7.62x39 for Hunting????

[jcmacconnell 25]

Hey guys. I have been considering using my SGL 21 for hunting. I would primarily like to hunt deer and pig with it. I currently have a weaver 2.5-7 Variable power scope which I'm getting about 1-1.5 MOA with. So accuracy is not an issue. How big of game can you go with this round also??

 

Thanks

 

Jason

[imarangemaster 315]

The 7.62x39 is a tad better than a 30-30 because of bullet design. Very effective on deer to 200 yards with soft point ammo. More deer has been killed with 30-30 (been around since 1895) than any other single round. With the 154 grain Wolf ammo, it would be good for hogs to about 100 yards. Last year, Petersen's "Complete Book of the AK" had an article by Fortier about how devastatingly effective 125 grain Barnaul soft point ammo is. Russian Hollow point does not expand reliably as SP does.

 

Remington and Winchester make soft point hunting loads also, but they are expensive. The nice think about Barnaul SP is that it is cheap enough and accurate enough to practice and hunt with. I got 2 MOA from a Saiga with iron sights using Barnaul.

[J.C. 3]

The Winchester 123 gr Super-X SP expands really well and is more effective than any of the Russian or surplus cartridges. It does cost more but so does all good hunting ammunition.

[TARE 47]

As post #2 states the round is very similar to the 30-30 round so treat it as such, you'll find much more info on what game can be taken with 30-30. I wouldn't expect to drop a moose or grizzly with one round, but I'm positive it's been done.

[Salmonking 149]

Hey guys. I have been considering using my SGL 21 for hunting. I would primarily like to hunt deer and pig with it. I currently have a weaver 2.5-7 Variable power scope which I'm getting about 1-1.5 MOA with. So accuracy is not an issue. How big of game can you go with this round also??

 

Thanks

 

Jason

 

It's good for mid-sized game; boar/deer. Use soft-point and be aware of mag size restrictions if your state has any. My perfered is silver bear sp. BTW, what ammo are you using to get 1.5-1.0 MOA?

[jcmacconnell 25]

Federal Powershok out of my SGL 21 with a 2.5-7 power scope and a bench

[Rhodes1968 1,638]

Deer, boar, etc all can be taken with a good hunting round to be humane, father Remington and mother Winchester do the job as they always have. If you must know the most popular round to take game worldwide remains the 22 as odd as that may seem but true, face it getting shot with anything is not a key to long life.

Edited October 18, 2010 by Rhodes1968

[t3mac21 1]

I just bought some Remington rifle express pointed soft point for hunting. I think it's 125 grain. Should be fine at limited range (sub 200 yards)

 

 

 

And no, in this application .30-30 is better than 7.62x39. It might lose a little bit of range to the x39 but it makes up for it in power and bullet selection. Besides, they're both realistically short-mid range rounds so the added range of the x39 isn't much of a benefit.

[imarangemaster 315]

I just bought some Remington rifle express pointed soft point for hunting. I think it's 125 grain. Should be fine at limited range (sub 200 yards)

 

 

 

And no, in this application .30-30 is better than 7.62x39. It might lose a little bit of range to the x39 but it makes up for it in power and bullet selection. Besides, they're both realistically short-mid range rounds so the added range of the x39 isn't much of a benefit.

 

 

Out to 225 yards or so, the AK is flatter shooting. After that it drops like a 30-30!

[t3mac21 1]

I just bought some Remington rifle express pointed soft point for hunting. I think it's 125 grain. Should be fine at limited range (sub 200 yards)

 

 

 

And no, in this application .30-30 is better than 7.62x39. It might lose a little bit of range to the x39 but it makes up for it in power and bullet selection. Besides, they're both realistically short-mid range rounds so the added range of the x39 isn't much of a benefit.

 

 

Out to 225 yards or so, the AK is flatter shooting. After that it drops like a 30-30!

 

 

Sure, but trajectory isn't the only variable in the equation.

[EJ45 38]

Most of the farmers around here kill the hell out of hogs with an SKS .... and that's likely with the cheapest ammo they can buy. I have no doubts a quality bullet would do great at moderate distances on deer and hogs.

[superA 289]

You can kill a deer or a hog a long ways out there with 7.62x39 if you can put the bullet in the

right spot. It will kill very well further out than I could shoot accurately.

[Wvan1 0]

Federal Powershok out of my SGL 21 with a 2.5-7 power scope and a bench

 

Interesting. I'd been told it's all the cheap imported ammo that gives the AK a bad reputation for accuracy and I guess that's true. I also think it's that most people don't bother to figure out how to scope their 7.62x39 Saigas/SGLs.

 

The bullet will always have the rainbow trajectory, but a fellow could overcome that with skill.

 

 

Most of the farmers around here kill the hell out of hogs with an SKS .... and that's likely with the cheapest ammo they can buy. I have no doubts a quality bullet would do great at moderate distances on deer and hogs.

 

How far is moderate? A 300 yard hog-destroying coyote-blasting AK would be the cat's pajamas. I bet the hard limiting factor will be the range at which the bullets just don't have the velocity to expand.

[EJ45 38]

Im no ballistics expert ...... personally I wouldn't feel comfortable much past 200 yards for shooting a hog with this caliber ... they can take a lot of lead if you don't knock them down right away. Coyotes are pretty thin skinned and IF a person did lots of practice at longer ranges and had total confidence as to where the point of impact was ..... then that would be up to them IMO.

[scoutjoe 276]

With practice you could do it out to 200 yds with no problem. Just remember to practice with what you're going to use.

[my762buzz 141]

Hey guys. I have been considering using my SGL 21 for hunting. I would primarily like to hunt deer and pig with it. I currently have a weaver 2.5-7 Variable power scope which I'm getting about 1-1.5 MOA with. So accuracy is not an issue. How big of game can you go with this round also??

Thanks

Jason

 

With a 30 caliber bullet, 1800-2000 fps is the critical minimum range for rifle-type impact effects like liquifying flesh around the bullet path imparting other serious tissue shock.

This would limit a 7.62x39 125 grain load to near 100 yards to maintain that minimum velocity. I'm not saying it won't obviously do the deed at much longer distances but lets just say

its best performance is above 1800 fps. I would have no interest in tracking a wounded deer so I want a clean as possible kill. There was this epic thread on another board where a research

scientist shot dozens of deer with varying calibers at different velocities from a fixed distance into their heart and measured how far they would run before dying. The basic pistol load speeds below 1300 fps were fairly lame with deer running off for as much as 20 something seconds, the 1300 to 1600 fps loads really stood out with much faster kills but still as much as 10 seconds, but compared to other rifle velocity times even the 1300-1600 fps were lacking in swift take down. The other thing to consider is what velocity range will the bullet even expand.

 

Refering to minimum impact speed 1800 fps for typical soft points is just enough to cause expansion and this is considering well designed ones like winchester and federal.

At impact speeds of approximately 1800 feet per second, the front half of the bullet just begins to mushroom[

http://www.chuckhawks.com/bullets_beginners.htm

 

 

Federal's power shok soft point would reach the 1800 fps at near 150 yards away with a 16 inch barrel.

 

For comparison, a hornady vmax at 150 yards will expand expand very adequately where typical softpoints are just barely opening up.

 

And oddly, the russian 8m3 hp expands more than a soft point at 150. I think the thread in this forum with the 275 yard deer shot

 

illustrates the need for adequate speed and expansion for a swift kill.

Edited October 20, 2010 by my762buzz

[my762buzz 141]

http://www.theakforum.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=141422

 

Those little red tipped bullets are not lacking in putting deer down fast.

Edited October 21, 2010 by my762buzz

[W6RMC 2]

My son's WASR in that round did a fine job on a coyote at about 150 yards. Using soft point Wolf ammo = DRT

[The Sarge 34]

I have dropped a kabillion hogs from 10 lbs up to 300 lbs from 20 yards out to 200 yards no problem with Yugo Surplus.

 

Dropped a 230lb Axis Deer @ 130-140 yards. He spun, ran about 50 yards and dropped. Through both lungs.

 

Many white tail bucks from 50 yards out to 200 yards.

 

Wolves, Coyotes out the ying yang....One Mountain Lion...all dropped with a Saiga 7.63X39 shooting Yugo surplus.

 

All with a Millet red dot sight....

 

I have many 7.62 Saiga's....all converted....most with a Millet Red Dot....couple with other red dot brands....all shoot reliably accurate and I shoot so much I know where it is going to hit before I tickle the trigger.

 

I have many hunting rifles I take to Montana for our annual family shoot.....but around the ranch here....all Saiga's when I am out on the property....they fall off the Polaris and bounce all over the gravel road, dropped in the Guadalupe River, thrown in the back of the truck and bounce around back there for a few days...you get the picture But these Saiga's come up firing and are accurate/reliable and a excellent defensive/hunting solution.

 

I would think twice about any shot over 250 or so.....the Millet Red Dot is an excellent/low cost red dot and that is not the issue....after 250'ish the 7.62 really drops....at 200 yards (on a 100 yard zero) I raise my POA about 3 inches....300 yards shots I have to raise my Point of Aim about 16"....I have a chronograph and the Yugo 7.62X39 surplus is consistent @ 2400 FPS....so @ 200 yards I am at least sill in the high 1700's FPS...but at 300 yards I suspect I am close to 1300-1400 FPS and the energy transfer is out of my own personal kill parameters....

 

Stick with your Saiga 7.62 and Soft Point ammo 200yards and in for optimum killing power on any 4 legged animal up to 200'ish pounds and your golden man. Know your rifle. Shoot it every chance you get and know it inside and out.

 

You should see what a 7.62 does to a Rattlesnake.