7.62x39 Hollow Points: Do they actually expand?

Daekar

New member
As per title. My Dad asked me about the possibility of using an SKS for deer hunting, and I want to make sure I'm not leading him wrong. The Sportsman's Guide SAYS that he HP Golden Bear, Brown Bear, Wolf, etc. ammo will expand on impact, but I'm not sure I believe it. Can anybody verify this? It would be nice for him to be able to use the same rounds for practice as he would for hunting, the ammo in question isn't expensive.
 
Those HPs are very brittle. They don't expand; they fragment.

Don't use the HPs, or any type of varmint bullet (V-Max, and similar).

Find a good soft point. This thread had a recent discussion about good 7.62x39mm Hunting ammo.

Be sure to read that thread. Many of the import soft points are just as fragile, and lightly constructed as the Hollow Points.
 
HP's

We knock this around pretty often. Go with a domestic (USA) SP. Some guys like the import 150's, but they are to slow for me. (the bullet, ha)

My water bottle tests have the import JHP's fragmenting. Some clips on youtube, some expand, some don't in ballistic gel.
 
Expansion

A few years ago I took a deer with a mosin Nagant. I was using a 203 gr bimetal SP by silver bear. The lead and the jacket were actually both magnetic!! I hit the deer behind the ribs and it went down instantly. On arriving at the deer there was a scene of absolute carnage. The bullet penetrated both sides. It created a obscenely large hole. The bullet apeared to have been more like an anti tank round from the damage it caused. I think theSP in 7.62x39 should work fine as long as you stick with 123gr.
 
It's your personal call. I have used Russian hollow points to kill several deer and they didn't explode when I used them and the deer didn't go any farther than about 30-40 yards before going down. Where these continued criticisms of hollow points come from I'll never know but they work for me.
 
It does something...I shot a gallon jug of waterfrom maybe 25 yards away with Wolf 7.62x39 122gr HP and the explosion knocked down water jugs 2 feet to the left and right. The same Wolf FMJ just poked a hole through.
 
Soft points are best IMHO for deer. Hollow points just destroy or bruise the meat. Full metal jacket don't have the knock down power unless you go for a head shot.
 
I have taken 3 deer over the years with my Chinese SKS Carbine.

All 3 were hollowpoints, one shot, dropped within sight, and exit holes the size of golf balls.

Rmocarsky
 
To test your ammo soak some newspaper in water for about an hour and put it in a cardboard box( approx. 2' deep and 12" x 12". Shoot your ammo into the box (so the bullet travels through 2' of newspaper). Dig the bullet out. That is what it will look like after it goes through a deer. If it is "mushroom shaped use it for hunting. If it is in little pieces or does not expand don't use it.
 
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