I am considering this for hunting medium sized game.

Do they compare in accuracy to the 223 cal uppers? (generally speaking)...

Not as accurate as a 5.56 upper - but more accurate than any SKS or AK I've ever owned or fired.

hmmm, the lack of accuracy and the very minimal effectiveness as a deer ctg ... I may forego the deer hunting idea ... I have an FAL for that anyway ...

Get a 6.8 upper, little more costly but more accurate and effective.

Quoted: I am considering this for hunting medium sized game. Do they compare in accuracy to the 223 cal uppers? (generally speaking)...

For whatever it's worth, I have 3 ARs-- and for whatever it's worth too: all Colts--one is a 16-inch, 1/12, 7.62x39, and the other two are 20-inch, 1/7, 223.  Of these three rifles, the 7.62x39 is the best.  Others' opinions may be different, but among my three Colts, the 7.62x39 is most accurate.  

I've killed two deer with the 7.62x39--longest shot was ~80 yards.  Neither kill was a "drop;"  both ran about 50 yards.  

I've never hunted with a 223, but I probably would if I didn't like my 7.62x39 "shorty" so much.  

Quoted: Quoted: I am considering this for hunting medium sized game. Do they compare in accuracy to the 223 cal uppers? (generally speaking)... For whatever it's worth, I have 3 ARs-- and for whatever it's worth too: all Colts--one is a 16-inch, 1/12, 7.62x39, and the other two are 20-inch, 1/7, 223.  Of these three rifles, the 7.62x39 is the best.  Others' opinions may be different, but among my three Colts, the 7.62x39 is most accurate.   I've killed two deer with the 7.62x39--longest shot was ~80 yards.  Neither kill was a "drop;"  both ran about 50 yards.   I've never hunted with a 223, but I probably would if I didn't like my 7.62x39 "shorty" so much.

I kinda figured the 7.62x39 had accuracy potential as a cartridge. I know the military surplus weapons and ammo really do not indicate this, but I was hoping it would at least perform well enough for deer out to 150yds. My mind may be back to getting one ... heck, doesnt hurt to get one(7.62x39 upper) and try it with some handloads. I wish I could find a 16" barrel. Im considering a DPMS, thiers is 20", Olympics may can make me a barrel that is 16", thiers would probably be more accurate anyway.  

Quoted: I wish I could find a 16" barrel.

Click.

Quoted: hmmm, the lack of accuracy and the very minimal effectiveness as a deer ctg ... I may forego the deer hunting idea ... I have an FAL for that anyway ...

Minimal effectiveness? About as effective as a 30-30 Winchester or Marlin; and how many deer have they taken?

Quoted: Quoted: hmmm, the lack of accuracy and the very minimal effectiveness as a deer ctg ... I may forego the deer hunting idea ... I have an FAL for that anyway ... Minimal effectiveness? About as effective as a 30-30 Winchester or Marlin; and how many deer have they taken?

Yeah, maybe I should retract that statement...  I guess I was comparing to my larger rifles ... heck I've killed deer at 200 yds with my 30-30 contender and a 125gr bullet! ...I wasnt thinking ....

My brother has had excellent results on deer with a Mini-30 rifle and Federal ammo. The bad part of this is the Ruger rifle. It cost my brother a deer once, failure to fire on the first shot, and would have cost me one had I not had a second weapon. I believe it was a fire control mechanism issue.

Quoted: My brother has had excellent results on deer with a Mini-30 rifle and Federal ammo. The bad part of this is the Ruger rifle. It cost my brother a deer once, failure to fire on the first shot, and would have cost me one had I not had a second weapon. I believe it was a fire control mechanism issue.

I think that most of the bad reputation for accuracy that the 7.62x39mm gets is from shooting surplus ammo out of Kalashnikovs.  The old Yugoslav Hanson commercial ammo was more than accurate enough out of my SKS.  There are also a few bolt action 7.62x39mm rifles out there that have a decent rep for accuracy.  If you load your own, I'm sure you can get quite an improvement in accuracy.

It was Federal 125gr hunting ammo. he returned it right after buying it for excessive headspace that made the fire control group fall from the rifle, and accuracy was terrible. They fixed that. Accuracy was still mediocre, but the round was great on deer, quiet and soft recoiling. They didn't know he hadn't shot them with a 30-06.

Where do you get mags for a AR in 7.62x39? How hard are those to get in 30 rounders?

Run a search on 7.62 on the AR15 board, there are a few topics about it.

7.62x39 and 30-30 both have terrible ballistics...

That lots of deer have been shot by 30-30 is not a testiment to the round, but rather to the power of tradition in the selection of deer-rifle designs by hunters-who-are-not-shooters...

*PROPER* 5.56 (not that old, lightweight 55gr stuff) will allways outshoot 7.62x39...

Thousands of hi-power shooters can't be wrong on this one, if 7.62x39 could give them better scores they'd use it...

Further, comparing the (yes, rather innacurate) AK action in 5.56, 5.45, and 7.62 indicates that 7.62 is by far the worst of the 3 for accuracy...

YES, it is accurate enough for deer at 125 yards...

So is a rifled 12GA with slugs...

In the end, you basically have a 200-300yd (for an area target) cartridge out of a 16" barrel...

Either .223 or .308 are better choices, depending how much gun you think you do (or don't) need...

And yes, .223 IS legal for deer in many states, including WI (the rules up here are 'No MGs, no .22 rimfire or smaller, no 177 centerfire or smaller. No mag limit, .223 & 5.45 are both legit for deer)...

Remember that some states ban ALL rifles, or semi-autos... That doesn't mean they are a bad choice, and the '.223 ban' (generally based on flawed science about 'kenetic energy' or 'stopping power') is just as much

Dave_A, to clarify, you can hunt with a suppressor, accordig to Green_0.

And yes, the ONLY thing 7.62 is good for is cheap ammo.