Probably a well covered topic. Using the 7.62 X 39 in an SKS and an AR15. Since there are a handful of newer .30 caliber rounds with similar powder capacity to the 30 X 39 for the hunting AR some of you could probably make suggestions that'd save me from buying more .30 cal molds that don't kill well.
To ramble a bit - I have NOE molds for both rifles that shoot well and are of ~160 grains and have a small meplat (the likely culprit for what follows). The NOE bullet was a real game changer in SKS accuracy. Shooting well is one thing, killing game responsibly has proven to be another. Two deer down with the SKS, both bullets hit their mark and passed completely through. Neither bled worth a hoot. The first one bled not at all, convinced I had only creased the belly hairs I gave up looking after going back to look mid-morning the next day. Found it ten days later after coyotes told me where to look. Bullet hole was right where I had called it. Second one ran maybe 125 feet before stacking up, not bleeding until fifty to seventy feet into a cut-over overgrown thick with one inch samplings. Took three try's (and dumb luck) running a grid from the point of impact before finding blood. I am back to the 35 Remmy for the season. I want to try hunting pigs with the autoloaders but obviously need bullets that leave a good wound channel. The SKS likes a fat nosed ~160gr. GC bullet of .3155", the AR seems happy with a 155gr. GC'd at .309" and set out a bit long, crimped in the first lube groove.