Seriously wanting a brush gun!

I have a feeling the posters mind is already made up which is fine. I like my 30-30 Winchester 94 pre 64, 30-30 winchster 94 Canadian Commemorative and 30-30 Winchester 94 made in the mid 70's.

I use them as a brush gun. One is scoped two are not and they do fine. Not sure how much the current winchester goes for but I know there is a Marlin 336w that goes for about $300
 
have you ever held one?
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Yes, and many other Mausers,from Spanish M93 carbine to Turk M38's, Mosins, 2 91/30, 1 91/59, and 1 Hungarian M44, SMLE rifles, and Jungle Carbine, a K31, a couple Styer M95 carbines, M1Garand, FN L1A1, Hakim, Yugoslavia, and Chinese SKS rifles, and a Chinese Paratrooper, Comercial (Universal)M1 Carbine. Most of which are still in my safe. My first deer rifle some 40 plus years ago was a SMLE No.5 Jungle Carbine. Very convenient, but accuracy was lacking. Then, back in the day when it was the thing to do, a sporterized (well done, not Bubba'ed) K98 Mauser.
None of the Mausers, or Mosins, full size SMLE rifles, or other full sized battle rifles are what I would consider convenient in a deer blind.
My open country choice is my custom built Remington 700 in 7MM Remington Magnum. My woods stand choice is either my Winchester Model 94 Ranger in 30-30. One that by the way I violated my #1 rule, and traded a Yugo Mauser for! Not the fanciest, or most collectable 94, but in excellent condition, and a good shooter.
My other choice in tight space, and heavy cover, short range situations is a T/C Contender With a 35 Remington Super 14 barrel.
So, experience with Mausers, Mosins, and other milsurps, absolutely!
 
I use a Marlin 336 with a 20 inch barrel (30-30), with a lightweight 2.5x scope. It works well as a brush gun: it is handy and short.

My buddy bought a Ruger American compact in 308. It has a shorter LOP and an 18 inch barrel. It also works really well as a brush gun.
 
And exactly what would the use for the bayonet on the M44 be in deer hunting?
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You use it to butcher your kill, and then hang a steak from it beside your campfire for your celebratory dinner

Later it will hold multiple marshmallows so you can make Smores to enjoy while you relive the thrills of the hunt
 
The best brush guns are super accurate, laser flat shooting rifles. Caliber does not matter. There are lots of options for short barreled bolt guns that will cost less, weigh less, and be much faster handling than the "traditional" lever guns. Much more accurate too.

There is no bullet that will reliably shoot through brush. The only way to shoot through brush is with a gun accurate and flat shooting enough to shoot through tiny openings. You can't see those openings without good glass. Zeroed at 100 yards almost all modern cartridges from 243 on up will never have the bullet no more than 1/2 above or below your line of sight out to roughly 130 yards. The traditional lever rounds will be 2-3" above or below at the same ranges with far less accuracy potential. It is a lot harder to put those bullets into a baseball sized opening to hit your deer.

Lots of good choices and you don't mention a budget, but the Ruger American compact in 243, 7-08, or 308 is a good start on the low end of the price scale. The sky is the limit if you want to spend more.

These are brush guns! They will be lighter and more compact with glass on them than a traditional lever gun with only irons.

http://ruger.com/products/americanRifleCompact/models.html
http://ruger.com/products/HawkeyeCompact/models.html
 
Well, couple of choices. On a lever action you can easily remove the bolt on the marlin 336 for cleaning, so I sold my Winchester 94 and got a Marlin. A semi-auto is a personal thing, maybe not the first choice if kids are around, but that Ruger in 44 mag is ideal. THEN...I think Florida is similar to eastern NC and there are a lot of folks that use 12 Gauge shotguns and buckshot on deer and hogs. The shotgun needs to throw a tight pattern and on hogs a lot of folks take head shots. The bad rap buckshot gets is taking a lung shot or having a poor pellet spread. Some guys have shotguns that put 9 pellets in a hand sized target at 30 or more yards.
 
I will always recommend a single shot because I like mine so much. Inside 100 yards? I'd be happy with .357 mag, .44 mag, .45 Colt, .30-30, or .45-70. The .30-30 and .45-70 are more gun then you'll need for inside of 100 yards but more than acceptable. If you don't want a single shot, then a lever action is a good choice, post '64 model 94s can be had for under $200 if you shop around. Another great option would be a Rossi Circuit Judge. Very short yet fits an adult well and light. They come in .45 Colt and .44 mag. I know shooting .45 Colt hunting loads is about as loud as a .22 mag, probably quieter. For your short range you're also in shotgun and handgun territory.
 
I own a pre-64 WIN 30-30 and never fired it yet (I picked it up cheap). I have a 99 SAV in 30-30, but the go to "Brush gun" for me is my 99SAV Featherweight .358. Bullets may not go through brush "Reliably", but you stand a way better chance with heavier bullets not deflecting. You may want to look for a .35 REM.
 
Doyle, 200 yds of brush?:)

Even so, in open country, I wouldn't have an issue with using my 30-30 @ 200 yds. IMO a 6-7" drop can be compensated for without much trouble for the seasoned shooter.
 
Some of my woods rifles.

The first is a Brno full stock carbine in 8X57.
The third is my favorite and most used since 1966. It's a Savage 99F in .358 Winchester.
Last is a Steyr full stock carbine in .358 Winchester.

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I love my .30-30. To be honest, my .450 Bushmaster has retired my .30-30.
I believe autoloader adds an entirely new aspect to brush hunting. Despite our best efforts, limbs are occasionally hit. The autoloader makes the second shot a breeze.
 
WV Gunner, Well at least you have some sense !! I hope none of you think of shooting THROUGH the brush, Get a 1-4x scope on a short barrel, on a single shot !!
Mine is a Browning 1885 cut to 22" [18" would give a lot of muzzle blast] making for a very short LOA. 1x4 scope. 8 lbs total. Capable of at least 1 MOA. I use 300 gr factory Barnes or other premium. Little recoil excellent bullet performance ,capable of easy 200 yds.
It's worked many times !:D
 
Doyle, 200 yds of brush?
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Yep, because even in heavy brush areas you are bound to run across one open area and invariably you'll see a deer there that you want to shoot. That's just Murphy's law.

As to drop, that doesn't bother me. What does bother me is that finding a lever action that will do better than 2MOA is a rare thing. I know, you see people all the time bragging that their Marlin does better than that. However, even when those are true (and many are not), those rifles are very few and far between. Typical accuracy out of a lever action will be about 3MOA. Well, at 200 yds that translates to a 6" pattern and that is beyond my comfort zone when trying to take an animal.

I'd rather have a 38" 6lb rifle (plus scope and sling) that is truely a 1+MOA rifle AND is also capable of delivering a relatively flat shooting bullet out beyond 300 yds. Why have only half of a pie when you can have the whole pie?
 
Mine is a Winchester Timber Carbine in .450 Marlin. Its a bit of a thumper (more than a bit) and its all sorts of loud but its just as handy as my carbine sized AR.

 
Although I don't hunt from a blind, we stumbled into an 800 by 300 yard clear-cut while brush hunting this season,
and of course they were at the wrong end and me without a scope:mad: my cartridge was capable of killing to 500 or so,
but my eyes were not up to the task with iron sights. :o That's the way it goes sometimes.:rolleyes:
 
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