Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 7.62x39 for deer

Took this one yesterday, with the 7.62x39 bolt rifle shown. 123 grain Federal SP. 85 yards, broadside, dropped in his tracks, full penetration and an excellent exit wound.



Here are three other decent bucks taken with that same little rifle in the last couple seasons:







I've taken 19 deer with the little rifle since I picked it up a few years back. All were one shot kills. None have gone further than 40 yards, and only three have gone anywhere at all. Every bullet has exited, at ranges from about 12' to over 125 yards. I haven't even started handloading any hunting ammo for it yet, just using either Remington or Federal factory SPs. They shoot very well, and kill very well.

As stated before, the 7.62x39 works just fine for deer - if the shooter does his job. It's a very near ballistic twin of the .30-30, and performance on deer is similarly identical; it all comes down to placement and the shooter.

I did get a chuckle out of someone questioning Jeff Rost's credentials on this thread, though. That's pure gold right there.

About to start overeating for the day, then head back out again to see about killing more stuff with the 7.62x39 as the rifle is fast becoming a favorite (weighs next to nothing, carries well, recoil is basically non-existent, and it just kills stuff very, very dead).