Hornady SST 7.62x39 for Whitetail Deer

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bamaranger

New member
hey Jack!!!!!!!!

I've hunted a x39mm RUGER bolt rifle,and a Mini30 for about 20 years now. I bought the bolt rifle as a starter for bamaboy, and he killed a couple with it, bang flops. He moved on to bigger rifles, and I hunt the x39 bolt rifle some myself now. It's stainless/synthetic, and ideal for bad weather and woods distances.

G-Tide (roll) comments regards 30-30 is apt. The x39mm lags a bit behind the the old timer, but not so much as to be noticeable in the field on deer sized critters. The two biggest whitetails I've killed, were both taken at under 50 yds, with the x39 bolt rifle. One fell at the shot, the other ran the typical death sprint, not realizing it no longer had a heart. Both those were in the 175 lb range. I've shot others as well w/ the cartridge, with the same results.

My load for a long time used the 135 gr Sierra single shot pistol bullet. That slug is no longer in production. A pal had a quantity of .310 SST's (125gr) and I loaded them up.....they do shoot well in the bolt rifle. I have no doubt placed correctly, that they will do the job. I've experimented with 150's RN (30-30) slugs in the Mini, but have never killed a deer with them. Velocities from the shorter barreled Mini w/ the 150's lag well behind the lighter bullet from the longer barreled bolt rifle. There's a lot of exposed lead on the RN's, I'd expect they'd expand despite the velocity difference.

Don't ask too much of the x39, keep ranges reasonable (it's not a bean field rifle) and critter size appropriate (deer, hogs) and you'll be satisfied.
 
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Roadkill2228

New member
The .30-30 has been dropping all manner of North American game for over 100 years. The 7.62x39, while unable to throw as heavy bullets, is for all intents and purposes a ballistic twin of the .30-30, the occupy the same niche of cartridges anyway. Treat it like a .30-30 (don't try messing around with quarter mile shooting) and it ought to behave like a .30-30. That sst should do lots of damage but at 762x39 velocity the risk of bullet blow up is minimal. Another way to look at it: my brother in law took a nice cow moose today with a .308 shooting 180 power points. Nobody thinks that is unusual. If you compare the ratio of cartridge power to game size I think you'll find the 7.62x39 is at least as big for deer as a .308 is big for moose. Happy hunting!
 
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Zorro

New member
Just don't shoot a deer in the butt with it and expect the bullet to come out the chest and you will do fine with that.
 
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jackstrawIII

New member
Hey, I don't mean to drag up an old thread, but I wanted to share my experiences with using the Hornady factory 123 grain SST load in my CZ 527 this week (the opening of gun season in my part of NYS).

In short, it worked great.

I made a well placed double lung shot on my first buck ever at about 40 yards. Had a clean pass through with about a quarter sized exit hole. Plenty of blood trail, but the deer only made it 30 yards or so before dropping. That works for me.

Yes, the Hornady steel cased SST works just fine on deer.
 
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alex0535

New member
Glad you were successful, reading it I was pretty sure it would do just fine inside 150 yards or so. I have wanted a 527 in 7.62x39 for a while for a deer and hog rifle, and generally be a handy woods rifle for the close ranges I've come to consider typical here.
 
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globemaster3

New member
I appreciate the concern you have for wanting to make a smart, ethical choice.

Under the conditions you describe, I would not hesitate to shoot a deer with your setup.

Congrats on the first buck and may it be the first of many for you!
 
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bamaranger

New member
another SST kill

Hey, wanted to run this post up the list again to advise that today bamaboy (now more of a man than I am!) shot a meat doe with the x39mm Ruger 77MkII and one of my SST reloads. This was the first deer taken with the x39mm and the SST slug, all others falling to the 135 gr Sierra SSP (now discontinued). Yes, I know about the diameter discrepancy..,308 v. .311.

The load runs a clocked 2225 fps from the 20" Ruger bolt rifle. Range was 70 paces on a very typical mature whitetail which I doubt weighed more than 120 lbs live if that. Shot was broadside, in behind the pocket on the foreleg, and out in the same manner on the opposite side, The slug did not touch the shoulder blade, traveling below same. Shot appeared to center a rib at entrance, and expansion as gauged by holes in the chest cavity and damage to the top of the heart and the associated vessels and a bit of lung was very evident. Deer lashed w/ hind legs and death bolted about 15 yds into a wire fence, where she collapsed most dead. Honestly, I could not tell the difference in the deer's reaction, nor the wounding, than if the animal had been shot with a "real" deer caliber. I am also pleased to report that the SST, on this shot anyhow, delivered what seemed a noticeably larger wound than the 135 gr Sierra SSP (single shot pistol) slug that we have used in the little rifle on previous deer. The SST is also more accurate in the load we worked up as well.

I was fortunate to observe the whole business, and was tickled hear bamaboy whisper "Where do you want me to shoot her?" just before he broke the shot. Pretty cool customer. I'd told him earlier this year that he was going to have to shoot some meat deer himself as he'd eaten the most of the ones I'd put up for us from the prior season.
 
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Mobuck

Moderator
very concise shot report "bamaranger". This type of followup is good info and much better than the typical anecdotal information.
Seventy yards is well within the effective range of the "x39" and obviously, the bullet performed as expected. I saw very similar results while using the older Remington 125(mikes at .3095" BTW) bullet.
 
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Aussie Gun Lover

New member
For anything under 250 yards the Russian 7.62x39 will be more than enough for even the biggest Whitetail Deer. Don't listen to everything you read even from the likes of a self confessed expert like Chuck Hawks who according to him the Tikka T3 is the cheapest hunk of junk rifle in the budget price range that would never live up to or outshoot it's accuracy guarantee!!!
 
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theblakester

New member
I shot a small 8 or buck at about 65 yds this past year (last hour last hunt last day & landowner told me he'd rather me shoot a smaller buck than a doe if I didn't see a big boy) with a 16" 7.62x39 and a 123 grain Hornady SST. Bullet entered juuust behind the shoulder and edited toward the front of the opposite side shoulder. The deer jumped up and ran into the woods falling about 20 yards away. Strangely there was 0 blood trail the first 10-15 yards and a whole lot of blood 5-10 yards from where he fell.

I agree about how far ammo has come in recent years. I zero that gun at about 175, which puts me about 1.75" high at 100-125 yds. I'm confident with it on deer/hogs out to 200 yds when it come to energy/knockdown power and not having to hold over for bullet drop.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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eastbank

New member
i shot a doe with my aac rem model 7 in 300bk with a 130gr HP bullet at 2100 fps at 80 yards, the shot was right ahead of the front shoulder with a complete pass thru with lots of blood out both sides after about 20 yards. as the 7.62x39 is faster by 200 hundred fps, i see no reason why the 7.62x39 would not be a better round for deer and hogs. eastbank.
 
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