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Going to try hunting with my M38, i see not a lot of offerings of soft point ammo in 7.62 x 54R. All the Russian stuff is 203 gr. PPU offers a 150 gr. and Sellers & Betts has a 180 gr. What grain weight has anyone found best for the Mosin Carbines ????
147 grain Full Metal Jacket, the Mosin wasn't made for killing ordinary animals, it was made to kill the most dangerous game of all. It did so tens of thousands of times, maybe hundreds of thousands, or even millions of times using 147 grain FMC spitzer bullet. There are " hunting" bullets out there, but the carbine is not a distance weapon, you need to get closer in that you would with something like the M39 Finn. At the shorter range the 7.62x54r 147 grain FMC should do it, but I notice you didn't mention what or who you are hunting, I hope it's not anyone I like.
Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.
Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.
Theodore Roosevelt
Honestly its pretty much a tie between the lighter and the heavier soft point projectiles.
The lighter projectiles will have a flatter trajectory so you don't have to adjust your sighting as much with varying range, but the heavier bullets will do more damage to the target. Heavier bullets gain a more significant advantage at long range (over 800 yards) but you likely won't be making shots over 300 yards so there is no point.
I would trust the Russian 203gr. offerings. 7.62x54r is a popular hunting caliber in Russia, and they hunt BIG animals with it. People are surviving out in Siberia on what they can hunt because of the 203gr. Russian hunting cartridges. If anybody knows how to kill large animals effectively with this caliber, it's them. These heavy bullets will have more drop to their trajectory, so you as the shooter have to be prepared for that. Barnaul and LVE have some fine offerings in the 203gr. SP.
That being said, I wouldn't worry about the ability of the 150gr. soft points to stop a deer, and they will have a flatter trajectory which increases your chances of hitting on target at ranges your rifle is not zeroed for.
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I got a deer last season in Middle TN with the heavy Barnaul stuff. It didn’t run very far at all. Haven’t had the chance yet this year but I decided if/when I go this year I would use PPU 150 gr. I thought the heavy stuff may have been overkill on a white tail if such a thing is even possible.
Never worry about overkill, but about a wounded one getting away because your bullet didn't punch thru a limb and have power and weight enough left to make a kill shot.
" There are two kinds of people, the good people and the ones that aggravate the hell out of the good people"
steelbuttplate wrote:Never worry about overkill, but about a wounded one getting away because your bullet didn't punch thru a limb and have power and weight enough left to make a kill shot.
There was absolutely no risk of that with the Barnaul! I would think the PPU would be quite sufficient too though.
If I were bear or elk hunting I would just stick with the heavy stuff though.
Silver bear or brown bear 203gr. soft point. Shoot some through the rifle your going to use for hunting and at a reasonable distance to see where they group. I use the silver bear 203s , no deer has ever complained...
My M 39's respond very well to D166 200 grs. So any lead bullet in that range will work fine. 6 o'clock hold @ 100 yrds gives nice group. 100 yrds is longish here in Maine for deer and very long for Moose and Bear. God Bless America. Pro Libertate Patria.
