Brush Guns :whats your preference ?

Got back from the range after messing around with my new 7.62x39 upper and I'm feeling this set up is going to make a great brush gun for 15-50yd work. But made me wonder what is everyone's preference for a brush gun and why ?

Open site 44 mag lever action. Either a model 94 or a marlin. I like it as I usually don't shoot it more than 30 yards.

SKS is good too; and might give some more range IMO. All very good for killing hogs in thickets at close range.

What is considered a brush gun?

In my opinion, no such thing.

X2 on the sks 7.62x39.

I will second that opinion.

M1 Garand is my go to short range , heavy timber rifle. Open sights and easy to shoot. I had a lever 44 that was real handy.

Marlin model 336 .35 Remington

Nice choice!

Brush gun=medium range center fire.Deer\bear rifle.

Many good calibers, I have the 30-30, 35 Marlin, and a 45-70.

Osky

M1a Socom. I got rid of the forward P Rail first time I burned my hand on it. I call that carbine my bear spray. We have hosed a few bears together.

The term "brush gun" is a relative term.
A .50 cal is a better brush gun than a Daisy BB gun. (.50 cal is probably the only GOOD brush gun.)
00 buck is probably one of the better brush guns, since there is more opportunity for projectiles to make it through the holes in the brush.
The problem with shooting at an animal inside of a brushy area is determining how much brush are you trying to shoot through and how close is the animal to the brush you are shooting through. Closer is better because the bullet will often deflect from a straight ahead direction after impacting a small branch.
Generally speaking, bigger is better. The bullet needs to retain enough lethal energy after passing through the branch.

A brush gun to me is a rifle that is used to kill hogs or other animals in very thick brush. Our brush down here is usually in the form of thick briars, blackberries, or other small thickets that hogs like to bed in and also bay up in. Need a gun that can be thrown up quickly, still have the field of view, and also bust through the brush/debris while still hitting and killing the target. Need a gun with a heavy bullet that will shoot through debris to do this.

hard to hit anything through branch's. they defect bullets from their path. wait to shoot till you can see the part of the deer where the bullet needs to go. my idea of a brush gun is one with open sights and used in heavy cover where you wont be shooting very far. first deer rifle I ever owned was a 30-30. I still like that cartridge. been around a long time for good reason.

I'm pretty sure the term "brush gun"doesnt mean shooting at sounds through heavy brush.It means when hunting in brushy bush you are going to kill around 50yds give or take a few as opposed to open country where you may kill at 300yds +/- like Danny C. said

Winchester 94...30-30

Mine is a .308 in a model 100 Winchester, open sights. Mine is wickedly accurate too. I cant see good enough to shoot it like I did 35 years ago, but it comes up nice and in close, you don't have to spend much time aiming.

Cut checkering on mine too, unlike the other dozens I've seen. It's a "cherry " piece .

12ga. Mossberg 500 - Smooth bore Deer Barrel and Winchester 2 3/4" rifled slugs.

In the AR platform mine is a 458 SOCOM ... handgun hunting I use a 454 Cas.

The two I use most are the lever Marlin and Winchester. I have two stands from the good deer days that look across lows/swamps to the brushy edges across where the deer travel, 75-100 yards for the most part. They are open sights and work well when still/stalk hunting in this country.


Gotta get them up to Les however for some custom engraving.

Osky

.45-70 Govt. with a red dot.

Place dot on target and hold on.

That is good. About 20 years ago, I bought a barrel for my 1100 Remington, same deal, and shot one deer with it. It's lethal for sure. It's handy just to keep that one in the house loaded with buckshot. It handles easy that way.

I wonder if a run of Winchesters didn't come out with cut checkering. Mine is the only one I've seen like that. We have a gunsmith up here that will do that, I believe.

My Marlin mayb Les, the Winchester is one of the first run originals from my great grandfather. Going to leave that one alone.

Osky

I like the 30-30 too Danny! Great gun. I have a model 94 trapper in 30-30, but it kicks so bad that I don't use it much any more.
I bet more deer been killed with a 30-30 than any other round other than a shotgun.

7.62x39 is very close ballistically to the 30-30.

I have a Stevens bolt action in a 30-30, my Grandmothers old gun. Another open sights gun.

I lost a remington 141 in .35 remington open site in a fire .I loved that gun for still hunting in the cedar thickets on rainy days .Now i use grandpas 444 marlin 336 open site for the same purpose .I intend to get another 141
They wont win no beauty pagents but they always work .and cary great .The
444 is a great gun also easy handling .

For stand hunting in heavy brush is the same thing i hunt long range with a 7mm rem mag model 700 i can always pick out a hole and thread a 7mm bullet through it . If not I probably take the shot

Your right Boco, but one Hollywood cowboy to the other, 30-30 sounds better.

Osky

Yea Osky but the semi is sure fun to shoot.

That does look good Boco, spring bear?

Osky

Yea couple years ago.

Boco but ya see, with a 45-70 , 458SOCOM or anything else that can spit out a 350 to 450 grain lump of lead, ya don't need that condom on the back end for the extra boolits

458 socom with an eotech. 325gr hornady ftx at near 2000fps.

The extra boolits are for the old eyes and shakey hands,lol.(and for killing more than 1 thing at a time)

I have an older Marlin 45/70. I do not know what a brush gun is but that particular rifle shoots pretty good.
Truth be told my favorite is my old 25/06 in a Remington BDL. More of a thread the needle operation.


Zim

X 2.... I bet a Winchester 94 in 30-30 is an all time favorite thru the years!!

Ruger 77 Paddle stock bored out to .35 Whelen. Cut at 20” with a fiber optic front sight and an NECG Ghost Ring rear.





Why?
Rugged, reliable, low maintenance, quick handling, easy to make brass, can load pistol bullets for cheap plinking or up to 300 grainers for truly big stuff.

I personally plink with 158 lead bullets over trail boss powder, shoot treed lions with 158 XTP (about like .357 Mag rifle velocities), shoot 225 Sierras into deer and load 225 TSX when bear hunting.

32 Winchester special lever action with a peep sight.

Winchester 32 special.

Same gun I take when I'll be hunting in the thick stuff with limited range shots. Open sights of course.

Mine's an old one; circa 1950's, back when American built quality hunting rifles.

Ruger 44 carbine

I hunt with the same gun, same model and caliber.

The last brush gun I shot a deer with was a scoped Remington 11-87 12 gauge with a rifled slug barrel using Lightfield slugs. That deer turned to go and I got off three shots as quickly and accurately as I could. The deer gave no indication of being hit. I found blood and the deer not far beyond it. I would have thought two twelve gauge slugs in the boiler room would have thrown that deer for a loop.

444 marlin or my 94 marlin in 45 colt

35 lever rem

Winchester Model 64 30-30, open sights and a peep sight for a bit more help at 100 yards.

Added bonus, I can get ammo at any gas station or hardware store.

44 mag and 30 30 lever guns for me. I prefer model 94 win. Guns.

Savage 99 .308 lever action with open sights or Rem 870 12ga in open sights. Doing deer drives either of those guns is deadly for me.

Dave

Remington pump and marlin lever both in 35 Rem. with 3x leupold AND 2X bushnell cause I cant see scat

My quick handling, short range, go to rifle is a Marlin 336 that I rebarrelled to 458 American. The barrel is a Douglas that I cut to 16". When I built it, I put an express sight on it but that was 30 years ago and my eye has gotten tired so now it wears a low powered Leupold scope. It hits hogs pretty hard so it has come to be known as "The Hog Cannon"!

Savage 99 lever 308-gun of choice for bushmen in the North for many years.

Savage 303 with 190 gr. bullet, 38-55 Winchester with 255 gr. hard cast bullet both in Savage model 99. Remington 760 carbine in 30-06 220 gr.bullet. My favorite woods rifles.

264win mag.
Learned real fast that big, slow bullets deflect more than fast and small.

I never hunted big game in the brush in the states, but here for wild boar and deer on a driven hunt in the woods I like my 35 Whelen. 250 grain .358 bullet not too fast.


Pete

I don't shoot through brush.
But I guess anything of an appropriate caliber for your intended game along with some form of open sights might qualify as a "Brush" or close range hunting rifle.

https://www.chuckhawks.com/brush_bucking_bullets.html

My “ brush “ gun is a Remington mod. 742 carbine in 30/06. It was my moms gun and she hunted elk with it before I did. Has a 2x7 Redfield on it and has taken elk from 11yds. to 311 yds. and once put 2 deer down with 1 shot. When I need to get it done, that’s my go to gun.

.303 British,8mm Mauser,30/40 Krag,45/70,and coming soon 38/55

No disrespect meant,but that's disputable.I would much prefer my 45/70 in brush conditions over my .257 Roberts.405 gr. vs.117 gr.

LOL!

My Marlin in 50 Alaskan firing a 525 gr cast performance bullet.

Originally Posted by Wolfdog91

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Got back from the range after messing around with my new 7.62x39 upper and I'm feeling this set up is going to make a great brush gun for 15-50yd work. But made me wonder what is everyone's preference for a brush gun and why ?

An Ithica Model 37 Home Defender that is made to SLAM fire!

when I am going out on drives , to be the dog M500 2 3/4 rifled slugs smooth bore barrel with rifle sights

for many years it was a rem 1100 with 28 inch vent rib shooting running deer was like a hard crossing clay. lead appropriately and follow through.

the 1100 eventually got a 2x scope as we were seeing more deer further and I had to get glasses.

the 500 is my gun of choice for hauling around now on many miles of drives , quick to the shoulder , off hand I have no problem hitting a dinner plate to 100 yards with the slugs and it weighs what feels like a lot less than my 1100 and about a foot shorter.

one more quality of a brush gun besides a heavy hitting , fast handling ,short gun , for me it needs to be fully field stripped on the dining room table in about a minute so it can get dried and wiped down before being put away. because we hunt in any weather.

30-30 is the gun of choice for beluga hunting. When you only have a target for a few seconds the shorter gun is the best option. A defender shot gun with slugs may also be really good.

I think all Ithica M 37's will slam fire.

Savage model 99. I have used the .300 / open sights since I was in my teens and just had a .308 model 99 passed down to me. Plan to put a 4x or 2-7x scope on the .308 and alternate the two for everything but stand hunting. The winchester model 88 is another good gun for still hunting, brush/woods hunting, or driving. Everyone in my buddies camp has used the 88s for ages.

We can't use it in PA, but I would think buckshot would be best in thick brush???? Southern boys I've known swore by it for driving or running deer with hounds.

only up to a certain year they added a dis-connector on the newer ones

but I think all the ones up till the late 70s early 80s would.

it is however hard on the bolt lockup

easier to pump then shoot off the reset

and if you are used to shooting off the reset the slam fire will sure surprise you if you didn't know it was going to happen.

Good to know, I was curious if they changed the newer ones. The slam fire will certainly would be a surprise you if you didn't know it was going to happen.

Having spent the past week up here in Idaho chasing bears , I can say there's brushy hunting conditions that are completely different than other parts of the country . Here ? Became a big fan of just having a revolver on my hip . If for no other reason than freeing up my hands while climbing . I was primarily bow hunting , but, we tried calling a few areas where a firearm was a more intelligent choice. I opted to only pack the revolver.

My cousin was carrying a .348 Winchester. Great medicine for its intended purpose. However, I'm glad he was carrying it and not me.

I have a 742 Rem in 3006 with a 1-4 Leupold. It does not jam. I used to use it to jump shoot deer when swamps were frozen and deer would bed on dry hammocks. Dont seem to get that cold anymore in the South.

With the the scope on 2x, I could shoot with the both eyes open just like shooting quail with a shotgun. That rifle was a great woods gun for short and quick shots. I think 308 would have been as good as 3006. Their 280 would have been good too.

I reloaded with small base dies and trimmed on the short side. Never had jams except when I thought I needed 3000 fps and did not have small baze dies. Learned that lesson. At 50-100 feet, it is not necessary.

here in WI hardly ever need to shoot 200 yards , a few people do I suppose , I have never shot a deer past 110 yards , I bought the 742 in 30-06 when I was 14 , did make the mistake of putting a 6 power scope on it and used it to stand hunt, I liked it because it felt just like my 1100, I plan to replace the scope with a 2-7 any way.

running 30-06 at near 308 velocity few things will know the difference and inside 200 yards you likely won't either but the gun will sure last a lot longer.

I am running several 2-7x32 scopes , like you say on 2X shooting running deer like they are birds as close as 10-15 yards

Aaron I hope you enjoyed Idaho. When I get on here moaning about steep and brushy you now will know I am not a complete baby. The older you get the steeper it gets. No bear? As far as brush gun a model 600 Remington in 350 Remington magnum.

I carry a (Dirty-30) when in the brush

I was saying to another member here that I completely underestimated how physically demanding hunting here is. Beautiful country. A great time with old friends and a wonderful trip with family . But the struggle is definitely real, sir.

Remington 141 in .35

Great gun oneoldboot. The grandpappy of the 760. Spiral magazine tube so you could shoot pointy bullets.

All this gun talk and pictures is putting me in the mood to treat myself to a new one

Haha,doesn't take much,does it?

I'll say

Why limit yourself to just ONE?

Les, the model 100 Winchesters (and 88's) made before 1964 had the checkering... after that it was that basket weave stuff that I don't like very much.

I started hunting with my grandma's, except it's a carbine and the barrel ends at the end of the magazine. Fast handling little gun for sure!
I still have it but don't carry it anymore. Poor in brush, imo. (To slow and not enough spin to stabilize if it nips a twig. Two steps above a muzzleloader with a round ball tho.)

bullet deflection all seems to be how the test is setup are you hitting the 1/2 inch twig 10 feet out of the barrel or 10 yards from the target. with the major constant that a light bullet going very fast is most effected by the brush strike.

which makes sense , an object in motion stays in motion unless acted on by an outside force , when the object is light and moving very fast it is more changed than a slower 3x or more heavier projectile.

in even the 165 gr 308 bullets it doesn't seem to make much difference a 180 or 200 going right about 2000fps probably wouldn't do any worse than the 308

you might find this interesting , it seemed to be one of the best controlled tests I have seen. https://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-40-deflected-bullets-and-the-box-o-truth/

not taking a family heirloom out in potentially fowl weather might make a better argument than not taking a 35 rem woods hunting .

That's a good read Pete.
I agree with them that a 55gr bullet will deflect more than a 500gr slug, but I'll stand pat saying comparable weight bullets, even 150 against a slow 220, give me the faster one.

The 308 "surprised" him. It did better than the 45-70. He should've tried a fast 30cal, he'd have been flabbergasted.

the reasoning for the faster ins't deflection thought.

I am speculating the reason you like the faster ones better is likely because you found they work better and they work better because at 2200 fps tissue can't move out of the way or stretch far enough or fast enough, meaning that is the point where a temporary wound cavity becomes a permanent one.

it also gives a flatter trajectory.

you could argue that the hardest hitting bullet is the biggest heaviest one you can keep >2200 fps on your farthest reasonable distance.

I never looked at a socom like that before.


You’re right, I bet it’ll keep a bear off of you !


That’s a fine weapon, and it’ll bring the thunder. I’m partial to the Socom 16