it will be a “fun” gun to play with rather than a hunting rifle. Go with a 308 in the same gun for hunting if you really like the rifle itself, much more versatile.
Cheers,
Cody

 

[sierraone]

Get you a .308 bolt gun, then buy you a tractor and let the 7.62x39 be your tractor rifle.
Or if you can only afford one rifle at this point in your young life, sell or swap the 7.62x39, and buy a real hunting rifle.

 

[008]

I have an accurized mini 30 and have shot all sorts of stuff with it. Great short range round for most things in the US.

 

[Waterbuck2008]

A good "fun" round for varmints - I know deer can be and have been taken with it, but the .30-30, .308 and .243 are still significantly better whitetail rounds for short-action applications.

 

[Catahoula]

I've used it on deer at woods ranges with good success. My rifle was an early production mini 30 with a .308 bore. That greatly enhanced bullet selection. I used both Remington and Sierra soft points on midwestern deer and had to take a second shot only once. It was my fault, not the cartridge. Keep ranges sensible and it is perfectly suitable on deer sized game. I wouldn't use it on elk or the larger African antelope. It also wouldn't be my choice for hogs or black bear, but if that is what I had I wouldn't pass up the hunt!

 

[BWH]

Inside 100.... your fine.... maybe even farther. Lots of other good flat fast hunting rounds. However, the old AK sure has killed a lot of humans. It’s gaining popularity again in bolt actions & such. Just not a real long rang performer

 

[ChrisG]

The 7.62x39 was not ever designed to be a hunting round but it does work in the northern woods. I mean... I used an old inland .30 M1 carbine when I was your age to hunt deer. It killed them, but the day I could get a real hunting rifle, I bought a 6.5x55 and fell in love with that round. I know the old Russian round will kill deer, but it isn't optimal and I hunt where there are a LOT of black bears. I have been fortunate to take one every year and I am just as likely to see one in early deer season before the snow sets in. I don't want a marginal round if a 350 pounder comes trundling along the hillside and never presents me with that optimum broadside shot, because I brought a rifle that was "adequate" for deer. I don't know as a 7.62x39 will bust a big bears shoulder and keep going straight after impact. I want my rounds to go through and through like a laser from any reasonable angle, so that I am sure that they make it to the vital organs I was pointing them at (assuming my aim was true). As such, I stick to well established hunting rounds. My current hunting rifle battery after it was culled to bare essentials, consists of a .22 PCP air rifle (indispensable by the way!) .223 bolt gun, a 6.5x55, .375 H&H and a .416 Ruger. Leave the intermediate rifle calibers for varmints and the "tacticool" guys.

 

[fsrmg1]

The only big game I've taken with this calibre is carabou and I was using a Ruger Mini-30 with the Remington factory load. The shots ranged from 25-75 m and absolutel flattened them. One was a big 450 lbs bull. The bullets were found under the skin on the far side beautifully mushroomed. Based on this, I would think it make a good black bear round as well.

 

[ChrisG]

The only big game I've taken with this calibre is carabou and I was using a Ruger Mini-30 with the Remington factory load. The shots ranged from 25-75 m and absolutel flattened them. One was a big 450 lbs bull. The bullets were found under the skin on the far side beautifully mushroomed. Based on this, I would think it make a good black bear round as well.

Caribou are known to be pretty sedate animals that go down pretty easy... I mean, when you look at caliber recommendations for them they start at .243 and I know a few guys who have successfully taken caribou with a .243 (I personally haven't yet, gotta get my elk hunt out of the way first). I think you'll find when you go up into ontario and ask a black bear guide what he prefers his clients to use, most will say .25 caliber or larger with the .30's being recommended if the hunter can shoot them (.308,.30-06, .300 mags...) I am not saying that the 7.62x39 WON'T kill a black bear... but a caribou isn't going to go hole up somewhere if you wound him and then come lashing out at you with teeth and claws when you go in to fish him out... a black bear might do that. That is why I always have carried a gun I know will punch through from virtually any angle to where the vitals are, bones or no. That is why I don't think a 7.62x39 is an optimal bear load. Especially at more than 100 yards. However... I always invite people to prove me wrong and with the excellent bullets available nowadays... I am sure more than a few large bruins have been killed with a single shot from the... how you say... "russian killer of capitalist". (say that last part with a russian accent please)

 

[Ross Reamy]

With the right bullet it's a great round for inside of 150 yards. I've killed literally 100's of pigs while hunting with thermals with a 10.5" SBR upper in the caliber shooting the steel cased Hornady ammo loaded with their SST bullet. I prefer a .308 but the AR10 platform is substantially heavier/bulkier than the AR15, so I went looking for a substitute. In an AR the 7.62x39 has a reputation for feeding problems, but after 1000 rounds I haven't had a single failure to feed with ASC or C Product magazines.

Another great caliber in the AR platform that's becoming popular in the thermal pig killing world is the 6.8 SPC