Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Bush Gun for Eastern Woods

I have not seen a 760 malfunction either.

Nor have I, and I've seen lots!!!

I have no argument with a man who choses any of the pumps or levers for this type of hunting. This is the same type of terrain I usually hunt here in Georgia and I am more comfortable with a light weight bolt rifle. With the right rifle and practice there is less difference in the speed of accurate repeat shots than many believe. Shots for me can range from 15 yards to over 200 so I sight in dead on at 100 and make a note of where bullets hit at 50 and 200 yards. My main concern is threading a bullet through a tiny hole in the brush at under 75 yards. Barrels from 20"-22" are fine. I have never felt anything shorter was an advantage. I have used a 1974 model Remington 700 in 30-06 that has been restocked in a light weight fiberglass stock by Garrett Accura-lite for most of my life. Lately I have been very impressed with my new Tikka. It is a touch more accurate but a lot lighter.

I'm thinking about a bear rifle. Since I'm from Pa. and hunt grouse with a side by side according to Savage 99 looks like I'm going to have to get a side by side rifle. Better start saving my money!!! I'll probably never get one because us Pa. boys just aint as bright as the fellows farther north of us.

Battue

I've had no problems with my 760 and it's been in some nasty weather.

the 7600/35 whelen, or a BLR in 358 win makes for an excellent brush combo

Marlin 336 or Remmy 7600 in 35 rem.

BMT

This guy sounds like a new shooter, so I thought it best to try and steer him to the most trouble free, easy to find and learn solution, and one with a modest amount of recoil. I don't think the 35 Whelen is the cartridge to learn on. Also, he is probably not a hand loader, so if he is going to get a decent amount of practice on a reasonable budget, that mean .30-'06, .308, 270, 243 or .30-30. All the great odd-ball cartridges have a fairly steep price on factory ammo, e.g. 35 Whelen, 444 Marlin, 358 Winchester. A 760 would be fine, but not for the reason he stated he was looking that way.

Another vote for the 7600.

Well, lemme see. I currently own two Remmie pumps, a 7600 in .280 (hear that, scorpion? and yes, it's sweet!) and an older 760 in .30-06...never had a problem with a 760/7600. Fast, accurate, powerful, detachable box magazine, and can reach out. Have a 336C in .30-30, a 1895 Guide Gun in .45-70, and a twin to it in 444. They are all short, handy, accurate, and powerful. Have a Savage in .25-06 with a 22" barrel and synthetic stock. Perfect rifle in a perfect caliber. I don't have a Model 7 cuz Remmie won't make the beasties in left-hand.
I lust after a Savage 99 in 358 or 284...may have to settle for a .308 some day.

These guns work. They get it done. I have others that are outside the scope of this thread. All that said, I hunted many a year in the forests of the Southeast carrying that Marlin .30-30 and never felt at a disadvantage. I have carried that 444 with a Leupold Vari-X III in 1.5x5 and never felt at a disadvantage with it, either. I'm good with either one out to 200 yds. Maybe a good compromise might be a Marlin 308MX in 308 Marlin caliber. Short, handy, fast-handling, and can reach out to 300 yds or so. There's lots of good choices out there!

That's a 30/30 lever gun description if I ever heard one.

Marlin 336 it is . . . . .

BMT

This rifle chambered for the old 30-06 or 35 Whelen:



Remington 750 Woodsmaster.

I think it is impossible to get a "better" rifle for hunting the northeast for whitetails than a Remington 7600 pump in 270,308,30/06,etc. For me,and due maybe to years of grouse hunting with Winchester M12's and Remington 870's,the 7600 is the fastest manually operated rifle I can buy.I vote with those who think follow-up shots ARE important in brushy terrain.

Mechanical problems with 7600's are pretty rare.

That said, I mostly use a light bolt action in 270 or 30/06 (but anything from 7/08 up is good),and these are the same rifles I use every year out west as well.I do not favor traditional brush cartridges in the northeast because, even though MOST shots are under 100 yards, there are too many opportunities along big logging roads and power line rights of way where distances can stretch to the limits of your ability.Bucks during the rut are generally on the move and you will have scant seconds to pull off a 300+ yard shot as he crosses.It pays to have a flat shooting cartridge under these circumstances,and the last thing I want then is a heavy bullet,low velocity round.I have seen guys disapointed in Northern Maine cause this happened to them after a week of hard hunting and their 30/30 or 35 Remington was as useful as a handful of rocks. It is common to encounter both open and heavily wooded terrain in the same day.

At the end of the day,it is hard to beat a light 270 or 280 bolt action with a 20"-22" barrel, shooting a well-constructed 130-150 gr bullet at 2800+ fps, with a lower end variable,fixed 3X or 4x,etc.My choice of bullets in factory or handloads today would be things like the Nosler Partition,TSX,or Swift Aframe.Such rifles and loads smack big northern bucks down with authority in heavy cover,and give you the reach you need should a 300-400 yard opportunity come along.Come to think of it, these combos work very well on a jaunt in the American west as well.JMHO.

A lot of north easterners like Rem pumps and semi's and shoot 308 or 06's and like factory Rem 180 RNCL's.

I like my M7 s/s and shoot 154 Horn RN's in 7-08, "The thinking mans deer rifle" Unsteady at 100..find a tree, there's a lot of them around, or get a 81/4-9# if you have to do the 100 off-hand thing

Want a brush buster..think slow and heavy..slugs,45-70, 35 Whel,358 Win. Had a friend that shot a deer with a 35 Whel. and blew a 2" sapling and killed the deer..the deer was only a foot behind the sapling. The truth is all bullets deflect. If that deer was 15-20 feet behind the sapling the story may have been different!

Art

What BobinNH said +1

This wouldn't be a bad choice:

7600 Carbine in Camo

I'd skip the big mag.
_

Having worked as a rangemaster for over 5 years I can tell you (brace yourself Remmy pumpnuts) that the Remington autos and pumps do jam frequently. I can also tell you I'm certain that the vast majority of these jams occur on guns that haven't been properly cleaned since the guy at the sporting goods store put them out on the sales rack. You can't fault a gun when it's not the gun's fault! There's not a thing wrong with a Remmy pump as long as basic maintenance isn't ignored, but then again, doesn't that apply to any gun? The only consistent "non-maintenance" source of jams I saw was with aftermarket clips, especially those lovely plastic bannanna clips from MTM. JUNK! If you feel the need to carry a spare clip, snoop out an original Remington clip and leave it at that. As has been said, these rifles are extremely popular in Penn's woods. (I'm still kicking myself for not picking up one of those .257's Grice's had a few years ago!) Personally, I'm more concerned with accuracy than a fast second shot. I carry an old Mauser and I'm not bragging, but I've snuck bullets through some pretty small holes in the brush to bang-flop deer that never even saw me. They were dead before they hit the ground. To each his own. The pumps are fine, but I'm getting a little older now, and the hills keep getting a little steeper. Weight is becoming more of an issue. I can see a Mountain Rifle or a Model 7 in my future shortly here.

I have 3 pumps, a 308 / 760 barrel cut to 17.5 ", a 7600 in .260 barrel cut to 19" and stock cut to fit my daughter these 2 guns are pure POISON on whitetails and a NIB .280. All good guns, but as the years come on i now carry a older model 7 in 7mm-08, really like this gun for the weight. Other daughter shoots a Ruger .250 Internatioal full stock. Bought both girl a Remington Mountain rifle in 7x57, might try these out this year.

When I use to hunt northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin before moving to Oregon, my rifle for 'woods hunting' was a 30/06 with a 2 x 7 Leupold heavy duplex scope and the load was Remington Factory 220 grain RN loads...Remington 700 and later a Browning A Bolt...

the other alternative was a Marlin 444, with a 4 power scope and 240 grain Factory Rem loads...

neither one ever failed me...

but a 300 Win Mag in an A Bolt, shooting a Federal 200 grain Sierra SP load did fail me, or a very large and well hit buck, last day of the season one year....

..... in a .308 (or 30/06) and have the bbl cut back to 18.5" and add a 1.5x5 Leupold.

I have the same in my gun locker. It is PERFECT for this neck of the woods.