hunting ammo in 7.62x39

I went snowshoeing with a friend today, the first time I'd been out to see his land. There is quite a bit of dense cedar, some light hardwoods and a large field the surrounds a low, swampy area. From what he says (and the enormous number of tracks I saw, plus numerous bedding places in the snow), it might be a better location than my land. I'm not sure that the best place would be the field (hell, I'm not sure of anything, I've never hunted deer before--I just like walking in the woods), but it did have me thinking that I might have some longer shots.

Maybe the Gunsite Scout would be the ticket. I'm sure I wouldn't be the first person to shoot a whitetail at 40 yds with .308, should I be so lucky, and if I wanted a longer shot it would be plenty powerful. 30/30 looks like it would be fine for me too, with the LEVERevolution ammo the retained energy looks quite good (or handloading some spitzer bullets). I guess I'm thinking, get something that can shoot a little longer to start with. As I get some experience, I can always add a lever gun or a Mini-30 later.
 
Don't give up on the Mini 30. I am a fellow lefty and my mini is my favourite dogging gun. I have taken quite a few deer with it as well as a calf moose. It is light, easy to handle and under 100 yards, it is more than accurate enough. Perfect for the cedar swamps and the thick stuff, I use the S & B 124gr. soft point bullets and they haven't let me down yet. Brad has them in stock in Underwood, and living on the Bruce, that should be easy enough for you to go to. The extra bonus of a Mini 30 is they are alot of fun to shoot!
Take care and good luck!
 
Just for sihts and giggles, the Hornady zombie max in 7.62x39 uses their SST bullet. I have a couple boxes I use exclusively for hunting. In the process of a full bubba sks specifically for bush hunting deer. The property I have access to is very dense, so long range shots are not even possible.

Ian
 
madtrapper143 said:
Very accurate but no deer have been shot yet to determine how well they kill.

regards, Darryl
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I use PRVI, I can put 5 shots through a dime at 100 yards with my CZ. It kills deer very well at ranges up to 100 yards


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Like the OP, I'm left handed so am faced with some of the same problems in finding rifles in the calibre I want so I've gone to a lot of single shots and levers, along with a left handed Remington 700 BDL in 30-06 for my "main" rifle.
Would love to get a lefty 7.62 x 39 but can't find such so I found a Baikal single shot. Light, great shooter and takes down quickly for packing. Might be an idea for the OP.
And yes, reloading is the way to go and 7.62 x 39 is a very easy calibre to relaod.
 
These are what I use. I have yet to feel a need for 30/30 !

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The third bullet from the left is a Prvi Partizan 123 grain soft point, they work as well, or better, than the Hornady shown above. Both are leaps ahead of anything else I've tried:

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The area I hunt has a very real possibility of a shootable moose. Thus I like the conventional bullets over the SST. My savage scout has a .308 bore but shoots .310 and .308 bullets equally well. I agree the PRVI's are good bullets and Trade Ex offers them in bulk packs for reloading.

Darryl
 
Any of you southpaws looking for a leftie bolt action check out the new Browning Xbolts. Easy to get in pretty much everything. Match barrels and pillar bedded/floated. Lots of extras and a rotary DM. Accurate too. Lots of thump for deer and up. There is a crapload of cals listed for the series. Whole new design and loaded with features.
 
As a fellow lefty, I'd also check out the marlin 336 youth models at Epps...they've got several on sale right now, compact, short stocks, 16.5 barrels, aftermarket support like crazy since you like to "tinker", manually operated so you can reliably load a range of low to higher power loads, all the power you need to 200+ yards.
 
7.62x39 is pretty much a short 308. I would not hunt with it myself. I want to take as much thump into the woods as I can. My impression of this round is its for close quarter assault work so range and accuracy would not be expected of the little guy I would think. There are a lot better choices to hunt with bit then if its your only rifle to hunt with then good luck. Should be adequate for deer but out here we have a lot of big game and bears running around too. My choice for deer here is the trusty accurate 308 (or 7.62x51).
Watching this as I am curious to see who actually does hunt with this round.
 
Privi and S&B spot points in 123-125grs are nice shooting ammo and shoot the same POA/POI as the surplus stuff...but obviously shoots more accurately and is non-corrosive, I see it locally and online for give or take $20/20 rounds. Stock up on a few boxes when you find it and no need to worry :)

An SKS is one of the few guns (along with a 12g and .22LR) everyone should have as a back up hunting rifle at the cottage/cabin/trailer IMO.
 
bogie said:
7.62x39 is pretty much a short 308. I would not hunt with it myself. I want to take as much thump into the woods as I can. My impression of this round is its for close quarter assault work so range and accuracy would not be expected of the little guy I would think. There are a lot better choices to hunt with bit then if its your only rifle to hunt with then good luck. Should be adequate for deer but out here we have a lot of big game and bears running around too. My choice for deer here is the trusty accurate 308 (or 7.62x51).
Watching this as I am curious to see who actually does hunt with this round.
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Surely if you all about a big thumb you can do better then the .308Win?!?!?! Why not a .338LM? .45-70Gov? .557 T-Rex? Its a big, hard to kill deer after all...wonder how people ever managed to eat back in the days of spears and bows? :p

I shoot deer along with my buddy with 55gr SP .223Rem ammo...it works every time if you place it right, better then a poorly placed .308 would. *gasp*
 
For sure 7.62x39 is "enough," but if you are just starting out picking a new gun... There are a lot of better options... Even .30/30 is a better overall choice, but there is .25/06, 6.5X55, .270, .308 or any bracketed in that class... You could also go "up" if you really have a "hankerin'" for a bigger boom... .45/70 would be a good choice for that... And you could go below those middle class guns, say to .243, but there is no good reason to do that with a dedicated deer rifle. Just pick-up the caliber that captures your interest and go with it... And choose a platform that is comfortable and interests you... Nuk and I like single shots... Also at the distances you are talking about a lever is a good option... If you will only be doing one gun, a bolt action is probably the most versatile.
 
Having had numerous firearms in all three chamberings you mention, I would go with 308, then 30/30, then 7.62x39 in that order. Even if you reload, your options are much greater with the 308 and 30/30. The 7.62x39 presents very limited options regarding cartridge and bullet selection compared to the other two.

As a lefty, you may consider a Norinco M305 in .308.
 
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