Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Bucking the brush

I hunt in the woods and any shot would be under one hundred yards and probably under 50 yds.
I prefer my 35 Whelen with 250 gr bullets.
I also have a 375 H&H Magnum that I load down to use 220 gr. Flat nose @ 2200 fps.
That is even better.
What do you guys use when you know that the shot will be close and tree branches and brush are thick.
My land is all that way.
whelennut

I shoot the same things in those situations I do when it's open; .243, .25-06, 7.62x39, .30-30, .303 Brit, .300 Savage, .30-06, etc.

The idea of "bucking brush" with a bullet is complete horsechit. You shoot through holes in the brush, not through the brush itself.

Nothing more I can add to that.

When it's thick I will carry anything from a .243 - 45/70, all depends on the mood I'm in.

Marlin 336 in .35Rem w/ 200g corelocts

I personally would cut some shooting lanes, brush busting is a myth.

The one I favor is my 99F in 300 Sav with 180 grain silvertips but then I use it on 230 yard shots as well.....

The only effective way to bust brush is not hit it. I mostly use one of my lever action.30-30's because they've proven just as effective at killing deer in the woods/thickets as my bolt action .30-06 or .308 and I like the way they handle/carry better.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Exactamundo.

Anything works, they are just deer, and I pick lanes too.

Thick sheit and 50 yard shots is why God invented the 6x scope.

I've been using one of these. The only downsides are it's a bitch to clean and I can only fit three extra rounds in my pack.

Claymore mines in bedding areas?

Always thought the 35 Whelen would be a good one for the blood trail if needed. I start the season with my 722 300 Savage.....

Nothing is going to "bust brush" having said that my close woods guns that have worked the best for me in Northern Minnesota and the pine woods of Nebraska have been a WWII 8mm Mauser and a CZ 550 9.3X62.

For close range thick stuff I have 3: Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum; Marlin Outfitter 444 Marlin; Marlin Guide Gun .45-70. I like the big bores for close range.

I also have a Marlin 336c in .30-30 that would work as well.

I'm all for picking a hole in cover and shooting through that. And, yes, 6X scopes help alot, even at 50 yds.
I would add that if the shot does hit something, I've had better results with premium, fast opening bullets like the Nosler Partition than with fast opening cup and core bullets. C&C bullets tend to separate or deflect more readily in my experience.
It's also nice to have a fast follow up shot if the bullet tumbles.
Probably the toughest shooting I've ever had to do has been on running game in thick cover. E

I've got no qualms whatsoever about putting down the rifle and hauling out one of my slug guns. My 12 gauge is an old 870 that routinely shoots sub 1" groups at 50 yards with Foster slugs. Those flying ash trays really knock a deer hard if you put it in the boiler room. That being said, I agree with the others. My usual brush gun is also my long range gun, my mid range gun, my swamp gun, and my beanfield rifle. Nothing fancy, just an ugly old Mauser chambered for '06 that really likes 165 gr. Sierra Game King BTSP Federal Premium loads.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

"I shoot a 45-70 and kill deer through 4" saplings" said the dumbest s o b at the morning coffee shop. same guy that "took several good sound shots but didn't see anything"

The best brush guns have good optics to find the openings in brush, especially in low light, and laser flat trajectory to thread through those openings. The bullets on my brush guns will be no more than 1" above or below line of sight from 50 yards to about 135-140 yards with a 100 yard zero and will keep 3 shots well under 1" at 100 yards.

ANY bullet that hits brush will deflect, it is just a matter of how much. I've seen some data to support the idea than RN bullets deflect slightly less because the weight tends to be in the front half of the bullet where pointed bullets have more weight in the rear. Nothing to support the idea that larger calibers or slower velocity matters. A RN bullet fired from a 7mm, 270, or 30-06 at 3000 fps is just as effective as a 30-30 RN fired at 2000 fps and only slightly better than pointed bullets at the same speeds.

I'm surprised an argument has not broken out in this thread.

Looks like the experienced 'Fire members on here realize that grenades, mortars and RPGs are about the only 'things' that 'buck' brush.

In the thick Eastern wood, I use a 270, 260, 243, 30-06, 308 and occasionally a 223 or 30-30.

More important than the cartridge is the rifle. Take a rifle into the brush with a 22"+ barrel and the barrel always seen's to get into the way. My Rem 660 with it's 20" barrel worked fine. I've got a 308 in a Rem 788 with an 18" barrel I plan on using this year over in the valley with 180gr cast bullet's. Should work fine.