jackstrawIII
New member
Need some input here.
I was in the market for a new short-range (100 yards and less) deer rifle. After doing a bunch of reading and thinking, I bought a CZ 527 chambered in 7.62x39. It's a great little gun and shoots very well with 125 grain Hornady SST ammo.
With that said, now that hunting season is approaching, I'm having second thoughts. A few friends have questioned my choice, and now I'm wondering if I'm a bit under-gunned.
According to Chuck Hawks (a writer that I respect, and often agree with), here are minimum requirements for a deer rifle:
Caliber: .243
Sectional Density: .200
Impact Velocity: 1500 fps
Kinetic Energy at Impact: 800 ft lbs.
The Hornady SST round checks most of those boxes:
Caliber: 308
Sectional Density: .183 (a bit low)
Impact Velocity: 2040 fps at 100 yards
Kinetic Energy: 1138 ft lbs at 100 yards
I could look at numbers on a screen all day, but I'm still unsure. So... here's my question: has anyone actually killed deer with this round? If so, what was your experience as far as quick/clean kills?
Thanks in advance.
I was in the market for a new short-range (100 yards and less) deer rifle. After doing a bunch of reading and thinking, I bought a CZ 527 chambered in 7.62x39. It's a great little gun and shoots very well with 125 grain Hornady SST ammo.
With that said, now that hunting season is approaching, I'm having second thoughts. A few friends have questioned my choice, and now I'm wondering if I'm a bit under-gunned.
According to Chuck Hawks (a writer that I respect, and often agree with), here are minimum requirements for a deer rifle:
Caliber: .243
Sectional Density: .200
Impact Velocity: 1500 fps
Kinetic Energy at Impact: 800 ft lbs.
The Hornady SST round checks most of those boxes:
Caliber: 308
Sectional Density: .183 (a bit low)
Impact Velocity: 2040 fps at 100 yards
Kinetic Energy: 1138 ft lbs at 100 yards
I could look at numbers on a screen all day, but I'm still unsure. So... here's my question: has anyone actually killed deer with this round? If so, what was your experience as far as quick/clean kills?
Thanks in advance.