Brush buster

[leverfan]

jd45-

I suspect that cabin4 is plugging for the 44 Remington mag for the same reasons that you're a pundit for the 45 Colt.  The 44 is a good round, and it's done what he's asked of it.  The 45 certainly has a lot more potential, properly loaded, but we're giving advice to a 13 year old shooter that may not have easy access to reloading equipment, and he may have limited funds for factory ammo.  If you shoot 5 deer through the ribs with a 44, and 5 deer through the ribs with a well-loaded 45 round, you're going to have 10 very dead deer.  For a 13 year old deer hunter, the 44 is probably the way to go.  

Let's take this back to the original question.  If deerslayer was set on having a 45 lever gun, he would probably be better served by a 45 Colt, rather than a 45-70.  Even "mild" 45 ammo will blow right through most deer, broadside, and the recoil will be easier to manage than a 45-70, given similar rifles.  

However, he made his choice, and it was a great one.  He latched onto a 35 Remington, and he even had enough class to put a peep sight on top of it.  It also sounds like he has a 280 to fall back on, so he's already one very well-armed hunter.  

Deerslayer, good luck, and let us know if you get to fill any tags with that 35.

[jd45]

Leverfan, thanx for your post, & your wisdom. I stand corrected. It hadn't occured to me that someone wouldn't be reloading.........short-sighted on my part. Thanx again. jd45.

[Cabin4]

Cabin4, no offense, but why did your post totally ignore mine regarding the .45 Colt cartridge potential, compared to the .44 mag. You remind me of a guy at a gun shop I had a conversation with. He argued that the .44-40 cartridge was superior to the .44 mag. cartridge, even after I gave him the specs concerning bullet weight & velocity between the two. His attitude was, because he was behind  the counter, he had to be right. Please don't misunderstand me.......the .44 mag is a great cartridge, & I've had a Browning '92 in .44 mag, but since the introduction of the .45 Colt in rifles, there exists an edge over the .44 mag. cartridge. That's reality, like it or not.  Again, I mean no offense, jd45.

Hold on, I did not ignore your post. I read it and simply have little first hand experience with the 45colt or 44-40 in a lever gun. So I felt it was not my place to comment on.

I do own a 44mag lever gun and can speak to first hand knowledge of this caliber as a good option for for close in woods hunting on deer and bear. Theres no question in my mind, that the 45colt and 44-40 are also respectable cartridges in their own right and have a place in a lever gun for woods hunting. I have seen what these 2 calibers will do by the accomplishment of other hunters, not my own personal experience. So when you get into the deep technical aspects, it's not my place to comment.

I think you and leverfan are reading way to deep into my simple comment about the 44mag option. I'm not "plugging" anything and have no vested interest in your argument with anyone else here. I am however interested in helping the original post by Deerslayer and my posts here are for this reason, and this reason only. Thats it.

[leverfan]

Wrong Way-

If you read the posts by GB and me towards the beginning of this thread, you'll see you're not alone in wanting to take clear shots.  Brush buster has come to mean a class of rifle that handles fast in tight quarters and hits with enough authority, or even more than enough.  It sure doesn't hurt to keep reminding folks to stick with clear shots, though, even if they're packing a so-called "brush buster."  Maybe we should start a campaign to change the name to "buck buster" rifles?  Having shot some of the light-weight big bore lever guns, "shoulder buster" could work, too.

Mrs. Leverfan took hunters' education just a couple of years ago, and she assured me that ethical hunting is still stressed, at least here in Washington.  No shots through brush, no shots up the tail pipe, id your target, don't pull up outside a vegan restaurant window with a deer tied to your hood, etc. :grin:

[jd45]

Cabin4, Thanx for explaining your previous post. I hope you'll forgive me for going off "half-cocked", as the saying goes. Good Hunting! jd45.

[Cabin4]

jd45,

No problem at all.
Good Hunting.

[The deerslayer]

Deerslayer, good luck, and let us know if you get to fill any tags with that 35.

Thanks leaverfan! I will be sure to. There is a doe season for JR and SR hunters this comming thursday friday and saturday. I will be able to use it then. All I can use now is a muzzle loader. Anyway check the deer hunting forum thats where it will be. Hope I get lucky like I did last year.

[Oldtimer]

In regard to the term "brush buster", I think it is properly applied to the hunter, not the cartridge.  This class of cartridge is most useful to those of us who do not stick to the beaten path, but insist on heading into the thick to meet game on its own terms, in its own territory.  I have read studies where the writer did everything scientifically and listed dowel diameter and spacing, took a statistically valid number of shots, etc.  The trouble is, you will never find such a situation in the real world.  The solution is, as GB states, to find a clear shot and not to rely on the bullet to find its way to the target.

[Cabin4]

I also have read some articles on the so called brush buster rounds. There really is no science to substantiate a so called brush buster cartridge. They all can be deflected by twigs, branches, ect.

To me a brush buster is a short barrel gun that allows fast follow up shots and has a sighting apparatus that allows fast & easy target aquisistion. Caliber plays little role here only that it must be capable of killing the intended game.