CZ 527 in 7.62x39 for hunting

[HazyReturn]

Hi everybody,

I was lucky enough to nab a CZ 527 as my first rifle. I'm planning on going hunting with my family for the first time in the next few weeks and had few questions.

I looked up online in regards to humanely taking black bear. In short, is the 7.62x39 cartridge ethical for taking down black bear with a good shot? It seems like this cartridge is quite good at taking deer, but there was less on black bears that I could find.

Secondly, any hunters out there zero their rifles or hunt with iron sights? Or is there a best way to "break in" a fresh rifle? Black bears in my neck of the woods really aren't scared of ****, so I didn't even think I needed to get an optic at all until further down the line. I was just going to go on crown and hit paper until I'm comfortable with it and clean and oil it, never thought of doing any other break in other than that?


Thanks for the help!

 

[hoytcanon]

Your thinking is fine, the 7.62X39 will kill any bear, stay within your effective range and use an SP bullet not a metal jacket.

 

[Longwalker]

You made a good choice for a first rifle. Military surplus 7.62x39mm full metal jacket ammo is cheap, shoot lots of targets and become familiar with it, then switch to a good hunting bullet for the real thing. ( check the zero with the good ammo before hunting) No matter what sights you use, your effective range will be not far with that cartridge, say 150-200 M max. So within that distance, your maximum range will be whatever distance you can keep ALL your shots inside of a 8" circle (paper plate) from field shooting positions - not a bench rest. I think that iron sights would be OK for your purposes if you have reasonably good eyesight.

 

[saskcop]

The 7.62x39 is more than capable of killing black bear at reasonably close ranges with a good soft point bullet. If you are a hand loader, then you will do well to attempt a 150 grain hand load. I have same rifle and will use it for hunting.

 

[Longwalker]

- I just realized i did not warn you about " corrosive" priming in some military surplus practise ammo. You have to watch out for that stuff. it does require special cleaning of the bore with every use, so just avoid corrosive primer ammo. To keep your rifle shooting accurately for a long time, you should invest in a cleaning rod and a bronze brush and a bottle of bore solvent, and a jag and cloth patches for the final step. Bore solvent works better than oil to keep your bore in good shape.It dissolves copper ( bullet jacket material) and burnt powder deposits better than oil. Use your gun oil on the outside, on moving parts, and use a patch with a few drops of oil to put on a thin film after cleaning to protect the bore. I do nothing special when "breaking in" a new barrel, but I always clean the bore after shooting and give it a light oil coat for storage protection.

 

[xdmer]

Just fine for black bear in range, and that is what I use mine for. It wouldn't be my first choice for particularly large bears, but just fine for the majority I see.

 

[HazyReturn]

Thanks guys for the tips, greatly appreciated. Can't wait to break her in on some paper before the hunt

 

[Ardent]

Good questions, and I can only echo once more you’re 100% good to go and have a great rifle for the job. I do all my hunting with iron sights, you’ll do very well with them and not be held back at typical bear ranges. Good luck.

 

[rosconow]

I never shot a bear with mine, but with the S&B soft points, killed a muley dead with one shot in the neck at aprox 75m.

 

[diegocn]

I consider 7.62x39 a marginal round for black bear base on my own experience. I did had success with my CZ527. Drop the bear on the spot with a head shot from 5 yards away. But there's also one I spent 3 days searching and don't really want to talk about. I think had I shot it with 308 I would be able to find it.

It can be done, shot placement is the key. But bigger rounds give you a bit of forgiveness.

On the other hand mine love the steel cased Hornady SST.

 

[VanIsleCam]

Love my 527. Added bonus it is light and short so perfect for long slogs and tight quarters. Great choice OP.

 

[gshamray]

it should do it within 100 m and for bears up to 180 kg as per this Russian source

 

[xdmer]

That is a cool reference, thanks.

 

[dan belisle]

7.62x39 is basically a 30-30 level cartridge. If you handload you can improve a great deal on factory ammo in one. I would use it for deer, and black bear . Don't think I would use one in big bear country though. - dan

 

[MiG25]

it should do it within 100 m and for bears up to 180 kg as per this Russian source

I suspect a typo on the first one since I cannot imagine getting 3034fps with a 54gr bullet out of the 5.6x36mm (which may be the 22 Hornet), I think it should read 5.6x39 (220 Russian).

 

[gshamray]

I suspect a typo on the first one since I cannot imagine getting 3034fps with a 54gr bullet out of the 5.6x36mm (which may be the 22 Hornet), I think it should read 5.6x39 (220 Russian).

Yes, weight\velocity\energy matches 5.6x39 (220 Russian) and it makes more sense since it is a Russian source and 5.6x39 was widely used there before .223 became more popular.