7.62 x 39 - what's it good for?

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popcan

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Tell me about the 7.62 x 39. :)

Who is using this cartridge, and for what kind of game is it best on?
I take it this is not your precision rifle round.
Can you get a reasonable selection of decent factory ammo, or do you need to load for it?
 
In a bolt action rifle, it would probably be a great short range deer cartridge.

Especially if it was chambered to a .308 bore, and you could stick a 110gr TSX in it...:dancingbanana:

I've always liked Suputins sub sonic work wih tthe 7.62x39...
 
I know a guy that has shot a few deer with hand loaded 123g Winchester Power points at 2400fps. He found it will go right through a small/medium sized deers front shoulders an out the other side at 100yards.
 
Actually in a bolt action the 7.62x39 is one of the most versatile little cartridges I know of. There are a SLEW of bullet choices, it has a fast twist rate (typically 1:9") and will stabilize almost anything, and is insanely accurate (the parent of the PPC cartridge family). Recoil and report are minimal, only slightly more than my lightweight .223. With a higher BC 150gr class bullet it's good for 300 yards without much difficulty with a decent shooter at the helm. As for one argument above where it was said it was made for killing people not animals, I had to laugh, I actually scoffed out loud here. So was the .223, .30-06, .308, .45-70, .45 Colt, 7x57, 8x57, 6.5x55 ...I could go on all day here. Please, in firearms circles, lets stop using that argument, it's asinine. The 7.62x39 is a modest little cartridge that will do a lot and functions the same as any other; it launches a bullet. Out of a bolt action it's a .30-30, just better, as you're not limited to round nose and flat point bullets.

It will easily take any game in North America, though there are other cartridges I would choose for the larger game. My hunting rifle's a 7.62x39 CZ527 carbine, it's incredible. When the cartridge is in an action actually sized for it, and not a normal short action, it's a really quick little cartridge to cycle and the tapered case feeds extremely well.
 
Ardent said:
Out of a bolt action it's a .30-30, just better, as you're not limited to round nose and flat point bullets.
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please explain. a .30-30 out of a bolt action in not limited to round nose and flat point bullets either :confused:


Ardent said:
It will easily take any game in North America,
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it has less power then a 243 win. would you take a 243 on a bear hunt? Moose hunt?
;)
 
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Amphibious said:
please explain. a .30-30 out of a bolt action in not limited to round nose and flat point bullets either :confused:





it has less power then a 243 win. would you take a 243 on a bear hunt? Moose hunt?
;)
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1. 95% of the .30-30's out there aren't bolt actions, yes my point's a generalization, but a reasonable one.

2. Yes, I'd prefer a 7.62x39 on larger game over a .243 anyday (have both), and yes I would take my 527 on a black bear hunt without hesitation, infact that's the plan for the fall. For moose, I'd take one of my bigger guns, though the 7.62x39 would certainly kill it. I addressed this as well.

;)
 
Ardent said:
1. 95% of the .30-30's out there aren't bolt actions, yes my point's a generalization, but a reasonable one.

2. Yes, I'd prefer a 7.62x39 on larger game over a .243 anyday (have both), and yes I would take my 527 on a black bear hunt without hesitation, infact that's the plan for the fall. For moose, I'd take one of my bigger guns, though the 7.62x39 would certainly kill it. I addressed this as well.

;)
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I eagerly await pictures of you, rollingrock, and homesick alien, all posing with swisscheese bears. :evil:

.243 has more energy, higher sectional density and a greater selection of bullets. I would never take a x39 hunting if I had a .243 in the stable.
 
Before we get too critical, lets not forget that the far majority of animals lost in the bush have more to do with the lack of practice/proficiency on the part of hunters than the limitations of their cartridges.

If I can make it out for this year's deer season I will most likely be carrying a 9.3x57 or 9.3x62, depending upon which of my reloads shoot better.

While 7.62x39 would not be my first choice, if I were to have determined a few months back that I'd be using it for deer, I would have fired at least a couple hundred rounds in various positions at ranges of up to 200m and sighted in two or three brands of commercial SP ammo. I find it difficult to believe that a hunter who follows that route could be accused of being foolhardy or ill prepared for deer in wooded terrain.

And lets not forget about the possibilities that come with reloading. In England, where the commercially produced ammo from the US fails to meet the minimum amount of joules required for deer hunting, deer stalkers there have produced safe but sufficiently strong reloads to meet those requirements. Needless to say, with a quality bolt gun a reloader can also create reloads that would shoot far more accurately than most fodder that's fired from a typical SKS.

The 7.62x39 needn't be the cause of Swiss Cheese bears in the hands of someone who's taken the time to sight it in and practice, especially if it's with a scoped bolt action rifle and handloads tailored to it.

Regards,

Frank
 
"...this round was developed to kill people not animals..." You should re-think that statement. The .30-06, .308, .303 British, 7.62 x 54, 7 & 8mm Mauser, 6.5 x 55, .223/5.56, .45-70, 7.5 Swiss, 9mm Parabellum(and most other 9mm's), .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .38 Special and a host of other cartridges all started as military cartridges.
 
The 7.62x39 is a cartridge, like any other one. They ALL have limitations.

if someone says the CARTRIDGE is INCAPABLE of proper kills within its parameters I would suggest that they have no experience with the carrtidge, and don't know ####, and are talking via thier posterior...

To suggest a 7.62x39 is not deer cartridge is to ignore that a 7x57 is not an elephant cartridge- except the 7x57 with the right bullet and the right placement killed many an elephant...


To me, it's pretty simple....

Use a cartridge/firearm combo that is wihtin iits/your limitations

Use a decent bullet for the task

Put the bullet in the right place.
 
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