The handiest gun I ever hunted with in super heavy thick brush were revolvers. I Did well too.
But to be honest, of all the rifles I have used for hunting in the thick-stuff, only one was what most shooters think of as a "brush gun". I have hunted in thick brush with a 44" long barreled flintlock, and also several modern rifles with barrel of between 22" - 26" long. I never found them to be a big problem. I don't deny that my 19" barreled 30-06 is handier then my 27" 300 H&H, or 25" barreled 375H&H but not that much handier. Enough to notice true..., but not enough to make me wish I didn't have the 300 or 375.
Maybe I am the odd man out here, but I think short barrels are somewhat over rated in rifles. They will help a little, but only a little.
If a rifles is too long I start thinking handgun, not shorter rifle.
But that's just me.
But to be honest, of all the rifles I have used for hunting in the thick-stuff, only one was what most shooters think of as a "brush gun". I have hunted in thick brush with a 44" long barreled flintlock, and also several modern rifles with barrel of between 22" - 26" long. I never found them to be a big problem. I don't deny that my 19" barreled 30-06 is handier then my 27" 300 H&H, or 25" barreled 375H&H but not that much handier. Enough to notice true..., but not enough to make me wish I didn't have the 300 or 375.
Maybe I am the odd man out here, but I think short barrels are somewhat over rated in rifles. They will help a little, but only a little.
If a rifles is too long I start thinking handgun, not shorter rifle.
But that's just me.