7.62x39 for bear

[hoytcanon]

There are probably more 200 pound black bears killed by hunters, than there are 500 pound bears, so my association of the challenges related to, and the cartridges that are suitable for, problem bears weighing half a ton, might be seem excessive...

Quarter ton???

My problem is the platform and bullet choice moreso than the cartridge.

Approximately 60-70% of bears harvested are displaced jeuvenile bears weighing well under 200 pounds.

Over the years we took more than our share of 400-600 pound bears and in all honesty on similar hits, recovery was pretty comparable to a 200 pound bear... take out the lungs and they don't go far.

Having said that, my experiences on bears, have lead me to camp with the heavy/slow crew as opposed to the light/fast crowd... not looking for a debate, just my opinion after handling 250+ client bears and 50+ of my own.

 

[carverk]

after shooting his sks all summer he will wind up getting a second rifle we all did the same thing
he might as well shoot it for naw he has time rethink his choices
have fun shoot the hell out of your sks ijoy it for what it is take your time picking your next rifle

 

[kamlooky]

I take my wee shooters to the range and plunck holes in paper.
Analize the chit owt the targets, but one thing never seems to escape me eyes.........

Yup, 30 and 35 caliber holes in the paper are far bigger round than the wee ones.

 

[Ganderite]

SKS with 123gn SP would work on a bear. They are not bullet-proof. Charging bear, now that might be different.
OP, I will tell you what I have told others here. Handloads are your friend for improving SKS accuracy.
Below are some rounds I loaded for a friend's SKS.

50 yds, bipod, Canadian Tire rifle. Lower hole was my sighting shot. Adjusted to that, fired for effect.

Measured group, admittedly, slow, relaxed shots.

Fastest bullet in a string of 10

Slowest in the string

Not really any feed issues, just had to polish the ramp a tiny bit.

Good luck, Ted.

Please tell me more about that load. What 180 gr bullet is that? What OAL?

I had some 150 gr RN bullets made by CIL for the 303. They were perfect for the SKS, but I am about out of them. I am not aware of any make of 150 gr RN in the .310 to .312 size.

I have some 174 gr 312 RN. I will try those with some H322.

 

[Mumbles Marble Mouth]

A 7.62x39 will take down a black bear without worries of any kind. Since its an SKS, I wouldn't go further than 100 meters. If it were a CZ 527 Carbine, you could stretch it out to about 200 - 250 meters.

 

[Ed Smurf]

Please tell me more about that load. What 180 gr bullet is that? What OAL?

I had some 150 gr RN bullets made by CIL for the 303. They were perfect for the SKS, but I am about out of them. I am not aware of any make of 150 gr RN in the .310 to .312 size.

I have some 174 gr 312 RN. I will try those with some H322.

I don't know diddly squat about reloading, but were those steel cases virgin...I mean never fired, then reloaded?

 

[Northman999]

The SKS handloads above pretty much fit what my experience is.

A handloader should have no real trouble loading up to 180 grain bullets and getting around 1.5" at 100 yard groups under range conditions with an SKS that is a reasonable shooter.

I've done up some "Mexican match" hunting ammo using green box surplus with the bullets pulled and replaced with 150 grain .310 bullets and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. Certainly fine for black bears out to 100 yards or so, even when fired from an SKS.

 

[FLHTCUI]

I take my wee shooters to the range and plunck holes in paper.
Analize the chit owt the targets, but one thing never seems to escape me eyes.........

Yup, 30 and 35 caliber holes in the paper are far bigger round than the wee ones.

I once shot a Mulie (deer) with my Series II Vangaurd in .257 Wby using 100grn Wby Spirepoints.
The distance was at the a huge 40 yrds , got him in the rear gut as he was asz towards me.
Took off like a scalded dog too.. no blood trail , just hoof prints and dust ...

Looked around , scratched my head head thunk out loud ''How could I miss at this range''?
Looked left, looked right and went Left and behind the huge juniper bush was my deer ..dead as dead could be with some of his intestines plugging the tiny 1/4 bore hole.

As 'looky says ''''Yup, 30 and 35 caliber holes in the paper are far bigger round than the wee ones''.

Know your gun and know your game and choose accordingly.

Tight Groups,
Rob

 

[Boomer]

Quarter ton???

Sometimes 3/4 ton . . .

 

[brybenn]

Really? Sorry about being wrong earlier then. I'm in BC where it is illegal.

I can't see how anybody in their right mind with fmj bullets.

When hunting for pelts fmj works well with correct placement.
I have also sometimes loaded solids as well as softs in my double rifle for bear hunting. A 500 gr 458 cal bullet will reach the vitals of a black bear from any angle even after it smashes thru the back hips.
Are they recommended for everything and anything. No. But they do have their purpose

 

[kodiakjack]

Sometimes 3/4 ton . . .

 

[rookie wildcat]

Please tell me more about that load. What 180 gr bullet is that? What OAL?

I had some 150 gr RN bullets made by CIL for the 303. They were perfect for the SKS, but I am about out of them. I am not aware of any make of 150 gr RN in the .310 to .312 size.

I have some 174 gr 312 RN. I will try those with some H322.

I have to confess that I mis-interpreted the loose bullets I had. I simply miked and weighed one quick, threw them in the prepped cases, then put that info on an empty box for the pic.
Turns out, they should have been in that box all along. They were, in fact, 174 gn interlocks. I'll dig through data for the COL after work.

 

[rookie wildcat]

I don't know diddly squat about reloading, but were those steel cases virgin...I mean never fired, then reloaded?

So, they were "Mexican-matched". That process, for me, involves pulling the bullet from 10 rounds. Dumping the powder from all 10 into my scale pan. Taking the avg then for my "factory load". I will then pull 40 more bullets and dump those out as well. If I am simply putting in the same weight bullet, I start there and go up in .5gn increments until I get my best load. If I am increasing the bullet weight, then I drop 20% powder weight and work up from there. Then I make up my 200 rounds that I will shoot before my season, and fifty more for during.
I especially use this method in the SKS and the SVT40 so that I don't lose brass in the field, but also in any rifle that shoots milsurp. My .308, .223, 762x54R...

 

[gwes2003]

The SKS is such a crappy hunt rifle when compared to all the hunting rifles available. Hell the thing was made for use in war. Practice and learn to shoot well then go out and buy something in a better platform with a caliber that preforms better....7mm-08, 270, 30-06, 308 7mm remmag. I say no the 7.62x39 isn't that good for big deer and black bear. Plus its effective range sucks.

 

[grelmar]

The SKS is such a crappy hunt rifle when compared to all the hunting rifles available. Hell the thing was made for use in war. Practice and learn to shoot well then go out and buy something in a better platform with a caliber that preforms better....7mm-08, 270, 30-06, 308 7mm remmag. I say no the 7.62x39 isn't that good for big deer and black bear. Plus its effective range sucks.

90% of what you just said, people used to say about the "crappy surplus" Enfields. Enfields have taken more deer in this country than pretty much any other rifle.

x39 has extremely similar ballistic performance and terminal effect as 30-30. Nobody every claims a good 30-30 isn't enough to take a deer.

It's all about knowing the rifle, and knowing the limits of the rifle and cartridge. If you're hunting out to 100, maybe 150 yards - the SKS/x39 will do the job just fine. Has both the accuracy and punch to get the job done.

If you need to consider shots out to 200-300 yards, then you should probably look elsewhere.

 

[Boomer]

The SKS is such a crappy hunt rifle when compared to all the hunting rifles available. Hell the thing was made for use in war. Practice and learn to shoot well then go out and buy something in a better platform with a caliber that preforms better....7mm-08, 270, 30-06, 308 7mm remmag. I say no the 7.62x39 isn't that good for big deer and black bear. Plus its effective range sucks.

The fact that the SKS was made for war is not what makes it a crappy hunting arm. It's short sight radius, poorly designed stock, and miserable trigger combine to make it a crappy hunting rifle, as well as a crappy military rifle. Some of our best hunting rifles have have a martial origin, in fact, for generation, hunters have chosen the primary military rifles of their respective countries and Lee Enfields, Springfields, and Mausers are all well represented. The 98 Mauser is a military rifle of some repute, whose basic design can be seen in almost all modern bolt action sporting rifles. The origins of the hunting rifle matter less than it's elements, and those having sights you can see, triggers that enhance marksmanship, and stocks that are appropriate for human beings to hold on to, tend to be the best choices. The principles of field marksmanship, whether on the battlefield and in the hunting field, are the same, therefore, the basic elements that make a rifle suitable for the soldier, also make the rifle desirable for the hunter.

The trajectory of the 7.62X39 is flatter than some popular hunting cartridges, such as the .45/70, the .44 magnum, the .30/30 (when loaded with flat nosed bullets),or the .458 Winchester. A good rifle chambered for the mini .30 might surprise you. Loaded with a slippery mid weight bullet, and sighted for 150 yards, it would hit about 10" low at 250. If, for example, you were hunting blacktails on the Queen Charlotte Islands, a CZ-527 in 7.62X39 would be hard to beat.

 

[DAJA]

Find it curious when people cite "short sight radius" on SKS as a negative (not saying its not a negative), when so many hunting rifles with iron sights have essentially the same radius with a front sight and rear sight both on barrel.

 

[bearkilr]

Why not just go with the 30 Carbine? It has a trajectory which is flatter than a mortar or RPG. As always, shot placement is the only criteria that has to be met. Slip the bullet between two ribs or through the eye and it'll take down any animal in North America. The M1 would make a handy bear defence rifle as well.

 

[DAJA]

Its almost always about shot placement.

Despite the laws FMJ works with head and spine shots.

I think its shooting skill that's questionable more than anything.

 

[jjohnwm]

I love that tired old "the average black bear is only about 5 pounds..." crap that always comes up on these threads. Yep, we all yearn to shoot an "average" animal, and will happily pass up an exceptional one. For sure, the only rifle worth shooting is the bare minimum that will work...

I have an SKS, and I enjoy shooting it...but can anyone deny that it's just about the crappiest hunting rifle in the world? If the SKS had never existed, and someone designed it today, then built it and attempted to market it to the public for use as a hunting rifle, they would be laughed clean off the planet. If that's all a person can afford, the Mosin is also available in that price bracket and would make an infinitely superior gun for hunting bear or anything else.