Suggestions for a Deer "bush gun"

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I am having a hard time deciding what kind of gun to buy for my Bush Gun. I plan on "pushing the bush" and walking around alot with it. I recently sold my 30/30 lever gun, because I want a semi-auto. These are my requirements:

---Semi Auto
---Detachable Magazine
---Light
---Durable

I am looking for something like a Ruger Mini-30, but I don't want a Ruger Mini-30, because of there track record. A few of the guns that I have thought about getting are :

---Ruger Mini-30
---CZ 858 non restricted
---Remington 750 Carbine
---SKS (not exactly light though)

Please, any more suggestions, and explanations of why I should buy it would be appreciated.

P.S. I currently have a Tikka T3 Lite Stainless 30/06 that I can use for pushing the bush also, because its nice and light, but it just is'nt semi automatic. I want the gun to be semi-automatic, because alot of the time, when I scare up a Deer, I require to take multiple shots, often on the run. Yes I can take fast follow up shots with a bolt action, but I can do it better with a semi-auto.

And NO, I don't want a Lever Gun...LOL...
 
7.62x39 is pretty light even for deer and hard to find ammo for. It having to be a semi really limits the choices and then asking for light weight pretty much kills any choices. The Remington is really the only purpose designed hunting rifle in your batch, I would be looking for one of those. At least it will be available in decent calibres with easily available ammo and adequate power for game.

I know you are not looking for a lever gun (I understand, I'm not a lever fan myself), but there is a reason why they are considered the classic short range bush gun and have been for 100 years.

Mark
 
mmattockx said:
7.62x39 is pretty light even for deer and hard to find ammo for. It having to be a semi really limits the choices and then asking for light weight pretty much kills any choices. The Remington is really the only purpose designed hunting rifle in your batch, I would be looking for one of those. At least it will be available in decent calibres with easily available ammo and adequate power for game.

Mark
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7.62x39 with Soft Point hunting ammo has taken over a dozen deer easily at my hunt camp with various hunters using a Mini 30, so I know for a fact that it works great for deer. I have no issues getting the hunting ammo also.

I was leaning towards a CZ 858 just because they are really light, but they don't look like a hunting rifle. But I also like the idea of chopping my M14.
 
falconmst said:
BAR Lightweight Stalker

Lots of caliber choices - 30-06 would be my choice seeing as you already have guns in that caliber.
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I know I am just sounding picky now, but I don't really like Bars. I don't like the way the floorplate flips open to put the magazine in. I had a Bar in .300win mag, and I could'nt stand the stupid hinged floorplate. I found it awkward to put in a magazine in a hurry. That gun is definetely a no no for me. I won't even consider a Bar. If I am driving my ATV in through a trail, and I see a Deer nearby, when I pull out my gun from the Gun boot, I want a gun, that I can pop in the Magazine and be on target in a couple of seconds, with gloves on .
 
Ruger .44 was an awesome brush gun, they just didn't sell that great. Blame it on the high velocity craze. Personally I would hunt for a used Remington 742 carbine in .308. Much prefer 742's to the new crop of Rem semi's.
 
I hunt with Semi's, they're great.

I have tried them all, and the best is the Benelli R1, it can be found with a 20 inch barrel in 308, 30-06 and 300 mag. 4 round mags for the 308 and 06, 3 rounds in the 300 mag.

The only thing wrong with the Benelli is it is a pain to clean, and the piston will corrode over time no matter how well you treat it. Warranty is quick and easy, but it is only for 5 years.

I also have a new BAR longtrac 270 (22") and it is a very nice rifle. It is a little lighter than my 30-06 Benelli (22") and I have found a quick and easy way to get rid of the stupid hinged floorplate and have a fully detachable mag.

Both great rifles. You could also get a short action BAR to lighten it up a bit more.
 
Gerich said:
I hunt with Semi's, they're great.

I have tried them all, and the best is the Benelli R1, it can be found with a 20 inch barrel in 308, 30-06 and 300 mag. 4 round mags for the 308 and 06, 3 rounds in the 300 mag.

The only thing wrong with the Benelli is it is a pain to clean, and the piston will corrode over time no matter how well you treat it. Warranty is quick and easy, but it is only for 5 years.

I also have a new BAR longtrac 270 (22") and it is a very nice rifle. It is a little lighter than my 30-06 Benelli (22") and I have found a quick and easy way to get rid of the stupid hinged floorplate and have a fully detachable mag.

Both great rifles. You could also get a short action BAR to lighten it up a bit more.
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Is it easy to switch it over to a regular magazine, instead of that stupid flip magazine?

Is there some kind of aftermarket kit you can buy for it to switch it over?

What did it cost you to switch it to a normal detacheable magazine?
 
There's 2 ways to do it, depend on What caliber you choose.

Longtrac only. Purchase a Winchester SXR magazine $100.
Remove the front forestock. Punch out the pivot pin for the hinged floorplate. Put the pin back in without the floor plate. Put the fore stock back on. Insert a Winchester SXR magazine. This will leave you with and extra Browing box magazine worth $80 and a hinged floor plate for it.

Longtrac and Shorttrac
I've contacted Winchester and after talking with several negative people, I finally got a helpful guy that gave me the part numbers for the Winchester SXR floorplate, pin, and spring needed to convert the magazines over. There are 2 different floor plates, a short action and a long action. The parts are around $18 US from Winchester. They won't ship them to Canada however so they have to be ordered through Western Gun parts. I have ordered a few sets, but I am still waiting for them to show up and don't know what they are going to charge me yet.

The stopper on these magazines can also be drilled so they will hold 5 rounds instead of 4
 
spent lots of time in deep bush looking for moose and big game love the lever action guns fast and small 30-30 takes down everything so far but just got a 45-70 gov to blow my shoulder off :)
 
Gerich said:
The only thing wrong with the Benelli is it is a pain to clean, and the piston will corrode over time no matter how well you treat it. Warranty is quick and easy, but it is only for 5 years.
Click to expand...

I had mine second hand for two years and never had a corrosion problem, also I found it very easy to keep clean.
The only downfall I find with these rifles is their price tag.
 
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