Brush Buster

[Vern]

I'm new back to muzzleloader hunting. Last week, I passed a shot on a muley doe 30yds away because brush semi-obscured her vitals. :cursing:

I was using a .54 Cabela's Hawken with 390gr Hornady Great Plains HP-HB bullet with 80gr 3F.

My question is, how well do .54 bullets penetrate brush? One fellow I talked to in a store said that he'll use his ML rifle when he's hunting in brush during regular rifle season just because it's a better brush buster than the .30 cal high powered rifles. (Colorado has a separate ML season before "rifle" season.)

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks.

 

[rabjr]

Please, wait for a clear shot. We owe that to the animal. Brush busting leads to messy hits to often.

 

[jtmattison]

Please, wait for a clear shot. We owe that to the animal. Brush busting leads to messy hits to often.

Amen!

There no such thing as a "brush buster".

Go for the open shot. We want a clean, quick kill.

:hatsoff:

HD

 

[roundball]

I'm new back to muzzleloader hunting. Last week, I passed a shot on a muley doe 30yds away because brush semi-obscured her vitals. :cursing:

I was using a .54 Cabela's Hawken with 390gr Hornady Great Plains HP-HB bullet with 80gr 3F.

My question is, how well do .54 bullets penetrate brush? One fellow I talked to in a store said that he'll use his ML rifle when he's hunting in brush during regular rifle season just because it's a better brush buster than the .30 cal high powered rifles. (Colorado has a separate ML season before "rifle" season.)

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks.

FWIW, I'm not convinced that heavy slugs are going to make a noticable difference in "busting through brush".

I've read at least more than one article over the years that suggested the "brush bucking" legend associated with big slugs isn't all that accurate...don't know personally, but IMO, I wouldn't make any changes to heavier slugs just based on the hope they'll buck brush better...I'd figure a way to malke a shot that didn't involved heavy brush...just my .02 cents

 

Last week, I passed a shot on a muley doe 30yds away because brush semi-obscured her vitals. :cursing:

Go ahead and correct me if Im outta line,but I would have shot her in the head.

 

[Vern]

I guess I'll stop kicking myself for not taking the shot.

The head shot wouldn't leave much for brain tanning or for a CWD test.

 

[Rebel]

Bullets don't brush bust, they hit limbs and deflect and then IF they hit the deer, you might wind up with a wounded animal.

 

[Mad Professor]

I remember seeing a test with CF rifles. They shot through hardwood dowels. A .458 Win Mag (500 gr bullet ) was not enough to overcome deflection, even slightly behind the target......

If you don't have a clear shot don't take it , no matter how far......or how big the animal you might wound..........and not care to track to see if

 

[mart]

Throughout a lifetime of reading gun magazines I am sure I have seen the brush buster test no less than a dozen times. While some calibers in some tests showed marginally better results in reaching the target the only consistant result was that no bullet is unaffected by contact with brush. It amazes me that the brush buster myth still raises it's head. Wait for the clear shot. Mart

 

[spitfire]

"Brush busting" calibers are a myth!Wait for a clear shot that Ethics & Skill will allow. :winking:

 

[Alberta Black]

I vote with hunt'n dawg and Spitfire.

 

[RC]

GREAT CHOICE! we owe it to the animal to make a quick clean kill,anything less is an insult to nature and sportsman. I once had a twig,not much bigger than a toothpick deflect a 25 yd shot at a coyote....with a 35 marlin (good brush gun?!)I never seen the twig,till i was tryin to find out how I missed a "sure shot".. twig was on a branch of a tree I was standing next to..about 5 feet out....lucky dog! RC

 

[Sharp Shooter]

If you are not 100% confident in the shot then do not take it!!! You did good on passing it up since you were not all that confident.

 

[Rainman]

As many here have stated, brushbusting ability is mostly a myth. Several years ago, I fired a patched .50 roundball at a turkey about 15 yards away. He and his hen took off running (unhurt), while I watched a small sapling fall out of the corner of my eye. The 1/2" sapling I initially hit was about 3 feet in front of the turkey when I shot. The ball had cut the sapling and had flown off at at a bizarre angle, cutting another sapling about 10 yards beyond the turkey, and about 4 ft. to the right of where I was aiming.

On a deer hunt a few years back, I took what I thought was a clean, rested shot at a buck about 40 yds away. I was using a .50 370 gr MaxiBall at the time. The buck acted unhurt after the shot, but I did find blood and looked for him for the next 4 hours to no avail. I later climbed back up in my treestand and looked through my binocs at the spot I had seen the buck. Sure enough, the binocs revealed a freshly cut, hanging branch immediately in front of where the buck's chest had been. What's ironic (and what caused me to reclimb the tree), is that I had taken an almost identical buck from the same stand the morning before and he was standing in exactly the same spot! Clean shot on the first buck...I suspect I only grazed the 2nd one...

 

[Hiparoo]

You don't have to use brains to "braintan" check out[url] braintan.com[/url] for more info...I've seen "braintan" done with eggs,soap,fish oil,fabric softener,etc...as to CWD-it's not everywhere in CO and you have to give them the whole head,so you wouldn't have the brains anyway-if an animal doesn't look "sick"(check with DOW for description of symptoms)and the area you hunt hasn't been found to have CWD,I wouldn't worry about it...

 

[marwat06]

Well others posted some great comments so I won't repeat .. just adding my ... you made the right choice. :applause:

 

[renovato]

I guess I'll stop kicking myself for not taking the shot.

The head shot wouldn't leave much for brain tanning or for a CWD test.

Hey Vern, I know this is off topic, but could you explain the CWD test a bit? I have land in Colorado and am hoping to move there and enjoy the deer and elk hunting. CWD has had me worried though. Thanks.

 

Hey plink here ya go.And its from Colorado your future home :grin: http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/BigGame/CWD/

 

[Stumpkiller]

Trouble with "brush" is that it is inconsistant. Refers to anything from goldenrod and timothy grass to dogwood and oak saplings. NOTHING that is shoulder-fired is going to be unaffected in all brush conditions. That includes the big British nitro express rounds. Generally the heavy, slow and blunt projectiles are thought to do better than light, fast and spire/expansion tipped. Don't count on it. Too many variables. The farther the animal from the initial brush contact also makes a HUGE difference.

You did right.

For years all I could hunt with in regular deer season was a rifled slug - a .715"+/- ounce of lead at 1,800 fps muzzle. I've split finger size limbs that did not alter their course, but also mysteriously had them vanish . . . only to find a nicked branch where I thought I was in the clear. I've passed on a lot of m/l shots that had cover blocking the deer. I hunt where the cover is thick (which seems to be where the deer are). With no hope of a fast follow-up if a branch jumps in front of me I just prefer to pass instead of following a scant blood trail for hours or days. I like and respect the deer too much to allow that to happen.

 

[renovato]

Thanks CrowHop!