7.62 39 deer hunting ammo

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.
Staff member
akml2.jpg

Florida requires a 5 shot max magazine capacity on semi auto deer rifles,
these sporter carbines similar to the AK,
(totally dependable easy to clean.)
are light, handy and reasonably accurate carbines
in my opinion these are easy to locate and cheaper than the ruger 44 mag carbines, making them a good option for heavy brush and hog hunting.
and for similar hunts, in thick brush, a better deal.
most deer hit with the ak cartridge act like they were hit with a 30/30, some drop,
most run a short distance, its effective but its sure not a 270 or 25/06.

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Sellier and Bellot offers a 7.62x39 123gr SP with a claimed MV of over 2400fps. This stuff is cheap and normally fairly good quality ammo. They use the correct .311 bullets also.
http://www.sellierbellot.us/index.ph...product?id=204


many guys use that ammo very successfully ,but it shoots a 3"-4" 100 yard group in my rifle, (iron sights, old eyes,and shooting from sitting position)
keep in mind most deer and hogs are shot at well under 70 yards around here.
(50 yards might be closer to average.)

most imported or mil-clone style rifles in this caliber, AK and SKS rifles have a .311 bore diam.

If you are building or buying a 7.62 x 39 and are arguing with yourself over bore diameter, consider that most .308-caliber spitzer bullets are not designed to provide their best terminal performance at 7.62 x 39 mm impact velocities
most will result in horrible accuracy .
If your going to hand load don,t bother trying .308 bullets,
unless your barrel is a far less common .308 diameter.

And, even though there’s not a wide selection of .310 and .311 bullets,
those available are just the right weight and length for the 7.62x39 and do provide good terminal performance.

http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=7.62 x 39&Weight=All&type=Rifle&Source=
I recently had a friend accompany me to the range to sight in his SKS carbine,
once we got too the range his carbine produced consistently poor accuracy,
it took awhile but we eventually found and isolated the,
the primary reasons his ammo produced 12" -15" 100 yard groups.
sort version, the carbine he owns has a .311 bore diam.
and he had use a rather slow burn h4831 powder and .308 diameter, 130 grain bullets.
he had purchased in 500 count zip loc bags at a local gun show ,
(manufacurer un-known) cheaply to use in his SKS reloads
those two factors combined just don,t work well in his SKS

https://www.speer-ammo.com/products/bullets/rifle-bullets/hot-cor-rifle-bullet/2217
these speer 150 grain .311 diam worked far better.
over 25 grains of accurate 2015 powder
https://www.starlinebrass.com/brass-cases/762x39mm-Russian/
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2018/1/9/handloading-the-762x39-mm-m43/

http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manuals/Reloading/Caliber Specific Load Data/Complete Reloading Manual for the 7.62x39.pdf

http://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/reloading-the-7-62x39/250274


this, 150 grain speer bullet linked below, is the only bullet I've found that produces target grade accuracy in my rifles in 7.62-39mm.
its .311, .308 bullets are about as accurate in my rifle as throwing rocks,
if your blind-folded while dead drunk on roller skates
imr 3031 and imr 4064 work well
but most load data is a bit hot, so work up carefully,
2" 100 yard groups are easily achieved, one inch 100 yard groups are rare but do happen.
https://www.speer-ammo.com/bullets/rifle-bullets/hot-cor-rifle-bullets/311/311-150-sptz-bullet
performance of the 7.62 39 AK type rifles is certainly lethal on deer and hogs ,
and I think the rifle pictured above is a better option than the common 30/30 lever actions,
but these are rifles that are best at under 150 yards max.
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here are plenty of powders that are suitable. They are all found at the fast end of the list of rifle powder burning rates. When using the maximum loads of the slower powders, I had to revert to an old trick to be able to get all the powder in the case. If you use a long drop tube on your powder funnel and pour the powder in very slowly, you can fit more powder in the case. It just packs in better when it drops farther into the case. Actually, there's nothing wrong with using a long drop tube all the time. As with chicken soup, "it can't hoit."
The 7.62x39 does present one unique problem for the reloader. Some guns, especially those of foreign manufacture, have .311-groove-diameter barrels, and some are .308. I don't think it's a good idea at all to use .311 bullets in a .308 barrel, although you can find some sources that say it is OK. The larger-diameter bullets will cause pressures to go up, and accuracy is sure to suffer. It is best to measure (or have measured) your barrel and use the proper-size bullets. Lee's dies come standard with neck-sizing pins for both sizes in the set.

https://www.starlinebrass.com/brass-cases/762x39mm-Russian/

7.62x39 LOAD DATA Bullet Bullet Weight (gr.) Powder .... Primer ........... Case Starting Load (grs.) Maximum Load (grs.) Max. Muzzle Velocity (fps)
Hornady FMJ 90 ............................. Alliant 2400 Federal 210..... Winchester 18.0 ............ 21.01 ...................2,850
Hornady FMJ 90 ............................. Vihta Vuori N110 Winchester LR .IMI .............19.0 ....... 22.0 ..................... 2,880
Hornady FMJ 90 ................................Hodgdon H110 CCI 200 ..............Winchester 19.0 .............22.5 .................... 2,860
Hornady RN 110 ............................ Accurate 1680 Federal 210 .......IMI .............23.0 ..............28.0 ................... 2,770
Hornady RN 110 ........................... Norma N 200 Winchester LR ........Winchester 22.0 ..............26.5 ................... 2,550
Sierra Spitzer Pro-Hunter 125 ...................Accurate 201 5BR CCI 200 ........IMI .............24.0 ............ 27.0 ..........................2,250
Sierra Spitzer Pro-Hunter 125............... Vihta Vuori N120 Federal 210 .... Winchester 21.0......... 25.0 ..................... 2,450
Sierra Spitzer Pro-Hunter 125 ................ RS X-Terminator Winchester LR IMI .............25.0 ..............30.0 ...................2,350
Nosler Ballistic Tip 125 ..................... Alliant R1-7 CCI 200 .............Winchester 22.0 .............26.0 .................... 2,425
Nosler Ballistic Tip 125..................... IMR 4227 Federal 210 .............IMI ..............19.0 ....... 22.5 .................... 2,375
Barnes Triple Shock 130 ..................... Hodgdon H4198 Winchester LR Winchester 22.0 ..............25.5 ................... 2,450
Barnes Triple Shock 130 ..........................Norma N-201 CCI-200 .............IMI ..............24.0 ........ 28.0 ..........................2,275
Speer HP 130 .......................................RS TAC ........Federal 210 .......Winchester 26.0 ..............30.0 .................... 2,350
Speer HP 130 .................................. Winchester 296 Winchester LR .... IMI .............14.0 ..............18.0 ................... 2,200
thats not an issue in the areas I hunt deer and hogs as shots over 70 yards are very rare.
one reason I tend to use the 44 mag in revolvers and marlin carbines
,
both using a 310 grain hard cast bullet ,
that seems to hit harder and penetrate deeper than the AK ammo carbines

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...and-or-ak47-advice-7-62-x-39.5897/#post-73279


Three thoughts here, simply based on 5 decades of hunting experience
(1) with proper shot placement and a knowledge of deer anatomy, either the 62-70 grain 223 or the 123-150 grain 7.62 38 will kill any deer in this country at typical 150 yard and under ranges.
(2) yes there are some other excellent cartridges designed for deer hunting like the 257 roberts,270 win and you could select hundreds of other options,
its not the cartridge case stamped designation, or within reasonable limits the bullet used, its the skill and persistence, of the hunter using it thats the most important factor.
(3) use of good optics , correctly mounted,and lots of practice , with whatever you choose to hunt with will greatly improve your odds of success.
thousands of deer have been killed with archery equipment and even a 22lr rim-fire,
its not the rifle its the guy and the skill and his proficiency using it that matters.

my brother-in-law has used a marlin 357 lever action carbine usually loaded with 158 grain ammo,
for 5 decades, hes always been successful, he simply waits until a reasonable opportunity, in a good hunting area presents itself.
persistence and knowledge of the game hunted and his skill are the keys to consistent , perpetual, and on-going success.
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