mrbb

yes the caliber is a jump up some but sorry to tell you again, its NOT a very good deer hunting caliber, its a military caliber and most ammo out there is NOT for hunting
I am NOT sure why these are the only calibers your getting to pick from, but if your looking for a deer hunting rifle, you should be BUYING a deer hunting caliber here, and saving yourself a lot of headache in the process of making Decent ammo so hard to find
YES you can MAKE it work, but again, WHY when there are literally tons of GREAT deer rifle calibers in countless types and models of rifles?
ANY dealer should be able to GET you abouyt any rifle you wish,
I WAS gun dealer so I KNOW I could have without much effort at all!

and NOT sure where you are hunting, but a VERY low power scope like you have is NOT actually the best potion there either, a more SIMPLE 3x9, or likes scope offers you a LOT more precision as ranges get farther than UP close and personal, which that scope is made more for!
NOT a bad scope or rifle, just in wrong caliber and size IMO

Bocajnala

The .223 and X39 will both handle deer just fine with proper shot selection.

The 7.62X39 is a perfectly fine option for 100 yard shots. Use it like you would a .30-30 and you'll have no issues.

-Jake

hardcastonly

Three thoughts here, simply based on 5 decades of hunting experience
(1) with proper shot placement and a knowledge of deer anatomy, either the 62-70 grain 223 or the 123-150 grain 7.62/ 39 will kill any deer in this country at typical 150 yard and under ranges.
(2) yes there are some other excellent cartridges designed for deer hunting like the 257 roberts,270 win and you could select hundreds of other options,
its not the cartridge case stamped designation, or within reasonable limits the bullet used, its the skill and persistence, of the hunter using it thats the most important factor.
(3) use of good optics , correctly mounted,and lots of practice , with whatever you choose to hunt with will greatly improve your odds of success.
thousands of deer have been killed with archery equipment and even a 22lr rim-fire,
its not the rifle its the guy and the skill and his proficiency using it that matters.

my brother-in-law has used a marlin 357 lever action carbine usually loaded with 158 grain ammo,
for 5 decades, hes always been successful, he simply waits until a reasonable opportunity, in a good hunting area presents itself.
persistence and knowledge of the game hunted and his skill are the keys to consistent , perpetual, and on-going success.

CalHunter

Late to the party and kind of a different response. I don't know which state you're in or where you're hunting so it's hard to give you specific advice although I would not select a 223 for deer hunting. In my state (CA), 22 caliber is not legal for deer hunting but I wouldn't use one by choice anyway. That's JMHO but you did ask for opinions. Perhaps more importantly (at least for me), black bear season starts with deer season so I always buy a bear tag as well as deer tags. In most seasons, maybe a 1/3 of the bears taken are taken while the hunter was deer hunting. Most deer seasons, I at least see a black bear although don't always have a shot. For that reason, I use a 270 Winchester which has worked fine on deer and black bear for me. I don't know if black bear is on the menu with deer hunting in your state or not but it's something to consider.

mrbb

yes both the 223 and 7.62x39 CXAN kill deer, not saying they wouldn't
BUt you cannot say LIKE a 30-30, as the fact is FAR too much ammo for either a 223 / 7.62x39 is in the form of full metal jacketed ammo, NOT designed for hunting, so its a LOT harder to JUST go BUY good hunting ammo, and as stated before a LOT of ammo doesn;t shoot worth a crap out of rifles, that were designed for more military purpose, and in case anyone cares to know, the Military isn';t using HIGH expanding bullets as we HUNTERS prefer or NOT in MOST all shooting supplied ammo!

I am sure Vehicles have killed a LOT fo deer too LOL, but wou;dn;t recmmend using oen of them either to kill deer
and I DON"T mean to single anyone out here, or seem like I am bashing
MY pint only is there are MUCH better easier to find and buy GOOD deer hunting ammo for, than either of these two calibers
MOST shops up my way don;t carry ANY real hunting ammo for deer in either caliber, in factory ammo!

if you want LOW recoil there are a again a TON of low recoil BETTER deer hunting calibers than the two you have mentioned(THE OP HERE)
my point if why handi cap yourself BUYING a caliber that is NOT really a DEER hunting caliber, if your goal is to hunt deer??
it seems like poor decision making to me, and or lack of research BEFORE the buying of a gun! as AFTER is NOT the time to be learning WHAT you bought when you had a GOAL in mind before buying, DEER HUNTING< being the goal I gather here!
JUST offering info here NOT bashing so please DON"T get upset with what I am stating here!

Berserker

Then don't buy military surplus.

I agree, I would not use these. Though 7.62 is a step up.

Though we do kill bears with bows. Myself, I like the versatility of not using a marginal round. I just don't see that many deer.

Bocajnala

Mrbb,

The OP already stated what rifle he bought (it's a cz527 ) and it should be plenty accurate. If he was asking for advice BEFORE buying a rifle I'm sure we all would have suggested an 06, a.270, .30-30, etc. But he already bought the rifle.

The OP also began this post to ask what ammo would be best.

Your two primary concerns of innaccurate rifles(milsurp) and poor ammo selection were taken care of in the first post.

I could hunt whitetail the rest of my life with a 527 in either of those options and I would continue to kill deer every year.

There is always a "better" alternative available. But it's not necessary.

Know your equipment, know it's capabilities and it's limitations, then go kill deer.



-Jake

Berserker

Lots of 223 ammo out there. It is a popular round for coyote and such. Hornady makes an interlock in 75g with a deer picture next to it in 5.56.

Not my choice, but if you make archery shots, lungs and hearts, and willing to look for it. It will kill deer.

I hunt heavy bush, where 100 yards feels like a 1000. But blow out lungs with big calibers can still let a deer run a 100 yards. Wide open country, where you can find it easy if it runs would proably be fine.

Then there is next shots.

Bocajnala

Cz markets this rifle as a deer rifle as well.




-Jake

Gm54-120

The OP didnt say which CZ 527 unless i missed it. The CZ 527 American is also offered in 6.5 Grendel. That would be a dandy little deer rifle.