I would hope that you are not trying to Bust Brush while you hunt. There are game trails, big and small through any woods, and those are the paths to follow.
As a kid I didn't know that, and spent hours, and lots of energy, armed with a bow and arrows, busting through bushes, and bramble for no good or productive reasons. It was not until I was older, and had read some books to supplement my knowledge of the wild that I began noticing those game trails, paths, runs, etc. that weaved in and out of brush and trees.
Then I began noticing that large trees shade out small brush on the north sides of them, giving cleared area where I could move much easier.
And I noticed that squirrels make constant trails from One large tree to another large tree. They may not be in straight lines in the direction I wanted to travel, but they got to where I wanted to go, none the less.
Since making this discovery, and learning to SLOW DOWN-- way down, I see more, cover ground quietly, without disturbing the forest sentries that send out the alarm calls when you move too fast. I never seem to have a problem finding my way up and down hills, or across bottoms. All it took was for me to stop, take a few breathes and really look.
Let the animals who live there 24/7 tell you how to get where you want to go by the tracks and paths they leave. Virtually all ridges have wide, night time ridge trails, that are very wide, because they are used by so many animals at night to move from one area to another. Use those trails.
Iron Jim Rackham, a member on this forum, hunts in Upstate New York. He is using a 20 gauge fowler that Mike Brooks made for him, with a 42" barrel. I have to believe that the brush country he hunts is not much different than what you are seeing in Maine. I have a personal friend at Bar Harbor, Me., who hunts the forests and brush, around a cabin he is building back in the woods. From the pictures he has sent to me, it looks a lot like the pictures posted here by Iron Jim, with his gun and the grouse he killed with it one day.
I think your idea of using a 34 inch barrel is okay. But, I really don't think anyone using a longer barrel is going to be handicapped in deep woods hunting. You are just as likely to find a close vine, or branch stopping a short, 20 " barrel as one that will stop you swinging a 42" barrel.
Quail, Grouse, and Woodcock all seem to know when to flush and where to fly to put the most obstructions in the path of your gun. I can introduce you to hunters who swear the birds have eyes in the back of their heads, for all the " sure " shots that miss.
Its called " hunting", not " getting". :shocked2: :wink: :thumbsup:
