proven caliber (for me)

[crosstimbers]

After this past season, I have to admit that I am finally fully convinced that the 7.62x39 (in my CZ 527 carbine) is fully up to the task for deer and hog hunting. I've taken pigs with it before, but always had waited until after I had a deer in the freezer by means of other, more powerful calibers before taking the smaller rifle out in the field for more "casual" hunting.

This year, I hunted with the carbine pretty well early on, and it did the job more than once. Always at fairly modest range, with the Wolf 153 gr soft point ammo. Granted, all shots were under 100 yards. It wasn't that I ever really doubted the cartridge's capability, I think my hesitation centered on the idea that I might get a shot, and for whatever reason fail to anchor the game.....then end up blaming the round to some extent and spoil my hunting with it. Not sure if that makes sense or not. I have shot deer with much more powerful rounds and had them run off, sometimes finding them and others not- so all in all I know better than to "blame the bullet" as they say.

I really enjoy hunting with this little rifle. I have a place I sometimes sit that it wouldn't be up to the possible ranges involved, but other than that it has a lot of hunting to do in the future.

[Lyle Savant]

Yes, from my experience with the cartridge it’s about like a 30-30.  [emoji1360][emoji1360]

[M1A4ME]

I always figured it was about like a semi auto .30-30.  I wouldn't hesitate to shoot these little deer down here in the flat lands with it.  No long shots and deer that field dress out under 150 lbs.  Probably would not choose to hunt with it at home where the distances can be longer and deer much bigger.

It would be sort of fun to hunt with the SIG 556R.

[crosstimbers]

Ive shot some pretty big hogs with this round, and it did the job. On the issue of range though, it is definitely not meant for bean field work.

[Linejudgemick]

I've always heard the ballistics are similar to a 30-30, so I bought a Mini-30 thinking I might use it on game like hogs, or perhaps deer. I haven't had a chance to do that yet, but if similar, the 30-30 is a proven game cartridge and I'm sure it will work. That said, when I deer hunt I often have shots at a little longer distances and like to use a scoped .243 in those situations. I think a rifle chambered in 7.62 X 39 would be great where a brush gun is needed though.

[Ron M.]

I use a CZ527 Carbine in 7.62x39 for stalking hunts of feral hogs and deer. It's an excellent cartridge for short range hunting. It is not the equal of a 30-30. Penetration of the typical 123 to 125gr bullet is in no way comparable to the 170gr flat point from a 30-30. The 30-30 also gets higher velocity with 150gr bullets over the 7.62.  The 30-30 is also better at ranges over 120 yards, although I wouldn't push it past 175. The 7.62 is best limited to 125 yards on game. This isn't saying you can't hit a target/animal at 200 yards with the 7.62, it just doesn't carry enough energy to make a humane kill much past 125.

[crosstimbers]

I use a CZ527 Carbine in 7.62x39 for stalking hunts of feral hogs and deer. It's an excellent cartridge for short range hunting. It is not the equal of a 30-30. Penetration of the typical 123 to 125gr bullet is in no way comparable to the 170gr flat point from a 30-30. The 30-30 also gets higher velocity with 150gr bullets over the 7.62.  The 30-30 is also better at ranges over 120 yards, although I would push it past 175. The 7.62 is best limited to 125 yards on game. This isn't saying you can't hit a target/animal at 200 yards with the 7.62, it just doesn't carry enough energy to make a humane kill much past 125.

I have one stand that I would use this rifle for, the max range there is +/- 70 yards or so. Everyone has opinions based on life experience, there are some cartridges that are very popular for deer hunting which I personally consider adequate to marginal, based on performance I have observed. Usually people pick up the "shot placement is most important" chant when that comes up, but I am not talking about poorly placed shots in the instances I speak of.

I would never push the 7.62x39 past a hundred yards or so, then again I wouldn't relish taking longer shots than that with my 30-30 either. I use a .308 or other substantial calibers for places where longer shots are possible or probable.

But, I do really love hunting with the 527.

[Ron M.]

I use a CZ527 Carbine in 7.62x39 for stalking hunts of feral hogs and deer. It's an excellent cartridge for short range hunting. It is not the equal of a 30-30. Penetration of the typical 123 to 125gr bullet is in no way comparable to the 170gr flat point from a 30-30. The 30-30 also gets higher velocity with 150gr bullets over the 7.62.  The 30-30 is also better at ranges over 120 yards, although I would push it past 175. The 7.62 is best limited to 125 yards on game. This isn't saying you can't hit a target/animal at 200 yards with the 7.62, it just doesn't carry enough energy to make a humane kill much past 125.

I have one stand that I would use this rifle for, the max range there is +/- 70 yards or so. Everyone has opinions based on life experience, there are some cartridges that are very popular for deer hunting which I personally consider adequate to marginal, based on performance I have observed. Usually people pick up the "shot placement is most important" chant when that comes up, but I am not talking about poorly placed shots in the instances I speak of.

I would never push the 7.62x39 past a hundred yards or so, then again I wouldn't relish taking longer shots than that with my 30-30 either. I use a .308 or other substantial calibers for places where longer shots are possible or probable.

But, I do really love hunting with the 527.

I generally stick to shots under 75 yards on most of my walking/stalking hunts, the 527 Carbine is just about ideal for that use. The vast majority of my shots are offhand and need to be make quickly. When I hunt from a stand I most often use a 7mm-08 or a 25-06. The other rifle that sees use on walking hunts is a Ruger Ultralight in 250 Savage, I will use that rig on shots out to 200 yards, but rarely get a shot past 125.

[Claymore504]

The only rifle I have in 7.62x39 is a PSAK. Love that rifle. I have used it for hogs as well in central Texas. Normal range I have used it at is about 50 to 100 meters. I really like the round. I was running an AR in 6.8SPC years ago, but the cost of the round was way more than the 7.62x39.