Bolt action brush gun?

[Jack]

PJ, I guess I got lucky...
First powder I ever tried for my 308 was 3031. The rifle grouped 1 and 1/2 inches (5 shots@100) with a peep sight and the old 165 partition with the relieved waist and the screw machine marks on it. I figured that was plenty good enough for woods ranges and never tried anything else for many years. Didn't have a chronograph in those days.
Got some 2520 about 10 years ago, and tried that along with H414.
BTW, 2520 is also the best powder I've found for the 8x57.
I think of 2520 as 'ball 4895' - it's very useful stuff.
For some reason or other, I've never used 748.

[8X56MS]

Sad, that so many folks these days, have not had the pleasure of taking a vintage Mannlicher-Schoenauer carbine into the brush. In my humble opinion, no rifle since has captured the Mannlicher's combination of 'handiness', rapidity of action, and natural 'pointability'.
Even today, one of my old 8 X56, or 9 X 56 Mannlicher rifles is strong bear medicine. Works great on piggies and deer also.
The M-S carbine that goes most often with me to hunt heavy cover, is a 1908 Carbine, with double set triggers, and of course, the full length stock. I bought this old timer in bad shape. I had to replace the barrel, and had Harry McGowan make an exact duplicate. He chambered it in 8x57 Mauser. My long departed gunsmith worked some magic on the spool magazine, and it handles the Mauser cartridge like it was made for it. For those that have not tried to rework a M-S magazine to handle a different than original cartridge, its a task that takes skill, and the touch of an artisan.
This rifle comes up to the shoulder like a fine shotgun, and will shoot MOA at 100 yards, with my handloads.

[wesattul]

I built my "do-everything" rifle on a Win. Classic Featherweight. I installed a 20" .358 Win. bbl. and a Burris 1 3/4x5 scope. The whole thing is really light and handy. It is pleasant to shoot and devastating on whatever I shoot with it.

[Ridge Runner]

I've chased them since 1978, carried about anykind of rifle I could from a rem 660, 350 rem mag to a TC contendor in 375 JDJ.
I've setted on an AR-15 for whacking bears.
Its a 20" flat-top chambered in 458 SOCOM (basicly a twin to the 45/70 or 450 marlin) with a TC 1.5x5. The 300 gr. Hornady's @ 2200 fps seems to ruin they're day. The gun feed, functions, and handles wonderfully.
RR

[DogYeller]

I'm getting in this thread pretty late but I have almost what model 70 described except for the scope it now has a 4x12 Sportview. I bought my 700 ADL 30-06 when they were $150 at J.C. Pennys. I cut down the barrel and installed a fiberglass stock when I lived in Hawaii. The brush was too thick for a full-length barrel and the humidity would cause the wood stock to swell. It's still my 1st choice for deer.

[rem 700]

I'm gonna have to say a Remington mod. 7 in 308 would be great for black bear in quick handling situations. "Compact" and easy to move quickly. Still quite capable out to 400yds on deer sized game, too.

[hnter]

I've got a Great one!
A Marlin .450 lever.
But if I were going to buy another "brush gun" today and resonable (low) price was a consideration, I buy one of the 45/70 rifles being made on surplus brit SMLE actions. Cheap, powerful and plenty accurate for so called brush gun ranges.

Gibbs Rifle Co I believe


Hnter

[wrenchman]

I like the model 7 and they do make a cheeper version like a adl
with a hard wood stock and not as deep polish blue.
The 308 is as good as any round for what you are wanting to do with it .

[PJgunner]

8x56MS. I hear you on the mannlicher carbines and their hadleablity. I had rwo model 1903 carbins that some low life stole from my vehicle while I was getting gas and taking a whiz break. That was in Elko nevada and I was on the way home from my annual deer hunt.
I've kept looking for a decent replacement, but the prices hace gotten so outrageoulsy high that you'd think they were made out of gasoline. Guy want $1,500 for one that looked like it had been in both world wars and lost both times.
I went to the Ruger RSI rifles. Mine just all happen to be chambered to the .308 Winchester. They are the older push feed version which I prefer over the later Mark II. As I mention earlier, they are a bit fussy to load for, but they come very close to the Mannlicher-Schoenaur in feel. At least the ones I have do.
I really screwed up about a year ago. Guy had an M-S in 8x58, the carbine, and I wasn't sure if it had a .318" bore or a .323" bore so I passed on it. I lloked it up when I got home and damn! A .323" bore. I'm still kicking myself. $800 and the bore was mint. The wood was a bit on the well used side, but a trip to my friendly and expensive gunsmith would have taken care of that problem. (I could have done most of the wood work myself, but it was the checkering I'm afraid to mess with.)
Paul B.