took a buck last year with 300blackout. 75 yards, high shoulder, Not one single step. through both lungs, spine, broke far shoulder, found under skin. 125 grain Sierra game changer at 2200 out if a 9 inch suppressed.

We live in South Georgia and have kill a lot of deer and hogs with 7.62x39 (125gr SP and 154gr SP ). We use Ruger and HOWA bolt guns, and 16”AR,s all feed and function flawlessly. We have shot out to 150yards with animals dropping like rocks. Great Southeast hunting round. We use steel surplus ammo with great accuracy,we were lucky enough to have purchased thousands of rounds years ago when these rounds cost nothing. We use a 50yard zero.

I like the 300 Blackout for hunting in the low country, especially if you have to make a shot on a hog from the ground. There is less chance for rounds to carry beyond your line of sight and go beyond property boundaries. Ethically, I limit the 300 Blackout to shots of less than 100 yards anyways to ensure a humane shot. That said, the 7.62x39 is a great option as well. I think the biggest thing is holding ourselves as hunters to the limitations we place upon ourselves and our equipment.

You jump from 110s to 150s in the 300blk. However there's some great options in the 125 - 135gr range. I'd suggest some comparisons with them, too. It may not do much in factory loading numbers. I don't know since I roll my own blackout. But if you're a hand loader, you will get great performance.

300 blk vs 7.62x39 grab the popcorn!

Love that you put all the work into gathering and charting and graphing all this out. Some surpising info.

Love my ruger ranch in 7.62×39mm ben takeing deer for years with it so i decided to get a ruger ranch in 300 black out and try it for deer this season can't wait!

It's all well and good... but I think I'm gonna stick with my .308 Winchester.

I wish the 7.62x39 154gr sp was included in this comparison.

Both are good options for inside 200, over that you should consider larger calibers (308, 6.5CM/PRC, 270, 300WM, etc…) I also wish the comparison had more comparable bullet weights; plenty of 123-125gr 300BLK rounds

Black out shines with a 195 gr cavity back at subsonic speed quietly killing deer to 90 yards for me actually I took my biggest buck of the season last year with one at 35 yards. and it performed like a well placed broadhead. but Ive killed a bunch with that load when I am hunting around houses. but the Barnes black tip is pretty fair supersonic to about 150 yards. but I will be the first to say a black out is a toy compared to the 6.5 Grendel if you want to use a AR to seriously hunt with.

I love how I can come up with any idea about anything guns, ammo and hunting related and you have a video on it and it answers my question's!

Good job, Sir. I shoot 300 BO from a 16" Daniel Defense, I reload, and use almost exclusively 125 gr bullets whereas 123 gr is pretty standard for the 7.62x39. Now THAT would be a fun comparison! I don't have a "shusser machine", and have no use for subsonic.

Excellent video, I always wondered how much of a difference there was between the two cartridges. I'm so glad I bought my mini 30 ranch rifle 25 or so years ago. Thank you.

My favorite 7.62x39 is Tula 154 grain soft points. Cheap and effective. Much cheaper than the American stuff at around $15 a box. Paid $40 for a box of Winchester super x last year.

Got me two White Tail so far this season with the 110 GMX and 150 Deer Season 300BLK. Buck and Doe dropped within 40 yards. Deer Season fragments produced about a 1 foot wide blanket of blood. Absolutely capable out to 200 with both.

With factory ammo, I agree 7.62x39 is the best choice. If you reload, then 300 blackout is the way to go. I can load 125 gr SST bullets to 2300 fps from a 16 in barrel.

the other huge advantage the 7.62x39 has over the blackout is , it is loaded to a sammi pressure max of 45000 cup .... if you have a strong rifle action you can safely load it to the same pressure as the 300 black out and gain even more velocity and energy over the black out round

My AR15 in 7.62 x39 has been a good choice for me for deer hunting. Took some good ones with it. I load my own hunting rounds. Thanks for the video. And information 👍

7.62x39 is the better cartridge when the appropriate hunting ammunition is used. So I agree 100% with you.

LI have a Ruger 7.62x39 and a Ruger 6.5 Creedmoor. After this video I think I've changed mind mine about adding a 300 blackout to my whitetail arsenal. Another great video

The difference between 7.62x39 and 300 blk at close ranges is similar to the difference between 300 blk and a 357 magnum rifle. In terms of energy 7.62x39 comes in 1st place, 300 blk in 2nd place and 357 magnum rifle in 3rd place. I shoot and handload all 3 calibers. When you look at the load data they are all very similar, not much difference in powder charges for a 125 something grain bullet. The main advantages to a 357 magnum rifle is it's a lot easier to handload than any bottle neck calibers like 7.62x39 or 300 blk. No need to lube the brass before sizing and no need to trim the brass length. Plus 357 magnum is easy to get good accuracy with homemade cast lead bullets. Especially if you powder coat them and a 357 magnum handgun makes a good companion to the rifle. If you want to hunt small game use 38 special ammo in the same rifle.

I have a savage axis in 300 blk. I keep deer thinned back for a farmer as he gets tags. I've killed 7 in the last year with 300 blk. Federal 150gr sp. Max shot was about 85 yards. 5 of the 7 dropped in their tracks but I attribute that more to shot placement placement

I agree. I just added the Ruger American 7.62x39 to my deer, hog and coyote hunting rotation along with the Ruger American Ranch in 6.5 Creedmoor.

7.62x45mm Vz.52, a forgotten but extremely effective cartridge, that fits into an AR-15 magazine.

I like both rounds, and have a couple rifles in each chambering. With equal weight bullets and equal barrel lengths, the x39 can usually get 200 fps more than the Blackout. For hunting discussion, I don't think a 1000 yard analysis makes much sense. Maybe 200 yards max. Enjoyed the vid, thanks for sharing!

You’d be surprised at the junkie material FMJ 7.62x39 ie Norinco are and how effective they are. Great video.

Adam you nailed it around here down south in Georgia majority of deer taken I'd say 95% or more under 100 yards unless you said correctly you have a field or pipeline or clear-cut. Had a friend from the early 80s up until he died a few years back that love hunting with a 7.62 by 39 killed a ton of deer with that cartridge no complaints

The last 4 whitetail and too many hogs for me to count have been harvested off my property all using S&B 7.62×39 124gr softpoint in various platforms from bolt gun to AR. I have yet to need to track an animal more than 30 yards from point of impact to drop point and most haven't made it more than 15 yards. Inside 200 yards, 7.62×39 is my absolute go to chambering. SOMETIMES, I'll use .308 but then I'm more worried about neighbors, bullet travel, and backstop. And I've had hogs run 50+ yards after being shot with .308 HogHammer loads that made a clean pass through on about a 75 yard shot. No apparent expansion or energy dump as it zipped through that hog. Finally, even with curremt ammo issues, 7.62×39 is MUCH cheaper and more readily available than 300blk every day of the year and in every scenario in recent history. I'll stick with 7.62×39.

I have dozens of factory and custom loads for 7.62x39. In the area I live, there are no shots beyond 150 yards unless you're in the swamp or along the power lines. All the fields are now quarter acre lots for Yankees $400k houses. The 7.62x39, loaded properly, is the modern 30-30 that was master here 50 years ago. This was 200 yard fields, heavy brush and floodplain/swamp.

Excellent video. Thanks for your research. Keep it up!

3rd year in a row using 7.62x39 for deer hopefully a third deer

Just like always, I learn something new each time I watch a video.

I have two Ruger American Ranch rifles, one in 300 Blackout and the other in 7.62X39. I use Hornady Black ammo in both rifles for hunting whitetail deer. I've shot whitetail with both rifles. The 7.62X39 shot was 133-yards free-hand and the 300 Blackout was a 50 yard freehand shot. Neither deer went 25 yards after being hit. Both rifles were sighted in at 100 yards and I did not adjust my POA for either shot. I hit right where the crosshairs were. Honestly, since I bought my Ruger Ranch 7.62X39 I didn't touch my 300 B/O again. I run non-corrosive 7.62X39 steel cased ammo for plinking and love it.

interesting report! I built many 300 blackout ar rifles/pistols with excellent results for Florida deer and wild pigs at 50 yds or less. then the subsonic craze started. the hand loaded subsonic ammo we made were extremely accurate and very quiet, but the one shot kill reliability went to crap. was hunting in north Florida few years back and was carrying an under folder ak 47 with Hornady factory steel case loaded with the 123 gr sst soft point bullets , jumped a nice 10 pt buck appx. 75 yds 1 shot and the deer dropped like a rock. I now carry the CZ 527 carbine in 7.62x39 with many deer pig varmint 1 shot kills, no more 300 blackout for me!

Have a AR in x39. Missed a big old deer that was about 160 yards in a 13 mph crosswind using a 154 SP Tula. Decided I was likely too far out with my hold and the ammo is a brick. Now hunt with a Grendel upper. Dropped 2 at 175 yards last season. I have some SST hornady black ammo now for the c39. Thinking I’ll hit the woods with that after I get one or two with my Grendel this year.

Who tee who 762×39 here is the killer... 6.5 Grendel out of the AR -15 love to see you do that comparison. I love the Grendel

x39 is great on deer. Got a deer with a 123g supersonic, one shot drop. Also with a 245 grain cast sub pill in the x39. dropped instantly as well. Both were inside the 50yd mark.

Great work. Thanks!

I used to have a 300 blk out with a 16 inch barrel. In my area I just didn't have a practical use for it. It was fun to shoot. I shot 110's and 220's. Thanks for the video!

Man I just subbed to your channel and i'm glad I did your content is awesome

I’ll let you know when/if I catch myself a deer this year. I like these 7.62 videos you’ve done lately cus I have a new ruger ranch rifle as you do in 762x39 and am going to try it out hunting whitetails here in PA Myself this year. PPU 123 gr pointed soft points seem to shoot nicely out to 100 yards at least. Like you there’s not many spots to shoot here past 100. My favorite spot is overlooking a small open field that’s in the middle of the woods, and I reckon the farthest shot to the far end of that field id ever even get is maybe 120 yards

Good comparison WTW! I'm not a huge fan of either caliber for deer, I like the 350L, 30-30, and 243 the most. The 350L is my caliber of choice in an AR, 30-30 for the classic lever gun, and 243 for the bolt gun. 🤷

Thanks for an honest comparison I’ve see to many videos saying the 7.62x39 isn’t as good as the 7.62x39 and it’s not proper even for self defense usage !

As with any cartridge, and especially with these less energetic cartridges than are considered ideal for medium/large game, shot placement is the key. I’m hunting with two calibers this year that are definitely not my norm for big game hunting. One is the 7.62x39. I’ve found that the PPU ammo with the blunt soft point round nose ammo shoots really great groups in my SKS which is the only rifle I have in this caliber. That’s the round I’m using. Yes, shots will be 125 yards or less. I’m confident it’ll work with a cool headed nicely placed shot. But then, I’ve shot multiple deer with this rifle using Federal pointed soft point ammo but it’s been about twelve years since I took this rifle out for fun so off to the woods we go!

Matching the bullet construction to the expected impact velocity is the key to good bullet performance. Both of these cartridges can approximate the energy of the 30-30 a known deer cartridge for 130 years. 30-30 bullets are designed to expand at lower velocities. Varmint bullets pushed to lower velocity perform very similar. Due to much better bc of the varmint bullets they perform very similar to the 30-30 at 100 to 150 yards.

I've used a SKS for years to hunt whitetail I use the 123 grain soft point PPU

I'm sure the deer won't know the difference inside 100 yards and I want to justify the 300 but it's not in the data, thanks for the video. I'll be watching to see what ammo you choose for catching deers in both cartridges.

The 7.62x39 with the right bullet for hunting seems like the perfect cartridge out to 200 yards for deer size game including hogs. A friend uses on hogs here in Texas with 100% success

my retired MARSOC GUNNY buddy LOVES his ruger ranch scoped. He gets close to moa with most ammo. I would LOVE to get one, but, getting the BCA upper was cheaper!

13:10 Yeah, I was just telling my buddy how I was going to site my single shot CVA chambered in .300blk in so I could take a deer with it as soon as the creek does out. It's so deep rn that you can't see the deer when it drops unless it has a big rack because it's body is underwater.

PPU rifle line soft points are also good deer rounds, and brass case ammo.

Love that you called out the Subsonic loads. At 100 they are ballistically like a 9mm. Who would hunt a deer with a 9 and think that’s appropriate. People should get themselves a 450 BM or a 458 SOCOM with the about 400 grain Sub-X for that purpose

Years ago I used an SKS with Chinese sp ammo. I consider it as good as the 30-30. I never shot a deer farther than 30 yards away.

I saw a gel test with 7.62x39 defiant ammo solid copper expanders. Was a realy impressive result😮

Federal Soviet soft point is great also Wolf polyformance soft point great stuff

Good information,, pity over here we would be lucky to have a choice of any more then only a few factory rounds

Awesome, thanks for the info!

Both of those are good hunting rounds even though the .300 blk struggle to make the legal energy requirement for whitetaildeer here in finland. With a min. 93gr bullet is needed 2000J (1475 ft-lb) @ 100m or min. 123gr bullet 1700J (1253 ft-lb) @ 100m or leadfree bullet min. 80gr 1700J @100m

Thanks for someone finally saying this, also anything you can handload in a 300BLK you can handload in a 7.62x39 with more case capacity. Although I do own an AK, I have a 10 inch BCA and 18 inch BCA ARs in 7.62x39 and both shoot almost anything around 1 MOA.

The subsonics have the sectional density to penetrate deeply, and as you can see, give advantages beyond 600 yards (where nobody hunts with subsonics). Anyone who can drop deer reliably with a .22 Magnum or M1 Carbine will do fine with the extra starch found in either of the bigger rounds discussed here. (My great-grandfather used the M1 Carbine with milsurp ammo for bear, cougar, deer, elk, and pretty much anything he didn't do with a .22.)

The old cz 527 in 7.62x39mm was probably the finest bolt action rifle in said caliber. For starting a youngster out, that would be the way to do it. I wish they never discontinued the product line. But for now, Ruger does off their American Ranch in 7.62x39mm. Technically, if you are an Eastern woodland whitetail hunter and your shots are well within 100 yards typically, that's really all you really need. I definitely agree with your assessment. Also, 7.62x39mm is still comparatively inexpensive to shoot a young hunter and can get plenty of practice with it, grow with it develope their marksmanship skills and become confident. Using 7.62x39mm is more humane to use than any of the .22 centerfires in my opinion. Each is their own.

Excellent information 👌 thanks

Have shot a deer with the hornady black 110 grain at about 150yds…. Let’s just say when the neighbor finished it off and I saw the round didn’t go past the near side rib cage I got the ole 7 mag back out 😂

Pretty colors! 😊

Thanks for the info.

I’ve taken 3 doe with the 300 blackout hornady sub x rounds at less than 25 yards all deer ran 30-40 yards. Shot placement is what it’s all about at the end of the day. I agree no knock down power but it will kill!!!!!!

Got a few deer rifles ruger in 7.62 is definitely my next on the list

Always good stuff Who tee. Appreciate the respect for x39. Love x39.

Great info

Great video nicely done thanks..

I won a ruger ranch in 300blk last winter at a raffle. Just sighted it in on Saturday with federal fusion 150gr at 100yds. This will be my first season using it for whitetail. I’m in western NY, 90% of my shots are within 100yds (more like 70). I am excited to hunt with it this year.

My deer rife is a 7.62x39 AR. Most available shots are less than 200 yrds, with most under 100..

Really good showwww!!!! Keep it up!!!!!

Tons of company's make both with the same projectiles they're so close with the same weights it doesn't matter. But the 300aac is easy to get subsonic.

I've taken deer with 300 blk The 125gr. Bullets are the sweet spot 🦌🦌🦌

Adam Great explanation on why you should not use Sub Sonic for Hunting. I have both the 300 BO and the 7.62 x39. I was thinking about taking a Doe with these calibers .I wouldn't trust my hunt to either one of them for my Buck tags . I will be hunting with a 308, 280 rem or a 3006. Great luck to you on your Deer hunting this Fall.

We’ll considering that 2 of the blk loads are subsonic and the other 3 are 27 gn heaver they are going to be slower. A better comparison would be the hornady American gunner 125gn @ 2175 fps and 1313 energy with enough power to take a deer to 300 yards. I like your videos and am a fan of both rounds. So for under 300 yards and you had 3 identical rifles just different chambering and let’s say they both shot 1 moa. I would then say go with the cheaper to shoot witch would be the 7.62 over the blk

Good info 👍👍

Since purchasing my first sks and 7.62x39.. the only thing i could complain about is bullet selection. I find locally i am limited to russain steel case FMJ or HP.. not sure if i should shoot a deer with the hollowpoints although i am close up. Limited options at times but i do see federal and other brands of soft point from time to time.

I totally agree 7.62x39 is much better. Just one quick note. I have some 125gr SST loads in 300 Blackout. They might be a good comparison to the 7.62x39 loads. Might be worth a look if you can find em.

Hodgdons has a loading of 21grains of lil gun behind a 125gr. Nosler balistic tip at 2403 FPS and it is the best loading for 300 blackout.

Fun fact! That 208 gr subsonic will out penetrate Eveything on the board and z further out! 😂. That 190 sub x is awesome as well…. I’ve killed deer with both, the 7.62x39 has noticeably more thump at 100-150… my personal limit with a 7.62x39..

I'd still take the .300 BO over the 7.63x39. Mainly because I'd not choose either for a primary deer hunting round. Secondly, the .300 BO is much more versatile to load for, and to buy ammo for. Thirdly, change the upper on an AR is all it takes to change to a 5.56/.223. And again, I wouldn't choose either as a primary deer hunting cartridge.

Wow! I always thought the 7.62x39 was better but the 300 blackout was shockingly worse. Great video!

While youre drop chart may be accurate, i think, they would be more comparable if you added more 110gr 300blk rounds instead of subs.

Look at what you are comparing. 123 grain vs 150grain. Get a 125gr sst in 300blk and its just a little less. Not that much of a difference

I took my first white tail with a 7.62x39 AR last season. I’ve upgraded to a traditional hunting rifle this season because that AR was noisy and heavy

Hootie you should start a new series with live hunts on varmints comparison different calibers

Ill stick with the 7.62x39!

LO l, I'm glad you did this one.❤

the steel case 154 grain soft point, again, if you can find it, Tula?, three round moa groups out of my BCA at 100, scoped of course.

I like to shoot the Barnes TSX black tips out of my 300 BO and they shoot great, but with that 300 BO 110 GR the X39 is going almost 100 FPS faster so not as big of a difference as I would of thought And the 2 300 BO rounds have more energy then all the X39 rounds at 400 + yards so who would have thought.

The Soviet cartridge is the much older parent cartridge. Blackout is new. It is made to run 30 caliber through an AR, and can be downloaded to subsonic while still cycling. It's no powerhouse.

Energy is extremely important but also which round dumps the most energy at impact is importanter.

I do like the idea off 300BLK they energy is their for 200yrds and in for a Super sonic round and I’m sure a Sub sonic round inside 150 would do fine and expand nicely. I under more is better when it comes to power but a good energy dump is good too. I used my 9mm 124gr V-crown and blow through a doe @ 60 yrds and took a high chinch out of her heart and as only went 30 yrds and was down. 11:06

Northern Minnesota about 30 minutes south from Canadian boarder, mostly taken deer with 270 WSM at 100 to 400 yards, dropped or ran 50-75 yards. Wanna do bear hunting with 300 win mag, have done some target shooting with CZ 527 7.62x39 at 100 yard with iron sights got about 1.5 MOA with steel case wolf & brass case norma 123 grain

GONNA WATCH LATER

I do agree with the hunting thing but you would have to load those same bullets sub sonic in 7.62x39 to get a true comparison. Interesting though

I never had any intrest in 300blkout or 6.5 creedmore 7.62x39 i could see shooting what r your thoughts 400legened vs 450bushmaster awesome vids as always