In the thick stuff you can't have a scope. I hunt my own land and am fortunate to have a nice big peice of it. I don't get off doing a 400yd shot. I'd rather wait until they go into the thick stuff to bed during the day. The guys from Pa can help me here; ..... Ever crawl up on one at 15yds bedded down.

Thats what I'm talking bout.

The Model 100 might be close to perfect, EXCEPT the state of Pennsylvania does not allow semiautomatic rifles or pistols for hunting ANYTHING...

That means that not only can you NOT legally use a Win 100 or a BAR or a Rem 742 for DEER, but you can't even shoot a squirrel or a woodchuck with your Ruger 10/22 or shoot a coon out of a tree with your Colt Woodsman...

It's only one of many stupid PA hunting regs.... .....

Iron sights are not a good idea for brush hunting in PA. There are antler restrictions and a six pointer is the minimum if I understand the latest from the overhead there. The thing is that you don't want to shoot the wrong deer. Don't come up with the binoculars only for ID of game. It does not wash in snap shooting in the brush.

Also a scope is safer to make sure it is a deer as you press the trigger.

Another important point is that a scope will help you shoot thru the brush and not hit the twigs. This is very important.

Much of the time in the woods you will get any easy shot but if your going to increase your chances then you must be ready for a quick shot when the visiblity is poor. That's what scopes with a decent field of view are for. All you need is a 4X or a 2-7X.

I disagree. If it is a small, marginal buck.........in the brush, I do not care if you have a scope or not. You will not be able to count points fast enough. As I stated before. Hunt bucks in the cover, even without scopes, and you will be able to verify the big ones (legal ones) without scope or binos. I let the small legal bucks walk anyway. And I love using my peep sighted Savage 99 A great brush gun.

Quote:

---

Also a scope is safer to make sure it is a deer as you press the trigger.

---

A scoped rifle should NEVER be used to verify that you are not shooting at a person. That is what Binos are for. This is taught to 12 year olds at the PGC hunter safety courses over & over & over & over. And for good reason. It is NEVER safe to point a loaded rifle at anything that you do not want to shoot. If you have time to verify what you are shooting at is not a person by using the scope as a monocular then you have time to use a pair of binos. Besides, when I say Hunt in the brush........I mean it. I hunt areas where the longest shot would be 35 yards. And most are well under that. A scope is all but useless in these areas. They get in teh way of carrying the rifle, the lenses get wet, they are slow to get on game & at those ranges.....I can count points on all but the smallest deer even as they run. And if I can't verify I just do not shoot. No problem..........we have PLENTY of deer And no one seems to chase them in thehick stuff so my odds for success go way up.

I would think that a 7600 in 06, .308 or .35 Whelen would do.

How about a Browning BLR in .358 Winchester. Probably one of the best eastern deer rounds out there. Pretty gun and fits the requirements of the law. If they made one in .35 Whelen, I'd own one.

daveinthebush:

I'll go with you on the BLR in .35 Whelen, but I'd also love to see the 7600 in .358 (the 7400 too, but that can't be used in PA) .

Rick

Turfman,
At one time you were looking at the M46 Husky in 9.3x57. Sarco imported a bunch of really nice ones. That would be my choice for a close range deer rifle. Go check 'em out.
Bob

IronBuck,

A scope adds a margin of safety in the identification of the target. You can wax on about binoculars but there is no way one can see as well thru a tiny peep or over irons as can be seen with a scope.

For quick close shooting I really like my 30-30 Marlin, with its 2.5X Leupold Alaskan scope..It shoots an inch for 3 shots and its never let me down...I own a lot of guns but for thick stuff it cannot be beat..My has a straight grip and I like that..I paid $100. for it w/o the scope....

So you sure wouldn't go wrong with that decision....I also like the Savage 99F or EG in .308 or 250-3000...

I've used a model 94 chambered in 356 winchester here in eastern PA with good results on a black bear. They also chambered it in 375 winchester years ago. Check out the gun shows in Harrisburg, I'm sure you'd find a few of these around. I also have a 760 that was rechambered to 358 win (originally a 35 rem). Haven't tried it yet but would expect it to be just the ticket with a 1 3/4-5 or 2-7 scope mounted in weaver pivot mount rings and bases. Paul.

How about a Remington Model 7600 in .35 Remington with the 18 1/2" barrel and ghost ring sights?

Vfr.

Yep, I got one. Real nice gun. I've always preferred european stlye stocks; seem to fit me better( I guess it's because I use flintlocks a lot) I haven't even shot it yet; actually its in the cabinet waiting for me to spend some quality time with it.

turfman

To have or not to have a scope. That issue is as old as the woods here.

I guess it is up to the person pulling the trigger. I don't personally like them in the brush, but that doesn't mean one can't be used.

Now lets get an idea of "brush". Where I hunt; the brush is mostly green briar, small little poplar trees and anything else not so desireable that will grow on bad soil. This stuff gets real thick; so thick sometimes you can't see 30yds in any direction. That is why I do not use a scope in the brush. But in this brush there always seems to be some pockets. some big some not so big. This is where the deer go if they are pressured, and bed down. I remember as a kid crawling on my hands and knees in a patch of hemlocks that was so thick you could only see their legs; you had to wait till they got to an opening to take a good look.

So when I refer to brush; thats what I think of. As stated earlier; you can use a scope; but you don't need one to count the points.

turfman.

Paul, not many guys here know it because I seldom let this particular cat out of the bag, but I'm a big fan of lever action rifles. I have several Model 92 and Model 94 Winchester lever guns in my safe, and I grew up with them on a farm here in Oregon. I have a pre-64 Model 94 Winchester carbine in .30-30 (bought in as-new condition) that I truly love, and this rifle has ridden in so many saddle scabbards over the years that horse sweat has flaked off the varnish on both sides of the buttstock.



One of my friends grabbed this rifle out of my saddle scabbard (with my permission!) and cleanly dropped a black bear in Arizona on a very memorable hunt which I'll never forget. That bear dropped so fast you wouldn't believe it!



Deer within 150 yds. aren't that hard to kill, and neither are black bear. In a lever rifle, the .30-30 is plenty of gun for either...........



AD

I agree with Allan, up to 200 yards and iron sighted 30-30 or my 94 Winchester 25-35 is hard to beat..I have shot a truck load of Mule deer with that old 25-35 and a number of of elk, it was about my first big game rifle...I raped and pilaged the country side in Mexico with that little gun, even shot a couple of bear with it..You can trade a bear carcass for several hundred flour tortillas, a towsack of Jalapenos, some tomatoes and a bunch of beans in Boquillas, Mexico or for 6 cases of beer at the local whorehouse...Keep that in mind if your ever down that way

I still shoot my mule deer with that 25-35 or my 30-30 and factory ammo most every year in Idaho..Got to get pretty close and mostly I jump shoot them out of a canyon...It takes me back nostalgically to better times I suppose...I have to pass on a big buck now and then that a 270 would neatly take, but I have shot more than my share of big bucks and feel good about leaving them for someone who is still in quest of a big ole boy...I still like to do my hunting before the shot.