I know this sounds funny but I finally went to cabalas for the first time, and actually bought something to. I don’t know if it was just the cabalas at post falls Idaho but I was very exited to find hornady loaded 7.62x39 with 123gr v-max bullets and it came in a box of 50 for about $33. I bought it just incase I wanted to take my yugo sks hunting this fall. but I am kind of curious of who has ever heard about 7.62x39 with v-max or shot it, or maybe even shot a deer with it?

_________________
"dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth"

1 john 3:18

Is that steel cased? It looks like it. I didn't know Hornady loaded steel cases for hunting ammo.

I would swear I saw Wolf advertised in the Cabela's catalog with the V-Max bullets. I wonder if Hornaday worked out a deal with one of Wolf's suppliers. For $0.66/rd, that's some seriously spendy ammo considering you can't reload the brass.

As for hunting with it, if it weren't for the no-lead Condor law, that would be my choice of bullet for 762x39. I worked up my lead hunting load for that caliber using Sierra GameKing 125 gr several years ago, before Hornady released their V-Max. Last summer I had to work up a new load with the 123 gr Barnes, $0.66/bullet (!!!!!). The Sierras are about $0.23/bullet, in comparison.

I reload several of the V-Max line in 223, and the A-Max line in 308 is great too. I don't think there are many premium hunting bullets that are NOT going to work well, for that matter.

Regards,
Brain in CA

my thoghts were it is cheeper than the $1/round of winchster super x or the $1/round of federal powershock and plus i am lead to belive that the vmax bullet is better than any troditional soft point out there, and reloadable or not i think the extra little bit moor money is well worth eaven buying ammo i have never eaven seen or heard about. but what i dont understand i dont see anywhere a .30 or .3105 or a .312 cal bullet v-max that is 123gr and i dont ever recall steel cased hornady ammo eather, but the head stamp is clearly marked hmc 7.62x39.

_________________
"dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth"

1 john 3:18

It could very well be loaded with .308" bullets. I know that Ruger mini 30's have .308' barrels, and most US manufactured 7.62x39 ammo is loaded with .308" bullets, and doesn't shoot very well out of .311" barrels. Open the floodgates Here comes about 1500 posts about how their sks shoots 1/2" groups with Winchester ammo. As a matter of fact, when you buy rcbs dies, they come with both expanders. It's not uncommon to find 7.62x39 ammo with .308" bullets. Now for the v max bullets. They are not designed as a hunting bullet. The v is actually for varmint. They are designed to come apart. You ought to see what they do out of my 220 swift. You can honestly get pieces of the gopher 30 feet or better in the air. That being said, the velocity of the 7.62x39 might just be low enough to get away with it. I'd run some tests with boxes full of wet newspapers and make sure the bullets hold together before shooting a deer. I have used the interlinked .311 Hornady 123 grain bullets in a mini 30 on a deer or two, and they worked very well. I'd be interested in seeing some ammo tests if you get around to it.

_________________
Be careful, the toes you step on today may be attached to the butt you have to kiss.
Lord, give me patience, because if You give me strength, I'm also gonna need bail money.

I did a little research. It is loaded with the proper .310" bullet. The problem is the v max is a very fragile bullet. Great for self defense, not so great for hunting. The problem is penetration will be very limited. Take it from a guy that has harvested a couple of deer with varmint bullets, it's not worth it. You have to wait for a perfect broadside shot, make sure you don't hit the shoulder. There's just better choices out there. On the other hand, if I had to shoot someone in my hallway, there's not a better choice.
http://www.tacticalgunfan.com/index.php ... 3&Itemid=1

_________________
Be careful, the toes you step on today may be attached to the butt you have to kiss.
Lord, give me patience, because if You give me strength, I'm also gonna need bail money.

so you think that the average of the run sp bullet would be better for deer hunting? from what i hear sp have the same problem expanding to soon and shatering. i am interested in seeing what this bullet would do in whet news papper.

_________________
"dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth"

1 john 3:18

If these bullets live up to the v max reputation, you'd be lucky to find a piece big enough to weigh to check for weight retention. That has been my experience with them. At 4100 fps, they just vaporize. Who knows what will happen at 2300 fps? Just fill up a decent size box with newspapers, still folded, stacked tight. Run a hose over it for a minute, and see what the bullet does. I might be surprised, but the v max is designed to come apart. I've always had pretty good luck with the run of the mill Hornady soft points. Obviously they don't work as well as a partition bullet does, but well enough for deer. I have tried a few bullets that shed the jacket pretty often. Not great for a hunting bullet. That wasn't the case with the Hornady bullets. If you run the test, please post the results. I'd be very interested in the results.

_________________
Be careful, the toes you step on today may be attached to the butt you have to kiss.
Lord, give me patience, because if You give me strength, I'm also gonna need bail money.

I am very interested in seeing for my self for what this cartridge will do. After doing some extensive research on the internet I found a picture of ballistic gel with, another brand of ammo but the same exact bullet loaded by D&S man. But it appears that there are lots of fragments but the bullet still looks to be in one peace. but once I can find time out of my 42 hour work week I will try to get out and test a couple of rounds of it, to see if I want to take it deer hunting.
7.62x39 with v-max
http://www.brassfetcher.com/D&S%20Manuf ... V-Max.html


as comparison.

wolf 154gr soft point

http://www.brassfetcher.com/7.62x39mm%2 ... Point.html

Federal Classic Hi-Shok 123gr softpoint

http://www.brassfetcher.com/762x39mm123 ... iShok.html

_________________
"dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth"

1 john 3:18

If you're that worried about it, use the Winchester Super-X in the silver box that is for light skinned game, such as deer. I used that for years until I got around to rolling my own, and then a year later I had to work up a Barnes no-lead load. TONS of game has been successfully and ethically harvested with the Winchester load, and when you're done you have nice brass to handload. The Federal brass sucks, and the Remington brass has small rifle primers (big PITA).

Regards,
Brian in CA

Looking at the ballistic gelatin, that seems to be pretty shallow penetration. 11". It would probably work ok for a perfect broadside shot, but in hunting, things are seldom perfect. It had the shallowest penetration and it appeared the least weight retained of all tested. It would make for a superb self defense round (humans really aren't all that thick), but for big game, there are much better choices. Remember the 7.62x39 isn't all that powerful of a round to begin with. I would select a better bullet. I pulled the bullets out of some wolf ammo, put the powder back in the case and topped it off with a standard sp hornady bullet of the same weight. Worked great. I'm sure it is great ammo, and it has a lot of great uses, I just don't think hunting is one of them.

_________________
Be careful, the toes you step on today may be attached to the butt you have to kiss.
Lord, give me patience, because if You give me strength, I'm also gonna need bail money.

they sure look pretty dont they.

_________________
always outside!
yugo sks(tech sight ts200)
m24/47(scout scope)
izzy m91/30(rear peep install)
token glock in 40.sw:)

I used to pull FMJ's from 39 ammo and seat Hornady .312 100gr XTP's for use on goats and wallabies. MAN alive those HP bullets used to level game ex my SKS! They were departing my company at 2500fps and terminal effects were very convincing.

_________________
Cheers

Jeff
Lee Enfield No.4 Mk II UF55A XXXXX
Lee Enfield No.1 Mk III 1917, FTR 1953
Carcano 91/41 (FAT) 6.5X52mm sporterized
(dang milsurp bug is catching....)

The V-Max bullets are designed for varmints not game animals. sucngas is correct. It would most likely explode on impact & not penetrate into the vitals. All you'd have is a wounded deer that will run of & die somewhere.
A good soft nose bullet should work if the shot is placed well. Remember the 7.62x39 is on par, power wise with a 30-30 w/ a lighter bullet. With a good soft point bullet, at a reasonable range ( 150yds or less) & good shot placement should get you that deer.

_________________
Rom 13:4 For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil,
be afraid. For he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is God's minister,
an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

What? Holy cow, am I reading this right? Hold on, I've got to go get my wife to read this, she'll never believe it. I have hunted my whole life in Montana, and have killed 20 or so elk, and more deer and antelope than I could ever remember (at least 5 or probably closer to 10 with a Ruger Mini 30 chambered in 7.62x39, and who knows how many with all my other guns). One thing I have learned, bullet selection matters. I watched my wife shoot a deer at under 20 yards with her 260. I saw the bullet impact on the shoulder blade. We tracked for a long, long ways. I know that bullet came apart on the shoulder and didn't get to the vitals. I was peeved. There are a lot of sub par hunting bullets on the market. The one thing I can be sure of, once you try partitions, you'll never go back to anything else. With the low velocity of the 7.62x39 round, there are a lot of bullets that should hold together, unfortunately, the v max is not one of them. That being said, the v max could very well be one of the most accurate expanding bullets on the market. I shoot them out of my 220 swift, and they group under 1/4" at 100 yards. One ragged hole. They would make a great defense load. If you are trying to kill Bambi, I just think you need to reconsider bullet selection, or be very, very careful with your shot placement.

_________________
Be careful, the toes you step on today may be attached to the butt you have to kiss.
Lord, give me patience, because if You give me strength, I'm also gonna need bail money.