The “brush rifle” is a generally used time period, nevertheless it’s one which’s poorly understood. A brush rifle needs to be outlined by its dealing with traits—a brief and helpful lever motion, pump motion, straight-pull, semi-auto, or a scout-style bolt motion—and the way straightforward it’s to maneuver and shoot in tight thickets at shut vary. Nonetheless, many hunters use the time period “brush rifle” synonymously with sure cartridges. Particularly, a cartridge or bullet’s perceived potential to bust by bush and briar to take sport when different rounds would fail.
“They wished .35 Remington, brush cutters,” says Hugh Schultz one evening at moose camp whereas our dinner slowly sizzled on the small wooden range.
Schultz, who owned a small retailer for a few years in rural Vermont was speaking in regards to the deer trackers who purchased ammunition from him. After a few years, his reminiscence of native hunters’ favourite deer rifles and ammunition is as clear as the explanation they selected them. The trackers usually had shut however fleeting shot alternatives, usually in thick brush. However are some bullets actually higher at punching by brush? I made a decision to check 5 totally different searching cartridges and quite a lot of bullet sorts to search out out.
Perceptions About Brush Bullets
However earlier than we get to my take a look at, let’s discuss in regards to the origins of brush bullet idea. Most hunters have encountered a state of affairs the place an animal was partially obscured by sticks, brush, or tree limbs. Many people have blamed our missed or wounded animals on brush or twigs sending our shot astray. That’s the story I’m sticking to on a moose I killed two years in the past. I fired my first shot by a small window in a patch of standing burnt timber, and one among my follow-up pictures hit the bull within the antler (I did get better the bull).
It’s frequent for hunters to counsel that heavy-caliber cartridges with gradual, blunt projectiles are the most suitable choice for punching by the comb. This appears logical. The extra mass a projectile has, the more durable it is going to be for one thing to knock it off-course—at the least that’s idea.
I can’t bear in mind the precise story or challenge of Out of doors Life, however Jack O’Connor wrote in regards to the reasoning for utilizing cartridges just like the .35 Remington within the deer woods of the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Like these Vermont deer trackers, the common deer hunter in these days was offered with fleeting pictures in thick cowl—largely due to how people went about searching deer on the time—and one of the best brush bullets would offer you a greater probability at connecting.
Learning the Greatest Brush Bullets
Within the October 1957 challenge of Out of doors Life, O’Connor wrote a narrative titled Rifles for the Brush, by which he wasn’t specializing in the dealing with traits of brush rifles, however the efficiency and deflection-resistance of assorted calibers and bullets. In his many years of searching expertise, O’Connor had quite a lot of anecdotes to share about taking pictures at sport by brush, and often it didn’t work out nicely.
O’Connor carried out his testing by inserting a 100-yard smallbore goal (which has an 8-inch black bullseye) behind 15 toes of brush having branches as much as 1.5 inches thick. The comb was simply open sufficient so he may see the goal by the comb to intention at it and fired from 30 yards in entrance of the comb (35 yards from the goal). He fired five-shot teams with 12-gauge slugs, a .458 Winchester, .375 H&H, .35 Remington, .30/06, .270 Winchester, and .220 Swift. Revealed diagrams of his outcomes point out just one group with every load, however O’Connor refers to “lots of experimental taking pictures.”
In 2014, Editor Andrew McKean carried out one other deflection take a look at, this time taking pictures by brush with .308 Win. and .223 Rem. masses, and thru orchard grass with a .25/06 Rem. and the .223 once more. In spite of everything, what bullet wouldn’t strike residence after going by a little bit of grass? McKean’s checks despatched bullets by 38 yards of willow brush, fired from 12 yards in entrance of the comb. He set a goal in entrance of the comb to intention at, and one other behind the comb to catch impacts. This fashion, the deflection resulting from brush will be measured precisely. He did the identical with a patch of orchard grass.
Filling within the Blanks on Brush Bullets
Each O’Connor’s and McKean’s brush testing give us worthwhile data, and O’Connor concluded that “components which contribute to bullet deflection are sharp factors, fragile building, excessive velocity, unstable kind, excessive fee of spin, and light-weight weight.” Components which contribute to the reliability of bullets in brush are blunt or flat factors, reasonable velocity, sturdy building, steady kind, and gradual spin.
Contemplating that the topic of brush rifles and brush bullets is one which’s mentioned as fervently as we speak as ever, I made a decision to conduct a take a look at of my very own. I wished to see if I may confirm what O’Connor present in his testing and gather knowledge on the most well-liked “brush rifle” cartridge of as we speak—the .45/70 Gov’t. Paradoxically, the .45/70 (which had been round for 84 years already) wasn’t included in O’Connor’s testing and has loved a revival previously couple of many years.
A newcomer that I additionally wished to really feel out was the .350 Legend. Winchester’s modern straight-walled deer cartridge shoots a .355-inch-diameter bullet, and its 180-grain manufacturing unit masses are simply barely beneath the .358-inch-diameter .35 Remington’s 200-grain Core-Lokt masses. Contemplating the word-of-mouth fame of the .35 Remington as a “brush cutter,” I wished to see how the same .350 Legend would do.
Testing Protocol
In my testing, I cut up the distinction between the checks of McKean and O’Connor. I arrange a goal body 50 yards from my firing place (goal 1) to supply a constant aiming level and measure the doorway group. I used butcher paper with stick-on targets to attenuate deflection from the goal itself. I positioned a four-by-eight-foot cardboard wall behind 15 yards of brush (goal 2). The comb was on a river sandbar and consisted of stay and useless willow and alder, as much as 1.5 inches thick. It was precisely the form of stuff one may count on to see a moose in right here in Alaska.
I fired two to 3 five-shot teams with every load from a .45/70, .375 Ruger, .338 Lapua, .338 Win. Magazine., .350 Legend, and 6.5 Creedmoor. I measured teams getting into the primary goal, and on the second goal as nicely. Periodically, I moved the goal barely to supply essentially the most constant pictures by un-broken brush. I famous group dimension in addition to bullets that had tumbled and key-holed by the backing goal. I thought-about a bullet impression “key-holed” if the outlet within the goal was roughly 50 % sideways, or extra. A barely yawed bullet may nonetheless ship first rate terminal efficiency, however all bets are off as soon as it actually begins to show sideways. I thought-about these impacts failures as a result of their terminal efficiency could be unpredictable.
My first aim was to see if any of those cartridges or masses have been really viable for an ethically minded hunter to take pictures by the comb. My second aim was to look at O’Connor’s theories with some modern bullets and cartridges. I wished to see how the identical bullet (a .338-caliber 225-grain Hornady CX on this case) would deflect at totally different velocities—therefore the .338 Lapua vs. .338 Win. Magazine. I additionally wished to see if the supposition that blunt-pointed or flat-nosed bullets would deflect much less simply than their streamlined counterparts.
Decoding Brush Bullet Information
An important factor to bear in mind when deciphering these outcomes is that each shot taken by brush will produce distinctive outcomes. Even with the 30 teams I fired by the identical patch of brush, no two bullets encountered the identical obstacles in the identical approach.
Placing a strong determine on every bullet’s effectiveness by brush would take a whole bunch of teams. Even then, it could include a disclaimer. Unsurprisingly, what I discovered is that you must by no means deliberately shoot by the comb until the animal is already hit, and you could make a follow-up shot. Any bullets will be deflected by nearly any brush—some worse than others. O’Connor and McKean each got here to the identical conclusion, and O’Connor wrote:
“Some bullets are higher in brush than others, however all will deflect—even the 300-grain bullet for the .375 Magnum (H&H).”
Brush Bullet Outcomes
O’Connor’s conclusions about what made a bullet kind of prone to be deflected by brush included velocity, twist-rate, bullet form, weight, and building. To summarize his outcomes, a spherical or flat-nosed bullet that’s heavy and stoutly constructed, fired at reasonable velocity ought to produce one of the best outcomes. On the opposite aspect, bullets with larger velocity, lighter weight, extra aerodynamic profiles, and better twist charges ought to deflect extra simply.
Brush Bullet Velocity
From my testing, I concluded that larger velocity may improve deflection, however that velocity alone can’t decide if a bullet will deflect to a better or lesser extent. Firing the identical bullet with the identical twist fee at totally different velocities confirmed me that the upper velocity bullet did deflect extra and have a better failure fee. To check this, I fired hand-loaded 225-grain Hornady CX bullets by my .338 Lapua at 3020 fps, in addition to by my .338 Win. Magazine. at 2713 fps. Each rifles have a 1:9.3-inch twist fee. The sooner bullets had a median deflection of two.303 inches and 40 % of the bullets key-holed (which I depend as failures). The slower .338 Win. Magazine. load deflected by just one.236 inches on common, with no key-holes, and just one flyer in 15 pictures.
Though the identical bullet at larger velocity appears to deflect extra, larger velocity doesn’t in-itself imply something when evaluating two totally different projectiles from the identical rifle. In-fact, lighter, sooner projectiles carried out higher for the .45/70, .375 Ruger, .338 Win magazine, and 6.5 Creedmoor than the heavier, slower bullets.
The 300-grain Hornady DGX that I’ve used with nice success on bears at shut vary in my .375 Ruger fared poorly when being slung by this patch of sandbar brush. At 2660 fps, that they had a median deflection of three.38 inches, and a failure fee of 60 %. The lighter, sooner Barnes 250-grain TTSX bullets weren’t excellent, however at 2805 fps, they confirmed a deflection of just one.46 inches and an improved failure fee of 40 %.
Formed and constructed just like the 220-grain .30/06 gentle factors that O’Connor preferred, the Hornady 250-grain Interlock bullets fired at 2615 fps from my .338 Win. Magazine. Ruger Information Gun made an abysmal exhibiting. The bullets will cease a grizzly bear that’s operating at you, however not for those who’ve obtained to shoot them by the comb first. These bullets had a median deflection of three.76 inches and failure fee of 60 %. As detailed above, the 225-grain CX bullets at 2713 fps did a lot better.
Even the 6.5 Creedmoor displayed higher outcomes with a sooner, lighter bullet. Hand-loaded Hornady 143-grain ELDX bullets at 2670 fps would enter the primary goal in a .452-inch group however scattered to almost 12 inches by 15 yards of brush, with an 80 % failure fee. Federal Premium 130-grain Barnes TSX masses at 2825 fps deflected much less at 5.228 inches and a barely higher 60 % failure fee.
Brush Bullet Form and Development
O’Connor discovered by his taking pictures that blunt, spherical, or ideally, flat-nosed bullets would resist deflection higher than pointed, extra aerodynamic bullets. He said that within the .30/06, the 220-grain bullet is extra dependable than the 180-grain or 150-grain pointed bullets. This conclusion wasn’t the case in a lot of my testing, and I surmise that it has every thing to do with bullet building. O’Connor stresses the significance of sturdy bullet building as a result of logically, any deformation within the bullet will doubtless trigger instability. A extremely aerodynamic bullet with good sectional density may be essentially the most steady, however deformation can spoil that immediately. On paper, the bullets with one of the best sectional density needs to be essentially the most steady (and hardest to deflect). Nonetheless, the lead-core bullets with larger sectional density nonetheless appear to deform and deflect dramatically.
In 1957, the sturdiest searching bullets have been these heavy, blunt, or flat-nosed specimens he refers to. I imagine O’Connor unknowingly hinted on the purpose why my outcomes didn’t mirror his. He refers to some people he’d recognized who hunted in brush with full metallic jacketed bullets of assorted calibers. It is smart that an aerodynamic bullet that resists deformation ought to do higher than a soft-point of the identical form—that’s how FMJ bullets are designed. What was the distinction with my testing? Fashionable mono-metal bullets. In each case that I attempted them, monolithic copper/alloy bullets got here out on high. Bullets just like the Barnes TSX, TTSX, and Hornady CX, in addition to the Lehigh Protection .458 Excessive Protection (Black Hills Honey Badger .45/70) all beat their lead-core counterparts in each deflection and failure fee (key-holing).
I don’t imagine that the pointiness of the bullet alone is what causes a few of them to be deflected or destroyed simply as O’Connor noticed. Somewhat, the truth that spire or spitzer-pointed lead-core bullets merely deformed extra simply than blunt ones—and have been thus less-stable after contact with a department or different vegetation. Fashionable copper bullets broaden reliably, however they aren’t as malleable and susceptible to deform as lead-core bullets. That’s my concept anyway.
Is the .350 Legend a Brush Cutter?
Tales of the .35 Remington’s fame as a “brush cutter” impressed me to incorporate the .350 Legend on this take a look at. Certain, the .35 Remington out-powers it by a bit in manufacturing unit masses, nevertheless it’s shut. O’Connor’s said, “even the round-nosed, heavy, and comparatively gradual .35 Remington bullet will present a great deal of deflection and proof of key-holing when shot by the comb.” Was the .35’s fame for brush-busting merely exaggerated?
O’Connor’s diagram exhibits some deflection and a key-holed shot in his take a look at group, and thru an extra 12 yards of brush, the .350 Legend didn’t fare higher. Each Federal Premium Energy Shock 180-grain masses and Winchester Tremendous X 180-grain masses averaged about six inches of deflection, and 60 to 70 % of the projectiles key-holed.
The .350 Legend is a helpful, correct, and efficient little deer cartridge that definitely is similar to the outdated .35 Remington, however the stubby, broad bullets don’t have nice sectional density and are simply turned off-course by brush. I’d guess in depth testing of the .35 Remington would present the identical factor.
What’s the Greatest Brush Bullet and Cartridge Right this moment? The .45/70 Gov’t
The .45/70 outperformed every thing else in penetrating brush and delivering a bullet that’s nonetheless flying straight and true—one thing that can absolutely inflate the egos of its modern followers. I anticipated the .45/70 to yield one of the best outcomes merely due to the mass of the bullets, nevertheless it exceeded my expectations considerably. With in depth sufficient testing another big-bore cartridges may outdo the .45/70, however in terms of frequent and accessible brush rifles as we speak, the .45/70 wins.
One of the best brush bullet in my testing was the 325-grain, .458-inch Lehigh Protection Excessive Protection bullet. It was in Black Hills Ammo’s Honey Badger manufacturing unit masses, touring at 1900 fps. These are strong copper machined bullets with a nostril that’s fluted and resembles a Phillips screwdriver. The bullet is designed for zero deformation, and to penetrate deeply. The fluting on the tip is designed to trigger cavitation and a wound channel like increasing bullets. I’ve seen bears shot with them, and they’re formidable. This load had a median deflection of solely 0.63 inches, with out a single key-holed bullet in 15 complete pictures.
Subsequent greatest was Federal Premium’s Hammerdown 300-grain load. Touring at 1800 fps, it incorporates a soft-point, jacketed bullet. Common deflection of this bullet was 1.43 inches, and just one bullet of 15 key-holed by the second goal. They proved to be considerably extra steady than the slower 405-grain LFB masses I attempted, which unfold to 2.32 inches with a 15 % failure fee.
Ultimate Ideas on Brush Bullets
Recognizing the impossibility of absolute conclusiveness, O’Connor closed his story with the next:
“So, about all a brush hunter can do is use essentially the most appropriate bullet for his rifle, one which’s spherical or flat-nose, strongly constructed, and reasonable in velocity. Even then he ought to attempt to decide a gap within the brush. If he can’t, he’d higher mutter a small incantation to the Crimson Gods and hope for one of the best. Of all of the alibis for lacking sport, the one which blames the comb or deflecting the bullet remains to be one of the best I do know of.”
Echoing his conclusions in as we speak’s world, I’d say that those that hunt in brushy nation ought to think about copper bullets, particularly in larger rifles. Their less-deformable building appears to provide them an edge in comparison with even heavier, blunter lead-core bullets.
Abstract of Brush Bullet Deflection
What Helps Make a Higher Brush Bullet
- Monometal Development
- .458-in. Caliber
- Reasonable Velocity
What Limits a Brush Bullet
- Fragile Cup and Core Design or gentle lead level
- Greater Muzzle Velocity
- Sub .458-in. Bullet Diameter
Brush Bullets in Right this moment’s World
In contrast to the mentality of the 1950’s, I’d urge you to carry your self to a better customary than to only shoot and hope. If you happen to’re searching with something within the realm of regular deer calibers, by no means take your first shot by brush or grass of any type. The prospect of deflection and wounding is just too excessive. Look ahead to a greater shot, even when it would imply the animal will get away. Definitely by no means do it with a 6.5 Creedmoor.
If I have been searching brush thickets the place fleeting and obscured pictures have been frequent at shut vary, I might really feel comparatively snug with the .45/70 and the precise ammo based mostly on what I’ve seen. Ought to I nonetheless watch for one of the best alternative potential? Sure. However the .45/70 does present a degree of forgiveness if brush is encountered, and a a lot better probability of connecting on a follow-up shot by the wicker. Nothing else in my testing got here shut.
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