Hunting in Thick Brush

[Quirt Evans]

Well, those are not generally the conditions I've hunted in either.
And I don't care about his choice of words. I thought it was interesting for the point made about big/bigger/biggest, bullets and how they performed going thru a few yards of brush.
It wasn't a philosophical discussion on hunting ethics, just some simple bullet testing,, no more, no less, and I try not to read more into it.
One thing I brought away from it, was that I think that my .45-70, loaded with the old government 500grain bore-riding bullet ought to do rather well.
And, huge chunks of lead don't need to be moving very fast to work.

 

[Xaevian]

This is what can happen if you snap shoot blindly into brush:
Father and 9-year-old daughter are mistaken for deer, shot to death by fellow hunter

Or this more local lethal lesson: Authorities say hunter thought man was bear, killed him

A bit more important to me than a little deflection vs patience.

 

[Flymph]

I didn't watch the video, just speaking on my own thoughts and if that is the video is going for I'm glad of not wasting my time.

You could take it with a grain of salt and understand that from the video it is apparent most calibers, in fact all, will have a significantly different trajectory when shot through brush than your point of aim... at least that's what I gathered.
The lesson should be "wait for a clear shot"... but I think in the abstract.
Go figure I never really liked this guy's videos, he only affirms that with this video. Not even a disclaimer of "hey, it it's this hard to spot your target, you probably shouldn't shoot at it!"
I'm with Andy on his definition of brush gun.

 

[titsonritz]

I also have a 45/70 barrel with an Aimpoint on it loaded with 300 gr Barnes.

What is the length on your 45-70 barrel?
What is that 44 mag barrel?

 

[eldbillbo]

Using a 6.5 Grendel or 6.8Spc 16" carbine is Ideal for hunting Western Oregon or Western Washington thick brush. It is what I use nowadays. But I don't really hunt thick brush as it is hard to get a safe shot but sometimes I have to go through it to get to the other side and having a compact rifle makes it easier.

And deer do love to hide in it. I remember hunting once with a buddy of mine we were talking and getting ready to walk back up to the truck and I was looking and some really thick new growth and said I bet there is a deer right there just listening to us and waiting for us to leave I am going to take it a look. I told my friend to keep a lookout in case I scare something out sure enough I was 5-10 yards in and whoosh I heard something jump and move quickly away I yelled deer. My friend turns around just in time to see the butt end of it going back into the brush on the other side so they are in there. Not the first time I have moved them and heard them and only caught glimpses.

There is really not enough visibility in the thick brush but having a shorter rifle held close means fewer snag ups and better balance in thicker stuff and climbing over fallen logs

 

[Twodogs]

What is the length on your 45-70 barrel?
What is that 44 mag barrel?

the 45/70 has a 24" barrel, 44 mag is 18" both are bergara , the 44 mag was cut back and threaded for suppressor use.

 

[The Heretic]

Using a 6.5 Grendel or 6.8Spc 16" carbine is Ideal for hunting Western Oregon or Western Washington thick brush. It is what I use nowadays. But I don't really hunt thick brush as it is hard to get a safe shot but sometimes I have to go through it to get to the other side and having a compact rifle makes it easier.

And deer do love to hide in it. I remember hunting once with a buddy of mine we were talking and getting ready to walk back up to the truck and I was looking and some really thick new growth and said I bet there is a deer right there just listening to us and waiting for us to leave I am going to take it a look. I told my friend to keep a lookout in case I scare something out sure enough I was 5-10 yards in and whoosh I heard something jump and move quickly away I yelled deer. My friend turns around just in time to see the butt end of it going back into the brush on the other side so they are in there. Not the first time I have moved them and heard them and only caught glimpses.

There is really not enough visibility in the thick brush but having a shorter rifle held close means fewer snag ups and better balance in thicker stuff and climbing over fallen logs

The first deer I shot was a doe that was laying down hiding in ferns. As I walked by I did not see her, but I stopped every couple of yards, looked around, and then repeated that. I walked by her at about 10 yards, stopped, looked around and she had gotten up and was trying to sneak away after I had passed. Had she waited another minute she would have gotten away.

It was a test of patience.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Most of my hunting is on the Wet side of Washington....
It can be very thick with brush and timber in many areas.
Shots are as a general rule fairly close....100 yards or less are average.
You can get a 200 yard or so shot at times.....but that is through a clear cut area.

For where I hunt...
A rifle that one can carry all day and handle quickly is key for shooting and hunting , here in this region.

Knowing the area you hunting....And the habits of the game animal you are hunting...
As well as using hunting methods appropriate for the area in which you are hunting....
Is far and away , more important , that worrying about a rifle's cartridge.
Andy

 

[JohnnyMac]

Hunting SE Alaska while living in Juneau and Ketchikan, and hunting Kodiak/Afognak Islands while living in Kodiak, it got really thick. Between the devils club, blackberry bushes and trees that grow 6" apart, I found my Remington 740 in 30.06 was my brush/bush gun of choice. It is short and being semi-auto I could keep my site picture easier. If you take your eye off the deer and it takes two steps, you may never find it again. Also, because the brush was so thick, you had to pretty much walk the bear trails so if you met a brownie and it decided to charge, the 30.06 had enough punch to do some damage and fired as fast as I could pull the trigger. Then....when the magazine was empty, the rifle itself is the perfect size to spin around and use as a club (to hit your hunting partner in the knee with) while you run for help.

 

[Quirt Evans]

A rifle that one can carry all day and handle quickly is key for shooting and hunting ,

For some reason, as I get older the rifles all seem to gain weight.

 

[Rascal01]

It's not about shooting through the brush but rather having a short, handy, lightweight weapon that will anchor prey so one doesn't have to crawl through that crap looking for bleeding out animal, but you know that.

Dead on, no pun intended.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

For some reason, as I get older the rifles all seem to gain weight.

Don't they though....
I remember showing my dad the first M1 rifle I bought...
He liked it...but also said that 10 pounds or so of rifle when he was 20 is a lot different then 10 pounds or so of rifle at age 60...

With that said...
My favorite rifle weighs in around 10 pounds...yet it is "balanced" well , at least for me.
A well balanced rifle at 10 pounds will feel different than a ill balanced 10 pound rifle.
Andy

 

[The Heretic]

I grew up with that long and heavy .30-30.

All of my lever actions today are short barreled (with the exception of the BLR with its 20" barrel); a 16" youth model Marlin 336 in .30-30, a Rossi 92 16" barrel .44 mag, and a Marlin '95 in .45-70 SBL with an 18.5" barrel. Unfortunately, there are few lever action carbines that are octagon barreled.

My other rifles are mostly 16-18" barrels too.

I just prefer carbines, especially if they are light and handy.

 

[DunRanull]

12 ga pump with slug barrel and sights. .44 mag doesnt have the power I prefer and I don't have a .45-70... Someday maybe a Marlin lever .45-70. Actually my .308 with 200gr bullets does pretty well. That said we don't really have tall brush here, vegetation is thin here compared to more humid areas.

 

[Rascal01]

I grew up in Michigan and every year there were hunter fatalities; some were heart attacks, others shot. Much of the state is timber, brush and bog.

If you are looking to determine if a deer is a buck or doe, and then looking to place your shot for a clean kill, how do you shoot a 200 pound man dressed in day glow orange?

Some hunters were firing at sounds and movement in the brush. With hunter education this got better over time but I opted to buy my own property to hunt. We have big bucks here but I don't even bother any more. Still love a good deer rifle though.

 

[Rascal01]

I grew up with that long and heavy .30-30.

All of my lever actions today are short barreled (with the exception of the BLR with its 20" barrel); a 16" youth model Marlin 336 in .30-30, a Rossi 92 16" barrel .44 mag, and a Marlin '95 in .45-70 SBL with an 18.5" barrel. Unfortunately, there are few lever action carbines that are octagon barreled.

My other rifles are mostly 16-18" barrels too.

I just prefer carbines, especially if they are light and handy.

Yeah, man,

 

[Rascal01]

For some reason, as I get older the rifles all seem to gain weight.

My next heavy duty big game rifle will be a Remington Nylon 66 with a go pro camera for sights. No ammunition of course. Five pounds should be about right. Lighter if I can figure out how.

 

[saread]

Hunting SE Alaska while living in Juneau and Ketchikan, and hunting Kodiak/Afognak Islands while living in Kodiak, it got really thick. Between the devils club, blackberry bushes and trees that grow 6" apart, I found my Remington 740 in 30.06 was my brush/bush gun of choice. It is short and being semi-auto I could keep my site picture easier. If you take your eye off the deer and it takes two steps, you may never find it again. Also, because the brush was so thick, you had to pretty much walk the bear trails so if you met a brownie and it decided to charge, the 30.06 had enough punch to do some damage and fired as fast as I could pull the trigger. Then....when the magazine was empty, the rifle itself is the perfect size to spin around and use as a club (to hit your hunting partner in the knee with) while you run for help.

Huh? Hunting brush in SE AK? All the guys I knew up there hunted the little buggers from a boat. Worst part of their day was maybe wet feet from getting in and out of the boat on the beach. Nobody wanted to trudge through the brush up there. Way easier to beach comb. Brush guns where I grew up were 30-40 Krags. 220 grain round nose bullets were the pill of choice. No one ever considered a real brush shot. But sometimes the stray branch or twig could be in the way, even in a clear cut. I don't really know if the size/shape of bullet really mattered, or helped. The vast majority of the old war horses had been shortened to carbine length so they handled pretty well in brush, if a scosche on the heavy side. Weaver K4's were the norm so they had a little range without giving up the short distance visibility. The Krag was a legend for the old timers. They are hella good rifles.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

i like the iragveteran brush gun videos, especially the testing.

Andy's comment reminds me of Jeff coopers's scout gun. Some innovative stuff on that gun that I'm surprised made it into the final product (often innovative designs get watered down for mass appeal).

 

[jbett98]

A bigger worry would be the road warriors shooting at you in the heavy brush.