Some years ago I shot a deer with my Mini-30, which uses the same ammo as the SKS. I was using 123-grain soft-point ammo loaded by some outfit in Georgia. The bullet hit right where I aimed (the lungs), but didn't expand...it just punched a neat 30-caliber hole through the deer. This was at sunset in the rain. The doe ran into a thicket of oak saplings and I thought we'd never find her. Fortunately, the fellow who invited me was an expert tracker, and we found the deer. However, I swore off any 7.62X39 gun for deer hunting after that. Now, I always use something that pokes a big hole (12-gauge shotgun or .50-caliber muzzle-loader) so I have a good blood trail to follow, if need be.
I am assuming the Georgia you are talking about is the one that has Atlanta as its biggest city and not the Georgia that has Tbilisi as its largest city. My opinion of most Foreign (Russian/former Warsaw Pact) 7.62x39 "softpoint" ammo is that it is not real hunting ammo.
One of the problems with some "30 caliber" bullets is that most .308 bullets are designed to properly expand at velocities well over 2000 fps. When using .308 bullets in a 30-30 one needs to be careful to select bullets not only with round or flat noses for the tubular magazines common to that caliber, but also ones that will expand at the relatively slower 30-30 velocities.
The same is true with the Mini-30 & the SKS. To complicate things, if memory served me correct the Ruger Mini-30 has a .308 barrel, while my SKS has a .310 barrel. If your Georgia reloads were 123 grain .310's, depending on the brand, they should have expanded. If they were .308 bullets, then it is hard to say what they were.
I am glad you were able to find the deer. Bullet expansion is a real issue expecially in 30 caliber, when one is using a case as small as the 7.62x39.