with the new Ruger bolt gun that has decent mags, the AK round has me thinking again;
i know rapid fire from the ruger bolt gun would heat up the bbl, but does it go Mini-14 easily?

reason i'm asking is cause 7.62 x 39 ammo flows freely in alot of places, but i'm all in with
.223 for zombie chootin' job; brass ak ammo is not that easy to find & not many specific hunting
boolits & factory loads available.

i have a Marlin 336 and i'm thinking those two calibers are very close, with 30-30 being a more
proven hunting round. I usually shoot Leveroution 160's & reload those also.

anybody shoot milsurp or cheap Wolf thru the new ruger bolt gun?

The 7.62X39 and 6.5 Grendel are derived from the 220 Russian.  The 6.5 Grendel case is blown out so there is not as much case taper which increase powder capacity compared to the 7.62X39.   The 6.5 Grendel with high BC 123 grain bullets trumps the 7.62X39 or 30-30 but is still pretty cheap to shoot.   Ruger just released their American Predator with 22” barrel which is supplied with a CPD ten round mag.

If your seriously considering moving away from the 30-30 the 6.5 Grendel is a much more versatile cartridge and Wolf sells steel cased 100 grain FMJ for .25-.27 a round.    The 7.62X39 is a good cartridge and widely distributed but since I bought a 6.5 Grendel I lost the desire to get a 7.62X39.   A 6.5 Grendel 123 grain match bullet will stay supersonic passed 1000 yards.   If your seriously looking at the Ruger you might check out the 6.5 Grendel since they basically use the same case.

i'm not getting out of the 30-30, just wanted some opinions as to the overlap between the two.

not really looking to get a new caliber, just thinking out loud,,,,and maybe contingency planning.
i can get 30-30 most anywhere ammo is sold in Tx, but not always the other two,,,,

While not drastically different, the 30/30 will fire heavier bullets at the same velocity.

Most 30/30 rifles are lever guns and the majority of 7.62x39 rifles are AK types or SKS types.  The more significant differences probably come from the platform used more than the cartridge.

The 7.62x39 is capable of very good precision in a bolt rifle with proper loads.  Do not count on cheap imported soft points to expand reliably.

The 30-30 is probably a lot better for shooting animals.

The deer that I shot with the 7.62x39 didn't die quickly. Probably a bullet construction issue.

No.

Was that even English that you were using, OP?



Been thinking about the Ruger American Ranch 7.62x39 myself. I'm sitting on a mountain of ammo and it's very cheap to replace.

If hunting deer, almost any 30/30 ammo will work adequately.  Nearly all of it is soft point and intended specifically for deer size animals.

While there are certainly very good medium game loads available in 7.62x39, most is not expanding ammo designed for hunting.  The cheap commie soft points may legally qualify as expanding ammunition for deer hunting purposes, but will not necessarily expand.

Several years ago I was told I didn't "need" and AK because it "couldn't be used for deer hunting".  The deer apparently had not been informed of this.  Some Russian Silver Bear soft points were used.  It was not selected because it was cheap.  A couple expensive boxes of American made commercial soft points were acquired, but really produced poor groups on target.  The cheap Russian ammo shot significantly better the rifle used.  It took the deer down just fine, but didn't drop it instantly; shot placement was very good and the distance was about 50 yards.  A second well placed shot was fired.  There was no evidence of significant bullet expansion.

Are there any reliable expanding factory loaded 7.62x39 rounds available?

Federal Fusion is the best choice and Hornady SST is the next best thing.

If you want good expansion with 7.62x39 you'll have to look at domestic brands.

Tula has some good cheap steel cased options with heavier soft points & but now that's no longer being imported. So I think all steel cased is just 123 gr. fmj & softpoints which aren't great for expansion.

30-30 and 7.62x39 are very close so it comes down to bullet choice.

I know the Mini-30s seem to be hit n miss with steel cased ammo but that shouldn't be an issue with the Ruger bolt action.

I shoot both, cheap brass cased ammo is about the same cost for both in PPU. if we're talking primarily hunting I'd stick with 30-30. Also very easy to reload cast bullets in a lever gun.

But steel cased 7.62x39 is everywhere so it's cheap & plentiful.

I've got a cousin that used to hunt with his SKS.  I'm not sure if he's using it now.  I went with him 1 year and we both got a deer.  I saw the one he shot and it dropped in it's tracks.  1 shot to the boiler room.  It was not a big deer though.   He WAS using steel cased cheap ammo, soft points.  I don't remember what brand.  I don't remember if it looked like it expanded a lot.  I think it went through.

That same year when I shot mine we were tracking it and it was almost dead.  When we came up to it it started to get up very slowly and he put 1 in the neck.  It finished him.  LOL.  It did have a pretty good wound channel going through the neck. I remember the shot hit the spine and it was just a big bloody mess of bone spurs and such.

I would think with 7.62x39 bullets designed for hunting, it would do well.

Just an aside note.  I was using a Marlin Lever gun in .30-30 that year.  But I did something different and used 125 grain Federal soft points.  They were kind of like hollow points but they had exposed lead.  I wanted to see if I would get more expansion and a quicker kill.  I think it actually helped because the deer I shot was on the run and it's placement was not so hot.  It was gut shot.  But the bullet did expand violently and left a big exit wound.  There was a huge blood trail and it didn't go more than 100 yards before we came upon it with barely any energy left in him.  I'm not sure it was the best choice of bullets, but it worked out that time.  Some deer will go miles if gut shot.  Some normal hunting loads won't expand too much if they don't have much to hit.

I don't think I got another deer with that round.  That was my only .30-30 experience.  The rest of the deer I've shot with .30-06 and .35 Remington.  Both of which always seem to work very well.

7.62X39 with cheap ammo is sort of a blasting kind of thing . For blasting hogs and the like it puts holes in them for cheap .

If one is talking serious hunting on game animals it can work ok with decent ammo but then again so does 30-30 and all kinds of other calibers.

To me 7.62X39 in a bolt gun seems sort of pointless , SKS or Mini 30 seems more natural but other folks may have many reasons to think different than I do

I was about 30 or so before I finally realized the great qualities of a tang sight equipped Winchester Model 94 in .30-30.  Basically I moved from the high plains where long shots were the norm into heavily wooded mountains where 100-150 yard shots were the norm.

A 20" model 94 with a tang sight is easy to carry and both the pre-64 Model 94's I've owned would shoot 1.5 MOA at 100 yards with a tang sight.

Lately I've been considering a CZ 527 or a Zastava Mini Mauser (under the various names it's been sold) in 7.62x39 as it offers the advantages of a light rifle in an intermediate cartridge using pointed bullets with greater efficiency than the flat nosed bullets in a .30-30 lever action.

But there just isn't that much upside to it.   I like 8 rounds of .30-30 in a Model 94, and if I want longer range, I'm probably not going to be satisfied with the 7.62x39.

Tula 154 grain soft points and the 123 grain 8m3 hollow points are both great performers in the steel case variety.

Fairly cheap too!

154 Grain Tula
Out Of Stock at the Moment

8m3 Hollow Point

Will the heavy 154g stuff cause any problems in a gas operated gun?

I shoot cast in my 7.62x39mm all the time, a 129gr NOE mold sized to .311 powder coated over AA#1680, works fantastic in my CZ 527M. Also worked well in my vz-58.
I reload my brass with SST for hunting loads, great accuracy, no field results yet.

Have you seen or tried the lever revolution (Hornady)  ammo for the .30-30?  I've never bought any but I like the idea of it.

No. It works fine.

No, I've never tried either the 140 or 160 gr bullets.  They both add about 30 yards to the point blank range and retain a bit more energy.  On the other hand my tang sighted Pre-64 Model 94 gets groups like this with Hornady 150 gr RNs.  It does the job, so it's a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Yeah, I hear ya.  That's some really good shooting!!!!

30-30 is a beast on hogs. Expansion and penetration. 170grs of soft point.

Very frustrating when people try to equate a 123gr bullet. SD of .185 vs .256

different world.

The deer I shot with my 30-30 drop in about 10 feet.

Ruger American works great with Tula 154gr SP's. Plenty accurate



Tula 154gr also works great in AR's. I've killed a lot of pigs/deer with them.



My furthest shot was only 150 yards but the doe ran no further than 10 yards



Works great on coyotes too

The thing that hamstrings 762x39 is the bullet construction and all the different bore/bullet diameters - some are ~311 some are ~308.  Ruger are the "correct larger" diameter, but some of the commercial ammo is not.

The 30/30 is significantly better in terms of case capacity, velocity, energy, and performance at standard pressure levels.  30/30 is close to full size low pressure military cartridges like the 303 Brit or 7x57 (though the 8mm, 308, and 30-06 significantly outclass it)

Múrica will never give up 30cal especially 3030

How is the .220 Russian, developed in the late 1950s, the parent case for the 7.62 X 39 M1943 round exactly????

Wondering the same.

CD

The lever revolution looks really good on paper (it advertises well) but in the real world the improvements over regular ammo happen at such silly long distances that it is unlikely you will ever need it.

The 220 Russian parent case is a 7.62X39 where they increased the case capacity decreased case taper and necked down from 30 caliber to 22 caliber.  The 6.5 Grendel uses roughly the same case taper of 220 Russian plus shorter neck of 220 Russian case compared to the 7.62X39.   Essentially all the same and I’ve fire formed 7.62X39 to 6.5 Grendel.  It works but has reduced case capacity compared to true 6.5 Grendel cases/brass.   Kind of like saying your Father is your parent and not your grandfather lol.   Really does it matter, I read the history of 6.5 Grendel, can anyone believe anything they read on the internet?

We know the 220 Russian came from the 7.62x39mm but thats NOT want you originally posted

CD

It’s obvious I didn’t reread my original post and all I can say is old age strikes again.   Not trying to make excuses but I obviously spend to much time on gun forums and probably respond to often.   Regardless I considered buying a 7.62X39 then the 6.5 Grendel came on the market.  Since getting into the 6.5 Grendel I’ve had no desire to get into the 7.62X39.

Sorry for the thread hijack!