When the M43 FMJ cartridge was developed in the USSR alongside the SKS rifle, the focus was on mass production, feed and extraction reliability, and barrier penetration. A proper hunting round wasn’t exactly on the agenda for those engineers, at least not at the time.
We’ll dive into the backstory on how proper 7.62×39 ammo came to exist. But first, here are our top three picks for AK-shooters who want something they can use in the field.
Best 7.62×39 Ammo Options for Hunting
1.) Hornady 123-Grain SST 7.62×39 Ammo
2.) Federal 123-Grain Power Shok Ammo
3.) Winchester Power Point 123-Grain Ammo
Initial 7.62×39 Priorities
Tapered steel case, steel jacketed bullet, and moderate power all added up to a successful intermediate cartridge for carbines and automatic rifles. But all that didn’t make a very effective man-stopper. You’ll inadvertently sacrifice terminal performance when the 123 grain bullet ends up with the center of mass further forward than typical for spitzers. As a result, M43 would yaw in flesh, but do that so deep in the wound track that it already through most of the foes’ bodies by the time the upset occured. Most of the military development efforts continued in the direction of armor-piercing and tracer incendiary loads, not expanding bullets.
With the caliber becoming popular among hunters, and more common in home defense rifles, immediate terminal effect became a far more pressing concern. FMJ ammunition isn’t legal for hunting because, while the bullets kill game, they often do it too slowly, leading to unrecoverable animals. Several ammunition makers, Federal, Hornady, and Winchester among them, stepped up to offer soft point and ballistic tip bullets. How do they stack up?
Hornady SST tipped profile is the closest match to FMJ form. It’s most likely to feed in the widest variety of actions. Plus, they have slightly better ballistic coefficient than the more rounded projectiles. Winchester Power Point and Federal Power Shok are fairly similar pointed exposed lead soft points. I have used them in CZ527, AKM, vz58, M+M 10x, AR15, and ARAK21 action with perfect reliability.
Expansion & Penetration
Hornady, Federal and Winchester ammo laid side by side with expanded bullets.
Terminal performance in the synthetic gel block showed marked improvement on the FMJ. Firing from a close distance produced these results:
• Hornady SST 7.62×39: 16″ penetration, 0.6″ expansion, with slight fragmentation and 115gr retained weight. Substantial gel disruption from 1.5″ to 11″.
• Federal Power Shok: 19″ penetration, 100% weight retention, expansion around 0.65″. Significant gel disruption from 1″ to 12″.
• Winchester Power Point: 18″ penetration, 100% weight retention, expansion around 0.6″. Substantial gel disruption from 1″ to 10″.
What Ammo Traits Are Good for Hunting
For turning deer into venison, any one of the three 123 grain expanding loads would do the job perfectly. They’ll allow adequate penetration even through shoulder blades or from extended range. Penetration numbers do not change much when pistol length barrels around 10″ are used: the bullets do not fragment, expand fractionally less (around 0.5″) and punch through nearly 24″ of gel. Reduction in kinetic energy appears to be offset by the absence of bullet fragmentation and slightly lesser expansion. This makes sense, since hunting bullets are usually launched at game further out than a typical home invader. So, their velocity from 16″ barrels drops down to pistol velocity at the muzzle. For full-length rifle in defensive use, Hornady SST looks like the winner, for hunting, Federal Power Shok, with Winchester ammo not far behind. Another suitable home defense load is the all-copper 7.62×39 Hornady BLACK 111gr MonoFlex SBR, offering reduced risk of over penetration with the typical gel wound track 14″ deep while expanding to a whopping .75″. With relatively similar performance in flesh, pick your load based on the best accuracy in your specific rifle.
Since accuracy varies even between different samples of the same model rifle, I can only note that American-made hunting ammunition usually has 2-3 MOA dispersion in 7.62×39 autoloaders. Imported FMJ seldom does better than 4-5MOA. From bolt and AR15 actions, we know Hornady SST to approach 1.5 MOA, but even the more common performance is usually plenty good out to the extent of the ballistic potential of this cartridge.
