HELLO!

WHAT IS THE BEST BRUSH BULLET FOR 308 WIN FOR DEER HUNTING ?

THANKS !

audeala
Bullets and brush..... This is bound to stir up some good comments. All bullets, even from "elephant rifles" can be seriously deflected by brush. Of all the "tests" I have seen, the best bullet performance has been with round nose bullets of high sectional density. Usually these bullets are driven at 2600fps and below.
Your best plan is to try and shoot "between" the brush. What is of major concern is that in "brush" hunting you will probably be shooting at close range at moving game or game at less than the perfect broad side shot. Heavy well constructed bullets are good for this also.
In the 308 I would recommend a 180 grain round nose or a 180grain bullet of premium construction. A Barnes X or a Winchester Failsafe might also be a good choice as they will not break up like a regular lead/jacketed bullet can. Still I would try my best to shoot between the branches.

[ 08-08-2003, 19:35: Message edited by: N E 450 No2 ]

Actually although no bullet will stay on it's original path after striking objects the last test that I saw showed pointed bullets to be slightly better.

The best brush gun tactics are first not to hit the brush and second to be able to shoot again.

As long as the bullet is not going so fast that it will blow up on the brush it will not matter much at all in a 308 Win which by the way is an excellent choice for woods hunting.

I would load any soft point from 150 thru 180 grs and not worry about it.

I have done my own testing of "brush loads" and in general if the bullet does not blow up the more powerful the load the better. Of course there is a downside to this also.

I'm with Savage 99, any good bullet that shoots well in your gun from 150-180 is a best bet. If you are only shooting short range and really want to put them down fast, the 150 and 170 grain bullets for the 30-30 will be very good, maybe some more meat damage, but shorter chase for sure!

Graycg opines....

Graycg:

Nice tag line.

Got a source?

kk

Any shape bullet will be deflected by brush, the amount and direction of deflection will vary upon many factors and cannot be reliably predicted IMHO. One important factor to remember is that the farther the twig/limb/brush is from the target, the greater the affect on POI.

Personally, I prefer to pass shots through the brush and wait for a clear shot to present itself.
My preference, not incumbent upon anyone else, of course.

Regards,
hm

I don't know if they are the best but I use the RN Power point factory ammo, and Remington Corelokts in handload, both in 180 gr. persuasion, in my Savage 99F and my pre 64 M-70 Fwt. they both shoot well and kill very well from any angle on deer....Most any good bullet works in the .308, it is a good mix of velocity and bullet weight....

I have to agree with savag99, as much as you can without blowing up the bullet. I have passed up many shots in the brush (mt. laurel) and never saw the deer again, I have also shot a few also. Our buck doe ratio is so bad that the bucks stay in the laurel once the season gets started except at night deer. Once this happens you had bettter be looking for pieces of deer and the best holes with the least laurel in the way.

I like at least an '06 180 grain.

alain, The worst bullet to use in the brush would be a round or flat nose with alot of lead exposed, it tends to grab the twig or whatever and there it goes, tumbling and whatnot, I don't know if you guys read American Rifleman, but they had an article some time back about "Whats best in the brush" the conclusion was that the pointier the bullet, the less it deflected in there test, so, the best in the brush from the test they conducted was a 55gr 223 FMJ, the worst I believe was the 44mag. 240grHP, and the 444Marlin and bullets of that type were way on the bottom, Jay

There is NO such thing as a good brush bullet. But there is such a thing as a good brush hunter. DON'T even think you can reliably shoot through brush. Wait and pick your shot. Shoot through the holes in the brush. Low power scopes will help you find those holes and an accurate rifle will help get the bullet to the game with out plowing through brush. I tried shooting through brush in my misspent youth. Never did work until I started looking for holes in the brush. If I can't find a hole to shoot through, I just don't shoot!

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight.......RiverRat

PM sent to KK

I concur "No Brush Bullets", high Vel light bullets vs High Vel Heavy bullets is the the train of thought. The 308 Win/30-06 with 150 grain Sierra or Nosler BT is excellent in brush or open areas. No bullets will go thru brush like magic. Bullet construction round nose/spire point/flat base or Boat tail has nothing to do with brush pent., but the roundnose/flat nose tend to expend or open up more rapidly, thus transfer more energy to the game which in dense brush might make game recovery quicker. I hope this sheds some light about bullets for brush hunting. When I was young hunter, I quickly learned by my father that when shooting at game don't shoot thru brush, wait and get a good sight picture and make a clean shot, after several deer I learned, be patient and most of the time he will give you a good clean shot.

[ 08-14-2003, 03:40: Message edited by: Alaska Bush Man ]