The Brush Gun

[airedale]

There has been volumes written about so called brush guns and their ability to plow a bullet through thick cover, hit and kill their target. Years ago there was plenty of factory ammo produced mainly with some type of round nose bullet for the purpose of hunting in heavy cover.

Then the gun writers came up with experiment after experiment testing ammo to see how it performed shooting through man made brush duplicating shields at targets. Time and time again it was pretty much proven that no matter what kind of caliber or bullet type shot through brush chances were it would be deflected off target almost 100% or the bullet would be knocked off it's flight axis and tumble.

I actually had exactly that experience moose hunting in Newfoundland. I had a nice Bull coming down a hill quartering at about 100 yards, he was plowing through some high brush and I took a at shot at just behind the shoulder. At the shot he immediately turned back and started running back up the hill, this time I put the crosshairs on his lower neck and he went down like a ton of bricks. The rifle was a 7MM Remington mag firing 175 gr Nosler Partitions. When the hide was removed we found the first shot's bullet must have hit some of that brush and started tumbling and hit just behind the front shoulder going sideways, it was only under the hide an inch or so.

So after all the experiments and actual performance in the field it was pretty much settled in the gun rags, do not take a shot through thick brush and I personally went along with that assumption.

So as I have mentioned a few days ago I have been watching youtube African Safari hunts and have seen literally hundreds of different game animals large and small taken with various rifles and the one thing that surprised me is many times the hunter would not hesitate shooting through thick cover at an animal and that most of the time a kill was made. Kind of turned the brush shooting theories upside down.

I am still a big proponent of taking a good clear shot but I have to admit I am scratching my head after watching those African hunts.

Al

[Dinsdale]

Sometimes filming is a bit deceiving as it compresses the image we view on the screen. What looks like wisps of grass to the hunter in person is a wall of vegetation to the camera. 

Also some of the time the view of the camera,even when really close over a shoulder, is still not the same as the hunter having a really small window that only they can see.

Tagged along on a filmed hunt for a day, when you review the footage it’s really interesting what the camera footage looks like on screen and the actual environment. I notice even in my still pics, it doesnt really capture what it feels like walking through an area.

I have had maybe 10 PH’s in Africa, none would encourage a “just hope for the best” shot into brush where the vitals are obscured. That said there are places and times where some grass or a few leaves are not always a reason to wait for a better shot that may never develop. Some game and areas just dont give an option but to pick a really small window IF the hunter is comfortable with it and take a shot. 

I’ve passed on a couple shots where I’m guessing maybe another hunter would shoot; but you just keep working and try and get another opportunity and nobody really gets all that bothered by those instances. Looking back I maybe a couple times where we went on and never did get another chance; eh, it’s hunting. 

 

 

[bugsNbows]

I solved that dilemma years ago… I just quit watching the tv hunting crap.

[airedale]

13 hours ago, bugsNbows said:

I just quit watching the tv hunting crap.

I have long ago stopped watching any American Deer hunting shows, these African Safari shows are something for the most part completely different from US hunting. I am always looking to learn new things and to be honest I picked up on quite a bit of interesting techniques from those Safari shows.

As far as brush busting rifles I have subscribed to past Outdoor Life magazine's gun editor "Jim Carmichael's" take on the matter. Instead of trying to plow through the brush with a big heavy bullet out of something like a 45-70 he preferred a flat shooting highly accurate rifle that he could thread the needle through an opening big enough to hit the vitals of whatever games he was after. If that shot is not there, do not pull the trigger. To me it makes the most sense.

Al

Edited November 9, 2023 by airedale

[Grouse]

The term "brush gun" has been bastardized by hunters who never understood where it came from.  The term was coined to describe a short, fast rifle that could get on target quickly when an animal jumped in thick cover at close range.  It was never meant to mean a gun that would be able to shoot a bullet through brush without deflecting.

As a matter of fact, the only round that was meant to be used for shooting through brush at game animals was a shot shell loaded with buckshot, which had some chance of getting a pellet or two in the animal when fired through thick brush.  And even then, it was expected multiple shots would be fired at the animal before it would succumb to the pellets.

I hunt by this creed, "Never shoot at an animal you think you can hit.  Only shoot at an animal you know you can kill."

Edited November 10, 2023 by Grouse