In early war you on;y have the t-34's as the main battle tanks and i had a shoot out that ended when i ran out of rounds because the weak gun and the armor makes it hard to destroy other t-34's. 
You both weren't shooting at the weak spots.
The turret is very suspectible to HVAP (shoot at the gun mantlet), and for a one hit kill shoot at the hull. Hit the edge where upper & lower glacis meet, right under the drivers position. From the side, hit between first & second roadwheel.
If the range is very long, you might consider tracking your enemy first ( a few AP or HE vs the same track do the trick), then move around for the kill.