7.62x39 for Sambar

[mchughcb]

I just bought a 6.5 PRC and I'll be using it for Sambar, certainly a lot more gun than the 308 and leap frogs the 30-06 & 270 at longer ranges

Pffft. 300 prc is where it's at these days.

[bigpete]

I just bought a 6.5 PRC and I'll be using it for Sambar, certainly a lot more gun than the 308 and leap frogs the 30-06 & 270 at longer ranges

Not legal in Victoria though,if that's where you are

[Billo]

I just bought a 6.5 PRC and I'll be using it for Sambar, certainly a lot more gun than the 308 and leap frogs the 30-06 & 270 at longer ranges

Pffft. 300 prc is where it's at these days.

Not in a lightweight SA it aint, plus I dont need that level of recoil thanks.

[Oldbloke]

I just bought a 6.5 PRC and I'll be using it for Sambar, certainly a lot more gun than the 308 and leap frogs the 30-06 & 270 at longer ranges

Pffft. 300 prc is where it's at these days.

Not in a lightweight SA it aint, plus I dont need that level of recoil thanks.

Agree. Get closer to the game.

And who can reliably hit game 1st shot in the lungs/heart at extreme range anyway?

"The 212-grain ELD-X attained an average velocity of 2,905 fps when measured with a chronograph 10 feet from the muzzle, and the 225-grain Match ammunition averaged 2,841 fps"

When I go hunting, or occassionally to the range I want to enjoy the day. Not leave with a shoulder (which is already far from great) to ache for the next few days.

[Tomotron]

7.62x39 is suitable for Sambar and so is higher grain 6.5x55. Pretty sure that insufferable self-hating turbo fudd Fionn was banned lol.

[ruger 375]

It will do the job nicely

[Oldbloke]

Had a discussion with experienced sambar hunter very recently.

He used 45-70 for a few years.
Lost 2 or 3 hit in the shoulder.
Now uses a 458mag. None lost so far.

[bigpete]

Had a discussion with experienced sambar hunter very recently.

He used 45-70 for a few years.
Lost 2 or 3 hit in the shoulder.
Now uses a 458mag. None lost so far.

Spoke to an old sambar hunter 2 decades ago whos main piece of advice was to use the biggest gun you can stand behind. He used a 9.3x62. He was in his 60s and had hunted them most his life

[bigrich]

Had a discussion with experienced sambar hunter very recently.

He used 45-70 for a few years.
Lost 2 or 3 hit in the shoulder.
Now uses a 458mag. None lost so far.

Spoke to an old sambar hunter 2 decades ago whos main piece of advice was to use the biggest gun you can stand behind. He used a 9.3x62. He was in his 60s and had hunted them most his life

anyone can look at energy and muzzle velocity figures and have a opinion ( seems pretty common on forums.... ) , actually talking to someone with years of first hand experience is gold . i've advocated for the 9.3x62 on this topic after experience using it on donkeys, feral horses and buff . OB reported on hitting a sambar fawn in the shoulder with a 30-06 and it still covered some distance before expiring . to respond to the topic, 7.62x39 is probably okay , if you shoot 'em in the head

[Oldbloke]

Had a discussion with experienced sambar hunter very recently.

He used 45-70 for a few years.
Lost 2 or 3 hit in the shoulder.
Now uses a 458mag. None lost so far.

Spoke to an old sambar hunter 2 decades ago whos main piece of advice was to use the biggest gun you can stand behind. He used a 9.3x62. He was in his 60s and had hunted them most his life

anyone can look at energy and muzzle velocity figures and have a opinion ( seems pretty common on forums.... ) , actually talking to someone with years of first hand experience is gold . i've advocated for the 9.3x62 on this topic after experience using it on donkeys, feral horses and buff . OB reported on hitting a sambar fawn in the shoulder with a 30-06 and it still covered some distance before expiring . to respond to the topic, 7.62x39 is probably okay , if you shoot 'em in the head

Precisely.

It's also highly recommended that you not follow wounded sambar. Better to wait abt 10 - 15 minutes. If you do they just keep on keeping on. (Adrenaline?)
That, I think is the mistake I made about 14 months ago. Hind hit hard, 30.06 stumbled several times. I followed and spotted her 3 or 4 times.
Last I saw her she had managed about 250yards and just "vaporised" in a huge field of chest high bracken.

[mchughcb]

An experienced hunter can track sambar into bracken, dogwood and blackberries. Otherwise they train their dog to do it for them.

[Oldbloke]

Your a hero

[mchughcb]

It's a skill worth having.

[bigrich]

An experienced hunter can track sambar into bracken, dogwood and blackberries. Otherwise they train their dog to do it for them.

not everyone has a dog trained for that job mate . why not just use a Caliber suitable for the job so there's no tracking to be done

9.3x62 , 35 whelen are calibers designed and suited to the game weight of sambar . it's easy to argue that with a perfect shot a sambar can be taken with a 243 . perfect shots are rare in my opinion , and we're often presented with shots of opportunity rather than planning when hunting . having a medium bore for sambar game weight has a lot more room for error with regards to anchoring game with a less than perfect shot . it's just logical and common sense

you can kill a pig with a 243, but a 308 does a much better job and anchors big pigs with a tail on shot .different game and weight , but similar scenario , same logic

[mchughcb]

I've shot sambar from 7x57R to 416 Rem Mag.
So many I've lost count.

They almost always run. Sometimes 5m, sometimes 500m. I've been on my hands and knees looking for blood trails and running marks. Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes I have to come back the next day with my trained dogs.

[Billo]

An experienced hunter can track sambar into bracken, dogwood and blackberries. Otherwise they train their dog to do it for them.

Plenty of places where dogs arent allowed, I would hate to see the stats on how many Sambar are lost

[Oldbloke]

Only shot 7, they all ran. All with a 30.06.

[Oldbloke]

An experienced hunter can track sambar into bracken, dogwood and blackberries. Otherwise they train their dog to do it for them.

Plenty of places where dogs arent allowed, I would hate to see the stats on how many Sambar are lost :thumbsup:

Few have the balls to admitt they have lost wounded deer.
You only hear about the success.

[bigrich]

An experienced hunter can track sambar into bracken, dogwood and blackberries. Otherwise they train their dog to do it for them.

Plenty of places where dogs arent allowed, I would hate to see the stats on how many Sambar are lost :thumbsup:

Few have the balls to admitt they have lost wounded deer.
You only hear about the success.

ain't that the truth

[Wapiti]

Especially when people are trying to use the most ridiculous calibres and for what, to try and save a few cents or not to equip themselves adequately?

[Oldbloke]

I started with a 30.30.
A few days after I saw my first sambar I was shopping around for a 30.06.

[Wapiti]

An experienced hunter can track sambar into bracken, dogwood and blackberries. Otherwise they train their dog to do it for them.

Plenty of places where dogs arent allowed, I would hate to see the stats on how many Sambar are lost :thumbsup:

Few have the balls to admitt they have lost wounded deer.
You only hear about the success.

If there isn't a blood trail, or the ground cover doesn't show it, there's not much chance of the average hunter finding an animal in scrub that could run, how far?
Trained dogs are brilliant at finding the target animals if trained, but what if they aren't used by the on-foot hunter?
Bad shot, inadequate calibre, overly excited hunter, scrub in the way, many reasons. You can lessen the odds of that happening by being patient. But it happens. Sambar aren't magically hard to kill, they aren't even that big.

[mchughcb]

In my experience Sambar are quite hard to kill and are big enough. I've shot moose and sambar are tougher.

I spend more time worrying about bullet placement, then projectile construction.

[Wapiti]

I spose a bloke who's popped quite a few very irritated wiry scrub bulls without a drama using a plain old 308 isn't about to give something 1/3rd the weight any mythical status.

[Oldbloke]

I spose a bloke who's popped quite a few very irritated wiry scrub bulls without a drama using a plain old 308 isn't about to give something 1/3rd the weight any mythical status.

Only seen 1 bull shot. IIRC 303. Chest shot, staggered about 8-10 yards and fell over. Did not run.

I don't think it's only about weight, perhaps adrenaline

[Wapiti]

A heavily muscled animal, charged with adrenaline, will test anyone's theory of an adequate calibre, because nothing will drop a big bull instantly except for a brainshot if it's full of adrenaline, I don't care what the rifle. Even a pig will keep running unless its bones are smashed. The proof is in the results, unless it's some kind of magically endowed creature. I'm starting to think sambar have internal organs made of kevlar.

[bigrich]

In my experience Sambar are quite hard to kill and are big enough. I've shot moose and sambar are tougher.

I spend more time worrying about bullet placement, then projectile construction.

projectile construction is more important than people realise . too soft, lacks penetration. too hard it pinholes . i've seen this with 9.3x62 and some projectiles in 308's and 6.5's . most would think 9.3x62 is a decent medium bore and should kill pigs extra dead right ? wrong , most projectiles are designed for large medium game to large game , game bigger than pigs needing harder constructed projectiles that don't expand unless you get a good shoulder shot . soft 270gn speers work a treat on pigs. 250 gn nosler BT's and some of the 285gn projectiles do not work well due to them being harder for heavier muscled game . i've autopsied game i've shot to get a handle on projectile performance over a wide range of game and projectiles. i've learned what works and what doesn't

JMHO

[mchughcb]

Correct

[mchughcb]

I spose a bloke who's popped quite a few very irritated wiry scrub bulls without a drama using a plain old 308 isn't about to give something 1/3rd the weight any mythical status.

Interesting. They just dropped on the spot with a lung shot a 308Win remmy corelokt 150gr?

If that is the case that's impressive.

[bigrich]

when i did a trip to the NT a fella put 4 rounds into a angry scrubber before it went down . he'd picked up his softer projectile loads for lighter game instead of the heavy constructed bullet load .
the rifle , 338 win mag i saw it happen , wrong projectile for the job .
another fella spent 40 minutes creeping in and waiting for the right shot on a scrubber . one shot, down it went . the gun , 30-06 with a 180gn barnes . right bullet for the job