etothepii

In terms of ballistics and trajectory, this caliber seems very similar to 30-30 Win. Could a Russian, Romanian, etc. surplus rifle be transformed into a reasonable deer rifle?

Vapodog

with soft point ammo and judicious control of shot distances it has been used successfully on deer.......I'd not shoot much past 100 yards personally

kyhillbilly74

I agree with Vapodog but there also good for yot's to

driftrider

I'm sure that at reasonable distances the 7.62x39 Soviet with good hunting ammo will do the job. The real trick is to find a rifle that's accurate enough to ensure good shot placement is possible. I've been through two Chinese SKS rifles, both of which had some serious accuracy issues. Shooting off sandbags the best group it ever shot was about 6" at 100 yards, which is pretty pathetic compared to even the cheapest bolt action rifle. Granted, I always shot the cheap ammo through it, so that is likely part of the problem, but even with premium ammo I would not expect better than 4MOA. The Soviet, Romanian or Yugoslavian made rifles are said to be better build that the Chinese versions, but I still wouldn't expect great accuracy.

But if if hunting forested and brushy areas where shots are 50 yards and less, then I personally wouldn't hesitate to take an SKS if that was the best I could afford. Just buy the best brand name ammo you can get so the load is up to the task. I know Winchester and Remington both make hunting ammo for the 7.62x39 Soviet.

Maybe consider looking around at for a used bolt gun in .243Win, .25-06, .308 or .30-06. Used guns in these calibers are usually easy to find and can be had pretty cheap. And all three calibers are far better deer medicine than the rather anemic 7.62x39 Soviet. But I certainly wouldn't fault you for using one if that's what you got, just pick your shots wisely.

Mike

JagMagMan

In an accurate gun, it would be good for short range shooting only! There are so many calibers that would be better, so I would not go buy one for deer hunting.

rkbo

I have had 3 SKS's none shot better that 5" groups and 2 mak 90's of which one would shoot near 4" groups and 1 mini 30 which didn't shoot as good as the SKS'

They sure are fun and cheap to shoot. I see that interarms makes a bolt rifle in the 7.62X39 and I think maybe ruger also. I would like to see how that would work out.
The 7.62x39 will shoot flatter and carry more down range energy than the 30-30 because you can shoot pointed bullets with it. I would say they would have plenty of knockdown at 200yds. The problem is being able to hit anything at 200yds.

etothepii

I hear what you are saying. It seems like a sporterized SKS would be a unique hunting gun...you know, something different. But the concensus seems to be a concern about accuracy. I don't want to go out and injure a bunch of animals.

Just out of curiosity, would the older 7.62x54 import guns be any better? Again, just looking for something unique.

Charley

7.62x39 is a 100 yard hunting round at most. I've taken a couple of our small Texas whitetails with a Mini-30, and both were one shot kills. Bullet placement is the key.
7.62x54R is about equivelent to a .30/06 military load, with 150 grain bullets. Smaller case gives up some with heavier bullets, but it is still a very effective hunting cartridge. I use a Mosin Nagant M91/30 "homemade" sniper as a bad weather hunting rifle, and my oldest son prefers to hunt with it. We have taken several whitetails with it.

driftrider

I don't think this is correct. Sure the 7.62x39 shoots pointed bullets, but that's only part of the equation. The bullets may be pointed, but they are light and stubby at only 125 grains, which is going to have a profound effect on ballistic coefficient. And the Soviet only shoots that bullet slightly faster than the 30-30 can propel a larger 150-180gr bullet. The larger longer bullet will greatly improve downrange performance. And it is possible to use spitzer pointed bullets even in a lever action rifle. To do so one must take care not to load more than one round in the tubular mag at a time. So one would still have two shots to work with.

Personally, I feel that the 7.62x39 Soviet is NOT a 200 yard deer round. It'd do OK at 100, but much past that and its small slow bullet would be losing a lot of steam.

As for the 7.62x54R, it would certainly be a better all around deer cartridge, but good factory hunting ammo might be hard to find. I used to have a Mosin-Nagant carbine in 7.62x54R, and it did ok at 100 yards. The open sights are the usual eastern-bloc crap iron sights, and with the straight bolt handle scope mounting was impossible unless you had the handle bent. Not worth the work on a $75 gun. I might suggest that you look for a 1903 Springfield service rifle. It'd be chambered in .30-06 (this cartridge speaks for itself), and should be reasonably accurate. Another great choice would be a Mauser 98 rifle. Not only a great rifle in its original form is you find a good one, but also an outstanding platform to build a fine custon rifle on if you ever chose to do so.

Mike

tschaef

An SKS can take a good sized deer at close range with proper bullet placement.
My old room-mate used one for years and harvested every deer he shot at, but I can't remember any shots past 50yrds.
While the 7.62x39 and 30-30 look similar on paper, the big difference in knock-down power is the cross-sectional size of the bullet, the 30-30 hits way harder, and creates a much more damage tearing thru the animimal because of its fatter bullet.