Which Saiga for Deer Hunting

[vsixpack 0]

I need help choosing between the Saiga in .308 and 7.62.

 

I wanted to be able to take the Rifle deer hunting and accurately shoot further than 100 yards. Does anyone know the different in accuracy between the two rifles?

 

Should I be looking at a different rifle other than a saiga to shoot 200-300 yards?

 

Also I would like the ability to legally use a high capacity magazine in my saiga. I live in NY so that would limit me to magazines that are manufactured before the AWB of 1994 went into effect.

I will not be taking the high-cap mag into the woods hunting as it is not legal.

 

Also I'm not sure of the legality of modifying the 7.62 saiga to take AK magazines. I read some of the posts on this site and it seems like this is not legal due to too many foreign parts in the rifle.

 

Any info will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Motopilot1 37]

get the 308 its a better round for what you want to do with it. i dont think you should have any problems at 200-300 taking a deer.

[aka108 0]

X2

[csspecs 1,987]

I would pick .308 unless you have used something like a .30-30 for hunting in the past. The .308 has an eight round magazine that you may need to bring down to five (I could be wrong).

[ravenwolf 0]

www.saigastock.com also has 3rd & 5rd mags for the .308

[vsixpack 0]

Ok, so with $$ being a factor would the 7.62 x 39 humanely kill a deer at 200-300 yards? A box of 500 rounds of .308 currently costs more than the rifle at $500.

 

I was thinking if 7.62 works I would be able to practice more.

I have very little experience shooting centerfire rifles. I've shot around 30 rounds or 30-06 out of a garand and thats about it.

[jrance@iacwds.com 716]

The energy remaining at 200 yards of a 7.62x39 is considerably less than 1/2 of a .308 and at three hundred yards it gets worse. You don't need "a box of 500" to become familiar, sight in and prepare for a deer hunt. 20 rounds should be more than adequate to sight your scope in even if you are unfamiliar with it. You are going on a deer hunt not to war. At least that is how I understood your question, "I wanted to be able to take the Rifle deer hunting and accurately shoot further than 100 yards.". If you want something really accurate get Tikka T-3 WarriorJudge is offering for sale http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?showtopic=24530

1911

[vsixpack 0]

That you for the reply.

I currently have a shotgun with a rifled barrel. According to Hornady the sabots I bought can reach out to 150 yards. (I haven't tested it yet)

https://www.hornady.com/shop/?ps_session=ab...4e3d35d6bc0ec9e

 

I was looking to get a saiga that can reach out further than this.

 

 

The energy remaining at 200 yards of a 7.62x39 is considerably less than 1/2 of a .308 and at three hundred yards it gets worse. You don't need "a box of 500" to become familiar, sight in and prepare for a deer hunt. 20 rounds should be more than adequate to sight your scope in even if you are unfamiliar with it. You are going on a deer hunt not to war. At least that is how I understood your question, "I wanted to be able to take the Rifle deer hunting and accurately shoot further than 100 yards.". If you want something really accurate get Tikka T-3 WarriorJudge is offering for sale http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?showtopic=24530

1911

[SaigaNoobie 66]

As an owner of both the x39 and the .308.... the 7.62x39 is more FUN to shoot a lot of rounds from. And regardless of what anyone says, a 7.62x39 has as much ENERGY at 500yrds as a .45ACP does at it's MUZZLE.

 

Federal JHP 230gr 45 ACP ME = 369 ft/lbs

 

Federal SP 123gr 7.62x39 500yrd Energy = 370 ft/lbs

 

Now, if you think a 45 ACP at point blank range can kill a Deer, then an x39 at 500yrds will transfer the same energy.

 

THAT BEING SAID! The x39 at 600yrds is a 16" grouping gun off the bench. Don't try to shoot a deer at 500yrds with the x39, but it will do just fine on DEER at 200-300. Energy being 868-646 lbs at those distances respectively.

 

Now the .308 will give you 1050 ft/lbs at 500yrds with Federal Nosler Partition 150gr SP. Which will definitely penetrate to the vitals if you put it on course.

 

PERSONALLY, I'm using my S12 and .308 to hunt deer with this fall. Can the x39 do it? Yes, but i'd get the 20" barrel for the added energy.

 

Also take into consideration that something like 90% of all game taken in America is within 30yrds. (at least it's something like that)

[Zoub 0]

That you for the reply.

I currently have a shotgun with a rifled barrel. According to Hornady the sabots I bought can reach out to 150 yards. (I haven't tested it yet)

https://www.hornady.com/shop/?ps_session=ab...4e3d35d6bc0ec9e

 

I was looking to get a saiga that can reach out further than this.

Then get a .308.

 

I had the same decision to make and I went with a 16" .308. I use an AR and a shotgun with rifled barrel. On the AR I use a zero power redot and the farthest kills I have made are right at +/- 125 yards. Obviously my eyes are most comfortable with that as my max distance when using a 3moa dot. I know I can go 150 if I want to. My slug gun has a 2x scope. I stay under 125 yards with it.

 

You can not hit what you can not see. So to go beyond 150 yards and make one shot kills you really need a scope. If you scope a rifle you might as well be able to go 300 yards. So why scope a standard AK? In my mind it is a 200 yard deer gun. Why go that route just to get another 50yards? Either be patient and wait or go .308. (that rhymes)

 

I will also note I use hadloads for deer in my AR, none of this FMJ or mil spec bullshit. .308 gives you a lot of great hunting rounds to choose from off the shelf.

Edited March 28, 2008 by Zoub

[jamesavery22 54]

I'm no hunter so just out of curiosity what rounds are you guys recommending for deer hunting in .308 or x39? For x39 I'm guessing Lapua JSP?

[cellsworth 21]

I have wrestled with the same question myself. I too have both a .308 Saiga and a 7.62X39 Saiga. In my opinion, Zoub's comments are right on target. The .308 is definitely the more versatile and effective of the two when it comes to hunting medium game. Just because it is possible to kill a deer with a 7.62X39 at 300 yards doesn't mean that it is a good choice (if you have a choice). Even with the .308 I would try to keep the shots down to around 200 yards. My .308 shoots 2MOA, so at 300 yards that yields about 6" groups. That doesn't allow much margin for error when hunting an animal that you would like to kill as cleanly as you can under field (not benchrest) conditions. If you get a Saiga .308, though, PLEASE do the conversion. The factory trigger on the 7.62X39 is, IMHO, a tolerable trigger with a 2-stage feel. The factory .308 trigger, however, is quite bad. Converting a .308 is easy.

 

As Zoub noted, there are many excellent factory .308 hunting loads. I hunt feral hogs more than deer, so I use Federal Premium ammo. loaded with the Barnes TSX bullet. The terminal performance is excellent. It is quite expensive, but I don't shoot that many rounds. For deer hunting, something like a Remington Express PSP load would be fine.

 

If you choose the 7.62X39, your hunting load options are more restricted. Several companies (e.g., Remington) make adequate SP rounds. CORBON makes a couple of reputedly excellent hunting loads; including the new DPX round that uses Barnes TSX bullets.

 

If you really want to use hi-cap mags., and you are restricted to pre-ban hi-caps only, then you are better off getting a 7.62X39 for fun shooting, and something else for hunting (unless shots will be within about 150 yards). For example, I have an NEF Survivor single shot .308, with a Choate varmint stock set, that was quite inexpensive and easily shoots 1.25 MOA with average factory ammo.

 

These are just my opinions based on my research and experience.