My cousin has been a 243 user since the late 70s , shot piles of deer with the 243 , loves it's flat trajectory.

but as of late he thinks he is loosing deer in the swamp and other places to brush and grass , convinced that brush and tall grass are deflecting his bullets.

admittedly he does not miss often. this could be 66 years catching up with him or maybe the 243 really is deflecting off brush and costing him deer.

he is thinking a new gun , for this year he has resolved to take his slug gun (870 with rifled slug barrel running Hornady SST slugs) out when he heads to the swamp as shots are typically under 100 yards

Winchester model 94 ..in 30-30....or of course big brother. 45-70

Just a thought don't shoot through tall grass and brush.
I wouldn't want to intentionally do that on a regular basis anyway.

Probably can't do any better than that 870 set up, except Remington Accutips preform much better with the same accuracy of the SST's. Those SSTs just didn't expand, poked little holes straight through like using FMJ ammo.

.303 British open sights.

He should be choosing his Shots.

Famous Gun writer wrote a Great Article that became a Classic.
He made the case brush bullets were a fallacy.

Here's another.

There is no magic bullet when it comes to shooting through brush. If you do not have a clear shot, hold your fire.John Hafner
One of the pervading myths of shooting is that of the “brush-bucking” cartridge, or bullet, or whatever, that is supposed to cut through the briars and the brambles and the branches and go right to the target. Sorry, no, it doesn’t exist.

This was brought home a couple of days ago at deer camp where a friend of mine took a shot at a (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) of a buck with a .30/06, 165-grain bullet, and missed clean. The buck was maybe 100 yards away, and the bullet clipped a branch about the diameter of an index finger and missed absolutely cold. Bullets are operating under such enormous force that any pressure put on them is going to deflect them. Weight, shape, and velocity don’t seem to matter much. If there’s something in the way, you’re going to miss.

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inRead invented by Teads

Many years ago, Colonel Charles Askins ran a deflection test and confirmed this. I believe he shot through a dried-up Christmas tree. Years later, Finn Aagaard tried the test and got the same result. John Wootters, shooting a .416 Taylor with round-nosed 400-grain bullets, had a slug deflected by a branch that cost him a very good buffalo.

Oddly, the most effective brush gun is one that shoots flat and has a scope on it that lets you see clearly what’s ahead of you. If you pay attention not only to the target, but what’s between you and the target, you stand a chance of connecting. Pick a hole in the brush and shoot through it. If you can’t find a hole, hold your fire.

Winchester 94 .30-30

I was thinking Winchester Dual bonds , the 20ga 260gr 2 3/4 worked very well for us on a good sized fork last season at about 70 yards from a 20ga.

the FXT do seems to work better when bone is hit , but a slug shouldn't need to hit bone to work.

IMO, any bullet is usually deflected by brush. A good brush gun is one that is fast handeling for quick shot opportunities, again, in my opinion. My Marlin Guide Gun 45/70 with rear peep iron sight works good in the brush for me. My cousin carried a short little .243 Mohawk bolt gun that he used for everything from Beaver to Bucks. He loaded solid lead bullets he had to grease for Beaver and some kind of Sierra boat tail for Deer. He spent lots of time in the brush with that gun.

The problem I have had,and seen in the past is the power lack of confidence in a gun can have. This may be what your buddy is experiencing, might be best to try another gun for a while. He would probably get along with a 30/30 lever gun in the brush also.

45/70 1895 Marlin.

Get a 450 bushmaster if you want a true brush-gun.

My favorite brush gun is whichever one I've got in my hand when I'm out hunting today it was a .30-06

I told him I believe deflection has everything to do with how far from the target the bullet hits the object ,

like a 1/2 inch branch 20 feet out of the barrel 280 feet from the target chances are that bullet is way off course.

however a 1/2 inch branch 20 feet from the target 280 feet into the flight and there is a decent chance a heavy bullet still makes a hole in that deer.

sort of like shooting through glass , if you shoot a target 6 feet behind glass chances are good for a hit , shoot the glass first with 294 feet to the target chances are slim you hit the target.

he remembers a 38-55 from his youth that he remembers as a deer killing machine iron sights and great in the swamp.

he started asking about if there was round that he could have flat point and pointed bullets in that would be close enough that it wouldn't matter inside 100 yards if he use flat tip bullets for the swamp but was sighted in with the pointed bullets for across hay fields.

I said I could load 180gr flat nose bullets and 180gr pointed bullets in 308 or 30-06 but I don't think that flat vs pointed makes the difference , weight is more likely too. but nothing will not be deflected some by a branch that the bullet hits.

No need to beat a dead horse but nothing will travel a straight path when hitting a twig, briars, grass, etc. They all get deflected. Some more than others but all get deflected nonetheless. Missed a decent buck couple days ago. Both times hit a twig thinner than my pinky and the deer was darned close to where the brush was. Granted, it’s a soft bullet to begin with and I could see where the one fragged and caught several branches but the deer went off unscathed either way. 162 grains wasn’t enough to get there. Doubt another 18 grains would’ve made a difference. Stick to open shots and things go much smoother.

Having said that, several years ago I’d shot a deer through what appeared to be a clear opening. Gun cracked, deer fell. Get to it to find that it was hit in the neck. Sad thing was, I was aiming behind the shoulder. The neck wasn’t even in view due to obstruction. Looking back towards my stand I could see that it clipped 4 small twigs along its path. Weirdest thing ever. Sometimes you get lucky. Just not often enough to make it a worthy venture.

On youtube a fellow by the name of Iraqi Veteran ran a test on deflection and keyholing and his tests showed the heavy slugs,such as the 45/70,clearly punched its way thru brush the best.Light,high velocity deflected and key holed more consistantly.I personally use the bigger bores,the 45/70 is my brush gun for white tails.I never bought the idea they can deflect as much or more so than lighter slugs.

Savage 99a in 358 or my marlin model 375 in 375 winchester

I like my 1977 Marlin 336 in .35 rem. I like it because its short, fast, reliable but would never expect it to not deflect on any object before my target. I like it even more with the new LeverEvolution ammo.

No such thing as a true brush gun. All bullets deflect on brush.ALL
To me it is just a term gun manufacturer's use to sell you another gun.
He's 66, I'd say it's his eyesight, not seeing small objects between him and the deer

Winchester 94 in 32 special.

X2 on the .450 Bushmaster w/ the 16" barrel.