Bush Specialty Firearm
- Thread starter Wiseguym70
- Start date
If you are hunting only from a stand I would say anything goes, but at 40-80 yds while I love the 300wm, I would consider a 308, or similar. In honesty if 80yds is pushing your max, I would consider a 12ga with good slugs.
I used to use this in thick woods in NE BC, 7X57, short, nimble, and cleared of high-speed-high-drag guff, less snags etc when I was pushing through 1yd visibility stuff, the red dot made for easy hits out to 100yds.
awesome rifle. Do you still have it?
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
45-70 is a reloader only caliber, pre scamdemic it was usually $70/20. Shudder to think what it is now. Can be downloaded to subsonic, or close to 458wm.
Really though you don't need a magnum. Some short barreled sub 30cal with premium bullets. I personally hate the 308, and think the 30-30 only made sense when rifles in it were cheap.
Really though you don't need a magnum. Some short barreled sub 30cal with premium bullets. I personally hate the 308, and think the 30-30 only made sense when rifles in it were cheap.
stand hunting or still hunting, it scream some form of single shot, rimmed cartridge
Ruger #1
like 30-30? 35 rem? 303? 444, 45-70 etc , big an slowish!
good luck!
Us single shot users know this all too well!
Cat
x2
OP you mention 40-80 yards. Don't overlook the 44mag. I use a CVA Scout in 44 with a Vortex Crossfire II 1-4x24 with V Brite dot. Local dealer sells the optic for $300 and CVA Scouts are value packed. This rig leaves me scratching my head why I've paid so much more for others in the past.
That’s a great scope for the money, about the lowest price one could have an illuminated reticle and decent enough quality to trust for hunting. You also get the excellent vortex warranty.
Good point about 44 magnum. It’ll kill big game no problem and a reloader can plink on the cheap with cast bullets and charges that make a lb of powder last ages.
there is something stealthy about pokin around the woods with a 'medium to small' sized gun cartridge, trying to 'pop' the ol deer with.
i once wanted something similiar, for small deer in thick bush- i wanted lever, something small like the 25-20 sorta thing, 32-20, pistol cartridge kind of thing.
Thats only because i had ever other base covered--- field mouse to buffalo--
the original gangster here being all stealthy was with a single shot rifle
i once wanted something similiar, for small deer in thick bush- i wanted lever, something small like the 25-20 sorta thing, 32-20, pistol cartridge kind of thing.
Thats only because i had ever other base covered--- field mouse to buffalo--
the original gangster here being all stealthy was with a single shot rifle
I have mostly disavowed myself of a dedicated limited range ‘bush rifle’ in favour of a more practical carbine (I guess it’s still on the spectrum of bush rifles for some…). I have never hunted anywhere in areas with close cover where that closeness is consistent throughout any hunt. Perhaps if you are sitting on stand in a very dense area that could be true. Most places I hunt in central Alberta, and have hunted here and in South Africa, range from areas where you will have very close shots to more open areas. It’s common to still hunt or sit in dense forest and then in 5 mins you can be watching a cut-line, open ephemeral wetland, crop field edges, pastures, etc. You can go from a likelihood of a 50m shot, to a 250m shot within minutes.
Maybe if you only hunt in the prairies, or very dense, unmodified forest you may not encounter this variation as much. My limited experience in the prairies is mostly longer shot opportunities, but a 50m shot in a coulee is quite possible too. A compact lever carbine in .44, .45-70 or something similar is a cool little rifle, but unless I am sitting in a blind or stand in dense bush it has very limited utility to me as a hunting rifle.
Similarly, I don’t want a 12lb PRS rig with 30” of barrel and brake in front of me, with a 5-25x56 scope when a buck comes slipping past through willows and rose at 40m…It will work, but would suck to carry around.
For example, my first deer this season was taken at 35m in thick stuff, quick shot. My second deer was taken at about 180m. Those opportunities could easily have been in the same areas I hunt, within minutes of each other… (both fell to a T3 6.5x55).My sub 100m shots outnumber my >200m shots but I sure like the ability of a compact rifle that can make those longer shots easily. An aperture sighted lever carbine just isn’t that for me.
99% of my hunting is perfectly served by a fairly compact rifle in something between 6.5CM and .30-06. 20” barrel, low-mid range variable scope. 8.5-ish lbs. Add BUIS if you like. Something like a Ruger Scout with a 2-7 or 2.5-8 is excellent. With decent marksmanship skills it can handle a snap shot in thick stuff, is handy in a blind or tree stand, and is perfectly capable of 300m shots if needed. It’s not perfect for wide open, windswept grasslands, it’s not a great backpack sheep set up, but it’s good for just about anything else.
Maybe if you only hunt in the prairies, or very dense, unmodified forest you may not encounter this variation as much. My limited experience in the prairies is mostly longer shot opportunities, but a 50m shot in a coulee is quite possible too. A compact lever carbine in .44, .45-70 or something similar is a cool little rifle, but unless I am sitting in a blind or stand in dense bush it has very limited utility to me as a hunting rifle.
Similarly, I don’t want a 12lb PRS rig with 30” of barrel and brake in front of me, with a 5-25x56 scope when a buck comes slipping past through willows and rose at 40m…It will work, but would suck to carry around.
For example, my first deer this season was taken at 35m in thick stuff, quick shot. My second deer was taken at about 180m. Those opportunities could easily have been in the same areas I hunt, within minutes of each other… (both fell to a T3 6.5x55).My sub 100m shots outnumber my >200m shots but I sure like the ability of a compact rifle that can make those longer shots easily. An aperture sighted lever carbine just isn’t that for me.
99% of my hunting is perfectly served by a fairly compact rifle in something between 6.5CM and .30-06. 20” barrel, low-mid range variable scope. 8.5-ish lbs. Add BUIS if you like. Something like a Ruger Scout with a 2-7 or 2.5-8 is excellent. With decent marksmanship skills it can handle a snap shot in thick stuff, is handy in a blind or tree stand, and is perfectly capable of 300m shots if needed. It’s not perfect for wide open, windswept grasslands, it’s not a great backpack sheep set up, but it’s good for just about anything else.
Mogulrider
CGN Regular
I use Ruger ranch in 350 Legend
6 bg 240lb + bucks, 5 black bears in our camp
We all use these 350L rifles as bush and tree stand rifles. Savage, Howa, etc make versions.
Short sweet and wicked accurate.
350 Legend hits like 35 Remmie.
Drops them where they stand
Our longest shot is 175yds.
They work perfect for our conditions
6 bg 240lb + bucks, 5 black bears in our camp
We all use these 350L rifles as bush and tree stand rifles. Savage, Howa, etc make versions.
Short sweet and wicked accurate.
350 Legend hits like 35 Remmie.
Drops them where they stand
Our longest shot is 175yds.
They work perfect for our conditions
