Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Brush deer rifle under $400 what should I look at besides 30-30

Here in the North east, mid Atlantic timber and overgrowth area, I do not think you can beat something in .35 Remington. That pretty much leaves you looking for a decent used Remington 760 or 7600.

Great for whitetail, and bear out to 150 yards.
I am currently building a .35 Remy on a model Seven action just for grins.

My go to heavy timber rifle is a Browning Model 92 in 44mag. Plenty of punch out to 100 yds,compact, quick to the shoulder and easy on recoil, plus the extra inches of the barrel really let the 44 mag shine.

A Marlin levergun in .30/30, .35 Rem. or .44 Mag. will be perfect for your intended use.

The Browning 92s are nice, but if you see one for 400 or under, sign me up. The last one I sold brought twice that and I wish I had it back.

A nice used Marlin 336 in .30-30 or .35 Rem. should be doable within budget, The 1894s in the revolver calibers, most likely not, unless you get really lucky. A well used 336 (not abused) might even leave room for a scope, if you want.

good luck, jack

336 30-30 or 35 Rem would be perfect for you.

Williams aperture sight on a '94 Trapper. The Marlin 336 is a better gun in many respects but a bit heavier. .30-30 or .35 Remington will do.

The various lever and bolt guns in .44 Mag or .357 will work as well but they are likely out of the price range you reference.

Put a low power scope on the 308 and go hunt for the first year and decide if its a issue ot not. I notice Walmart sells the federal 308 ammo for one more dollar more than the 3030 ammo! Now there are cheaper places and sales on 3030 ammo so Walmart isn't the gold standard.
I've never felt the my bolt action 3006 was a hinderance in the brush and needed a 3030 for those few inches of length savings. The 308 will have more recoil though and you could shoot remington managed recoil ammo to mitigate that.
Now if that 308 is a buddy's that you don't want to scratch up, then go with a 336 in 3030 because 35 rem can be expensive or hard to find in some places. The 3030 lets you put those hornady leverotions in there for longer range hunting in different places and you can mount a scope on a 336 (the one you tried on the 308 possibly after trying it one year...) easily. The 308 is a more universal gun if different terrain and hunting opportunities show up and it trumps the 3030 in my opinion.

He says he has access to the .308 ... Perhaps the rifle's owner may not want the scope swapped??

Some say skip the 30-30 ... Why? Hunted for many years in PA with a 30-30 & if I still lived and hunted there, it may still be my only deer rifle. In reality anything from .243 thru 35 Whelen and the multitudes in between would be "perfect".

Get what you like and can afford, enjoy the journey & good luck this hunting season!

45-70

Mod 7600 Rem in 308. Heavy 180's and a fixed 4x or a decent 2-7x

Remington pump, 30/06, 270 or 308- The Benoits haven't found anything better, and they have killed more big bucks in the woods than anyone I know.
Can't imagine a situation where a 45/70, 35 Remington or 44 mag would be an improvement over an 06 or 308.

Sort of agree with the ain't no such thing as a brush gun in terms of blasting your way thru branches e�c. As some have said I would probably look at something like a bolt action 308 over a 30-30 just to have a rifle that will work fine at short range as well as out a little further if you decide to hunt out west some day. I have a stevens 200 that is in your budget and if there is a sportmans warehouse in your area they have some of the older weatherby vanguards on sale for $349 which would make a fine hunting rifle. For a scope just save up a little or shop the classifieds and something good will show up. I saw a newer weaver K4 on there just last week for $70 and something like that would fit nicely on a 308. I hunt eastern Ky woods and a bolt rig such as I describe works fine. Having said all of that neither me or my hunting buddys have ever killed a deer that couldn't have easily been killed with a good marlin 30-30 with a scope and most w/o a scope. As a matter of fact we have used a 30-30 on several occasions and never been handicapped.

Two ways to handle the situation here...

Maybe the origional poster needs to tell us more about the 308 situation to determine if its suitable or not and what options exist to save his budget...

Or:

He has permision to buy a gun from his wife so he has a "hall pass" so get the marlin!

A lot of the Remington pumps will shoot with most off the shelf bolt actions, and never saw one that wasn't minute of deer to 300 yards. That second or third shot can be handy in thick brush. Why carry a rifle that will work most of the time when you can carry one that will more of the time?

If what you mean by "have access to" is that you own this .308, then an alternative is to pick up a lighter/shorter .308 like one of the pumps mentioned or a single shot like the H&R .308. .308 ammo is fairly cheap, recoil is light, generally very accurate, works at long or short range......just a great round that allows you to choose the rifle that meets your desire.

..but the 336 in a 30-30 would certainly meet your needs and I find no fault in it. I prefer the .35 Rem in the 336, but if you don't reload and/or ammo cost is a consideration the 30-30 is more available and lower cost.

With access to a 308 then by all means find a nice clean 30-30 is a very handy rifle and there is a current thread showing burris 2-7 scopes for $112 so that is a pretty neat idea. I have both a winchester and a 336 and do hunt with both of them. The marlin wears a 1.5-4.5 and the winchester a williams 5D reciever sight. They are handy in a tree stand.

Ruger 77/44 would work well with either a peep or low powered scope.

A Marlin 336 in 30-30 would be a fine choice for deer at ranges under 200 yards. I'd put a scope on it, something in the 1.5-5x or 2-7x range, something with a wide field of view at low X for moving shots and enough magnification at high X to pick a hole in the brush for standing shots.

There are lots of good and inexpensive 30-30 factory loads out there, I've had good success with the 170 grain Federal.

Jeff

+ 1 (from a fellow Mainah)

+2 (from a non-Mainah)