eldeguello

Try to find some 154 grain ammo for it Cabela's catalog shows Wolf Brand ammo from Russia with a 154-grain softpoint bullet. This load should kill deer and anything smaller as well as any .30/30. Under any circumstances, use a softpoint or other type of expanding bullet for hunting. Make sure your magazine capacity is legal, as most states limit a semi-auto to five of six rounds for hunting!

Forget about the "tumbling" business- 7.62X39mm military bullets might tumble, but it happens when they hit something, like an enemy soldier. The .22 caliber AK 74 bullets are DESIGNED to tumble on impact, to increase the killing power. The 7.62X39 military ammo is not made on purpose to do this, but under some conditions it no doubt will tumble. However, it is NOT INTENTIONALLY understabilized!

eldeguello

The 7.62X39 round compares very favorably with the .30/30. Although the .30/30 starts off faster, it also sheds velocity much faster due to its' flat-pointed bullets vs the pointed ones of the 7.62X39mm. In addition, despite the use of light bullets in military ball ammo, the 7.62X39mm can shoot heavier bullets. Its' main limitation in this regard is the short magazine lengths encountered in the semi-autos chambered for it. However, I was able to develop a load for mine using the 180-grain Speer .311" roundnose bullet at a MV of 1980 FPS, which is as fast as the original .30/30 165-grain load of 1895, the load which produced the .30/30's rep as a killer of deer and larger game. Besides, there are a numer of good 130 and 150 grain pointed-bullet handloads for this cartridge, all of which deliver MORE energy at 150 yards and beyond than any .30/30 load using flat-nose bullets can provide.

akbound

Hi RonM,

Not exactly.......but it was designed for killing animals with nearly identical body weights!

When used judiciously.....it works!

Dave

Nomercy

Hey zak, don't be discouraged by the comments made here, you can always add a scope to the AK, or you can change out the sights for a better, more accurate sight...One of my SKS's had a HUGE peep sight on it (rear sight is a disk with a hole in it, but the hole was massive, almost should have been called a ghost ring), terrible for accuracy, I had a gunsmith replace it, cost me $15 labor plus $30 for the sight itself, went from 10" groups at 50yrds to 6" groups at 150yrds...with a scope, I get about half that.

THe 7.62x39mm is a FUN round, fun to plink with and fun to hunt with, better trajectory than a .30-30 (retains more velocity) and comprable energy, I've had a LOT of fun with all of mine, and taken several game species (I once put down a sick buffalo at about 75yrds with an SKS, one shot to the neck/throat). Only complaint from me about hunting with the AK, for the weight, I could carry a mid-weight bbled or "light" heavy bbled bolt gun that would have twice the range (more energy AND much faster), but then again, the AK's more fun to hunt with, and more than good enough for typical hunting ranges.