Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles BEST BRUSH GUN CHOICE?

Hi,I'm looking for advise on a Brush Gun for whitetail,I live in NJ and have only ever used a shotgun,hopefully one day I'll move to a state where I can use a rifle.The choices I've come up with are a Marlin 1894P in .44,a Marlin 336 in .35 Rem and a Remington 7600 Carbine in 30-06,what do you all think?I'm also looking for scope recommendations,please?I've always hunted heavy woods(yes we have them in NJ) and see no reason to change.I like traditional rifles and gear,thanks for any help.
NM

Marlin 336 in .35 Rem should do fine.

out of those 3 choices I would go with the 336 in 35rem. I personally wouldnt want a scope on a designated brushgun as thats where Iron sights shine, but a vx-ii 1-4, 2-7 or a fixed 4x would be the ones I considered.

Concur on the 336 in 35 Rem.

For scope you will want a very low power (no more than 4X unless variable below 4x) scope if you really need a scope at all given you hunt in brush. The scope should also be mounted as low as possible. This means keeping the objective lens size I'd say no larger than 32mm.

My 35 Rem is topped with a Nikon pro-staff (shotgun) scope. It is 2x7x32mm. And I think it retails for around $130 now.

I have heard good good things about the Bushnell Banner for the price.

Nothing wrong with the 44 Mag. If shots are all under 100 yards you may also want to consider the 357 Mag 1894C.

And please do not discount the 30-30. Although I like the larger bore caliber as well.

You may also come across a Marlin 444 that would work as well if you want a longer rifle and higher recoil.

I'd go with either the 336/35 Remington or the 7600 carbine/.30-06. With the 35 I'd put a 1.5-5x20 Leupold on it, and a 2.5-8 Leupold on the '06. Obviously, the '06 is going to give you much longer range, out to say 350 yards. The 35 is gonna max out at about 200. If you own other rifles, I'd say get the 35. If this is your first rifle, then get the '06 due to it's ability to handle brush gun chores in the 7600 carbine but still reach out there if need be. You'll also find that 7600 a lot easier to load/unload with that detachable magazine, plus it gives you the option of buying a second one and keeping it loaded in your pocket. They are both good rifles. I own a 7600 standard rifle in .280 Remington and a 336 in .30-30, but also have a 444 and .45-70, both in the short Guide Gun configuration. I also own an 1894 in 44 Mag. It is a very light, handy rifle.

Let us know what you decide. The good news is that you can make no wrong choices here...your candidates are all excellent choices!

Hard for me to not like the 7600 in 30.06.
Maybe a 35 Whelen in the 7600 too if you're liking the bigger bullets.

Don't know anything firsthand about whitetails. I hunt blacktails in SW Oregon and concentrate on going into the brush and timber after them rather than waiting for them to come out. Could be similar conditions. If so, I don't think it matters which one you choose, just which one feels better to you. My longest shot on a deer in deer season was 105 yards. (The rest of that story has to do with damage control, not poaching, don't worry.)

Everyone has their own opinion. It's been quite a few years since I shot a deer with the '06. Given the conditions (short range) if I had it to do again I'd toss out the 180 grain and lighter bullets and go with a 220 grain roundnose. Never worked with the .35 Remington but I have no doubt it's fine .. maybe the best choice of the three. Shot several with .44 mag in both revolver and lever action ... it's pretty decisive, BUT I wouldn't choose it if range goes much over 100 yards .. say 125 tops.

I'm going to disagree with some of the other replies you got. I would go with a scope, probably a fixed 4X or a Leupold 2.5-8X. I spent this past year with an iron sighted .45-70. The last day I hunted, I got on bucks 3 different times and could not get a shot because even back in the brush under 100 yards, with the bucks milling in among does, I could see the rack clearly with the gun down but lost it and couldn't pick the buck when I had the gun up and was looking through the receiver sight. 3 good bucks, couldn't pull the trigger. Once I almost "went for it" ... darn good thing I didn't 'cause somehow they'd changed places and I'da plugged a doe ... with a buck-only tag. No more iron sights for me. I've got a Weaver K2.5 which, in theory, is ideal, but I had it on a .22 mag lever action for enough years to not be real sure it would have helped enough. My only '06 (an OLD Win 70) had a 4X on it and that got it done. My favorite scope is the Leupold 2.5-8X, little smaller than the 3-9X so it fits some guns better. I've used a 1.5-5X on a couple different guns and don't entirely see the point, at lower than 2.5X I'd see too much barrel top and iron sights in the scope picture which distracts me and slows me down .. your mileage may vary on that, can't say. Anyway, for myself, if I can't use less than 2.5X well, I might as well have the 8X top end instead of 5X top end.

Bottom line, I don't think you have any bad choices on your list.

Tom

A brush gun should be considered for hunting in close quarters hence the "brush" designation. Hopefully it is clear that there is no such a gun that will shoot through brush and still hit it's intended target. Brush even in the smallest of limb size will still upset a bullet.

That said, any of the guns mentioned will work. I prefer the larger, slower original Winchester, Sharps loadings, ie 45-70, 40-65, 40-90 bottleneck, etc. Long range isn't a factor, and nothing compares to having gotten your game with an old "proven" hunting rifle of the past...

1894 or 336 with skinner peeps OR a k2.5.

Years ago I read a test where a writer shot through staggered dowel rods to simulate brush with a variety of rounds. The bullets that made it to the target the best were pointed bullets like spitzers and boattails. The flat nosed bullets found in lever guns were the worst. He found that bullets with higher BC's and higher velocities were much more gyroscopically stable. That test showed me that there is really no such thing as a brush gun, or at least the configurations and calibers commonly thought to be good in the brush had some definite ballistic shortcomings.

I'd get a 7600 carbine. It handles as good as anything in close quarters, is the fastest cycling action after the auto, is reliable, powerful, and will accept bullets that are the most forgiving should they encounter some brush along the way. It will also reach out much better in clear cuts. It's just a more versatile rifle all around. Put a low powered variable or a Holosight on it and your good to go. They also make tritium sights for the Remington iron's which are kind of cool.

Marlin makes a lever gun in 41 mag also. the 41 is an awsome round.

all the choices listed above are great. The 7600 pump is great gun, and if you are shooting a rem 870 for your shotgun, all the functional pieces (safety, slide release, etc) are all int eh same places as the 7600 which makes switching between guns even easier

For fast shots on running game - I can't think of a rifle I'd rather use than a Remington pump. Mine has laid a lot of BC game down, and fast too.

Mine is an older 760 model in 30-06.

It's a delight to shoot - and except mastering a tricky trigger - it shoots very well off of the bench too.

When I think of brush gun, I don't think of heavy bullet weights. I think of a carbine length rifle that is easy to pack and point in the heavy brush. I hunt in some very furry country. I like a short action, a short barrel and a low power scope. The Ruger Compact in a .308 is a bit longer than 36" but cutting the barrel to 16.5 seems a bit much to me. I like to keep the length under 40" for the thick stuff. The Rem 7600 .30-06 carbine has an 18.5" barrel and comes in under 40". I lean towards bolts. I think a guy can find some nice choices in a .308 bolt action with a 20" barrel that keeps the overall rifle length at a modest 39" to 40".

Edit: I also have a little Model 94 chambered for a .44 Rem Mag. I had a nice .44 Single Six custom job and fell into the little lever action by accident. It's a joy to pack.

I'm quite partial to that 7600 Carbine in 30-06, Whelen would be even better if you could get.

Can't go wrong with a good lever action, either.

BATF&E section 922r compliant G3A3 w/ 165 corelokts @ 2600 fps.

The 1894 in 44 or 41 magnum is lighter, shorter, handier and just as deadly out to 100 yards as the 35 Remington. Loaded with WW 240 grain powepoints (white box) you have 50 shells for just under $30.00 and with a VXII 1 x 5 (IIRC) rifle scope in the lowest mounts I could find, shoots 1.5 inches off a benchrest at 100 yards. If you want a light handy rifle get the 1894, it also holds 10 rounds of 44 special making it more suitable for something that might have to be used in an emergency.

I think I heard you shoot on opening day a couple years ago...

If I was going to be limited to a single rifle to hunt deer in tight cover, I would pick a Winchester 100 in 308. I know, everyone says that Winchester 100s suck, but I've owned at least a dozen of them and the only problem that I've ever had was getting the 284s to feed. The 243s and 308s have all functioned flawlessly and my cut-down 308 rifle probably gets more action in an average year than most deer rifles get in 10 years.

If I lived in a place that didn't allow the use of semi-auto rifles for deer hunting, like PA, I'd opt for a Remington 760/7600 carbine chambered for whatever cartridge moves you. A lovely thing about the Winchester 100s in 308 is that all of the samples that I've owned would shoot just about any 150 grain factory load into sub-2MOA groups and that is plenty accurate for hunting in tight cover. For culling, we buy whatever brand of 150 grain factory load is cheapest, usually Federal Power-Shok, and go shoot deer.

Jeff

LOL, not me, just began this year w/ the G3.

For LOWTEC, my 40 (northern WI) has a few open areas that I stand hunt with a scoped bolt rifle. Every year I went through a "sure have to get a lever gun someday" when sneak hunting in the popples and alders w/ the scoped guns. It dawned on me this year to bring one of my milsurp semi autos. Was real nice and handy to carry slung like it is. Did Not have an opportunity to take a whitetail though.

I guess the cartridge is of importance, but fast handling and easy sighting is mostly important imo.

I use a Rem 760 in .300 Savage with a Weaver K2.5 here in Minnesota

You can still find a few 760's in .300 Sav but the .308 would be my next choice