What's the ethical limit for x39?

P

Pond James Pond

New member
Just curious more than anything:

I know there's alot of debate about hunting with .223 and where the line of reliable, swift lethality should be drawn regarding the game taken with the light .22 cal bullets, but what about x39?

If we take a range of up to 100m, what's the likely limit of x39 in terms of game?
Wild boar?
Deer?

Part of the reason is to see where Estonian Hunting law sits in terms of common sense.
The law here presently states that as long as the bullet was not FMJ and weight 130gr or more, a hunter would be legally allowed to go hunt elk (moose to you lot) or Eurasian Brown bears which seems optimistic for the old soviet cartridge.
 
I load mine with 150 gr bullets and am at MAX load in the Hogdon book. I have no proof, but I would not feel good about shots out past 150 yards unless I was going into a soft area in a deer. I don't know that is just the "Feel" I get from animals I have shot over the years. It has to be a little more anemic with the 150 gr when you go a distance. If you reload, use 30-30 type bullets that will expand at lower velocities.
 
I think of the x39 as having the same range as 30-30. But yeah 150 yards would probably be near or the limit.

As far as 130 grain and no FMJ as the requirement it's just a requirement. Lots of states/countries have requirements. The minimum isn't usually the best option but it's a start.
 
You could look up a chart and check the velocity and foot pounds of energy at various ranges (100, 200, etc.) and use those numbers as a factor in your decision.
 
Yup, looking at Blind's chart, I'd say 150 yards would be the maximum distance for me, but that's just a matter of preference. I'm not sure about the ethical part, though.
 
I've read a large number of posts through the years which claimed good success on Bambi with soft-nosed hunting bullets and generally range-limited to 150 or so yards.

It's fairly close to .30-30 performance, so the main limitation inside of, say, 200 to 250 yards would be the sights and group-sizing of a particular rifle.
 
If you can hit, the energy is good to 275 or so. You are also getting advice from someone who will shoot deer at 300yds with pistols.:D:D
 
Smaller feral pig only. It likely is adequate for.
Many consider the 30 wcf marginal and some may even believe the 30wcf is inadequate period for use on big game. Although I don't believe so. Still to purposely use a cartridge that has even lesser capability than the venerable 30wcf has. That sir is where a line should be drawn for this cartridges use. Harvesting squirrel rabbit coyote or shooting fish in a barrel is more appropriate for the 7.62x39 use in my estimation. Not appropriate for deer size animals.
 
People hunt deer, bear, boar, and even Elk with compound bows on a routine basis. Others do it with much more primitive bows.

While I get that some of the "lighter" calibers may have less room for error then some of the heavier calibers I think we tend to discredit them today.
 
Where the trouble starts is mismatched ammo. If you use any old .308-.311 bullet, you will get into trouble. Many bullet manufacturers sell bullets specifically for the 30-30. A lot of people think this is because of the tube feeds on a lot of lever guns. That is somewhat true, but the main reason is that these bullets will expand at lower velocities. Some of the ammunition you see for the 7.62x39 is nothing more than hollow points with a filler. OK under 100 yards, but would you want to hit a 120 pound doe in the shoulder at 150 yards with that? I have been hunting with a 7.62x39 before soft point was available. The first imported "Hunting" ammo was a hollow point around 125 grains. Period. No filler. How would you feel about that @ 150 yards? Forget the books, charts, and other crap. Hunting is not done on paper.
 
There's isn't much in the way of common sense in hunting regs, anywhere. Lot of 'em are written by civil servants with a political agenda or who don't know what they're talking about. H
It's more about the rifles the 7.62 x 39 comes in than the cartridge. However, no load, even the 150 and 154 grain loads(Tula and Wolf brands) are enough for moose. MV on 'em is ok(2104, but that goes way down and the ME is low(1514 ft-lbs.)
The real issue is people trying to use it with the 123/125 grain bullets. Hornady's 123 grain SST for example, has insufficient energy for deer at 200 yards.
There's really no comparing a commercial 7.63 x 39 load to any .30-30 load. Bullet weights are too different. 125ish vs 140 as the lowest .30-30 weight around.
"...with compound bows..." Different thing altogether. Bullets kill through shock. An arrow kills through blood loss.
 
I can't say how far the rounds will kill ethically because I am not pushed it out very far, but my wife and i have now killed 11 antelope and deer with our AKs at distances from about 40 yards to about 250 yards. All worked fine.

The best results were from 122 and 123 soft points.
The 154 gr soft points open up very little even at close range.
The 122 grain H.Ps. shatter and don't penetrate well.

But I can say they are good to 250 on deer and antelope with good bullets.

I know hunters in Oklahoma and Texas that love AKs for hogs, but I think all their shot have been pretty close, 75 yards and less. I think they are all using Military FMJ
 
Rather than depending on energy numbers I think a better guide is impact velocity combined with the minimum impact velocity to cause that particular bullet to expand.

Of course energy is somewhat related. But some bullets need 2000 fps or more in order to expand, others 1600 fps or maybe a little less. It comes down to the individual bullet in each cartridge.

Some 7.62X39 loads will still do that out to near 300 yards. And still hit with more energy than 357 mag loads at the muzzle.
 
If you have a bullet that will expand at 100 to 1500 fps it still is not going to be an effective hunting weapon when it gets down to 300 fps.
The 7.62x39 has less velocity with the same bullet fired from a 30-30. The 30-30 is a good close hunting gun and cartridge but it has its limits too.
Besides if you listen to the latest "wisdom" it takes a magnum to kill jack-rabbits these days. The animals must be getting tougher every year. ;)
 
Sure shot, I will respectfully disagree with everything you just said.
Click to expand...
Sir that is indeed your prerogative to critique. So than. Whats your thoughts on this subject rightside? {7.62x39 adequacy on deer size game and feral pig?}
 
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