Thread: Bush rifles

Rossi R92 in 454 Casull. 10" barrel with a 2x Leupold M8 (for looks). The lever action carries nice in the bush.
Shoots 240gr at 2200fps.

I also use a 300BLk with a 1.5-5x scope. Short rifles handle easy in the thick stuff.

If I could have my time again, I'd get a .308, 16" with a 2-7x scope. It'll carry easy in the bush and have the legs to go longer if needed.

Originally Posted by will.i.em

Rossi R92 in 454 Casull. 10" barrel with a 2x Leupold M8 (for looks). The lever action carries nice in the bush.
Shoots 240gr at 2200fps.

I also use a 300BLk with a 1.5-5x scope. Short rifles handle easy in the thick stuff.

If I could have my time again, I'd get a .308, 16" with a 2-7x scope. It'll carry easy in the bush and have the legs to go longer if needed.

how many does the Rossi hold with the mag cut back that short

Originally Posted by longshot

how many does the Rossi hold with the mag cut back that short

4 in the mag. If I can't get what I'm hunting with 3, then I need to reconsider my hobbies

Rem model 7.

7mm08.

16"

Burris sixX 2-12x40


Dpt can

Home made carbon wrapped stock

Warne rings.

Handloaded with 160gr TMK doing around 2400fps.

Stupidly light and accurate.

I really like the Bergara Extreme hunter in .308

Cerakoted to protect from rusting in your hands when you're in the damp bush.
Leupold VX 3-9x40 zeroed at 100m and drives tacks with factory ammo.
18" barrel, I see the current model has fluted bolt and barrel.
3+1 mag, being able to be ready with a quick follow up shot is handy.

I find it comfortable to carry with one hand for long distances which can make a big difference labouring in the bush.

One thing I do rate on my Howa over my Remington is the three stage safety. Being able to lock the bolt closed on the Howa is one less thing to worry about when charging thru supplejack. Have had the Rem bolt flick open and eject or semi-eject a round on a few occasions.

Other than that - as has been said numerous times, just buy a rifle that fits you well, and rip into it.

Originally Posted by yeah_na_missed

One thing I do rate on my Howa over my Remington is the three stage safety. Being able to lock the bolt closed on the Howa is one less thing to worry about when charging thru supplejack. Have had the Rem bolt flick open and eject or semi-eject a round on a few occasions.

Deliberately swapped to a Timney on one of my Howa's to eliminate the three stage 'saftey'. The middle position is useless as it simply delays the slide to fire and does make a decent amount of noise. The factory three position is OK as a trigger in itself (a corrupted copy of the Sako L-series trigger) but I suspect the 'three position' saftey was just another 'feature' that the Yank importers (Legacy Sports) wanted added on.

A saftey should be like a light switch. There is no point in an intermediary position... 'What state/condition is the rifle in?' 'Ah- it's medium safe as I've fucked about with the saftey (half-bolt is a simillar, stupid malarkey of NZ fudds.)

A loaded rifle is never 'safe'. The trigger or firing pin can break/malfunction and go off at any time once the rifle is cocked with a round in the chamber.

Also, if your Rem 700/M7 bolt is getting flicked open by accident, you can use a bit of electrical tape to hold it in position. If you need to fire and reload it won't keep the bolt from coming up and back but will prevent un-intentional lift up. USMC and US Army used Rem 700's for decades with no dramas.

Short, light, low power scope with see-thru covers, suppressor and a half cock modification so you can lock the action open but close the bolt silently when you need to is what I prefer

So for me that is a Kimber Montana 708, cut down to 16" (with a load to suit). a Hardy Can, Swaro 1.7-10 x 42.

Originally Posted by Low box

Short, light, low power scope with see-thru covers, suppressor and a half cock modification so you can lock the action open but close the bolt silently when you need to is what I prefer

So for me that is a Kimber Montana 708, cut down to 16" (with a load to suit). a Hardy Can, Swaro 1.7-10 x 42.

To the OP, apologies, as this will almost certainly hijack your thread, but here's about 7 pages explaining (more or less) the "half-cock": https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....-safety-96468/

I'd encourage you to have a read, then you can run your own risk assessment, and make an informed decision.

I personally don't do it, as I haven't yet encountered a situation where it would have made the difference. I also have a couple of experiences that support this decision:
- hunting with a mate who swore black and blue running half-cock (bolt half-open) was the safest way to hunt as he heard from a mate you shouldn't trust safety's. We stopped briefly for a map check, with him swinging his rifle hither and thither, muzzle-flashing me 3-4 times in the process. I pointed out his bolt was closed and asked if he'd unloaded. Upon checking, he ejected a live round and went rather white. He had knocked his "half-cocked" bolt closed, and had muzzle-flashed me with a loaded rifle without knowing. Rather than accept wrongdoing, his response was to try and catch me out for safety for the rest of the trip. We don't hunt together any longer.
- another mate ND'd while hunting solo, not realising his "half-cocked" (bolt half-open) rifle was no longer half cocked, and something knocked the trigger. He was honest enough to admit it, and learn from it.

I hope by now you have bought a suppressed Howa .308, and are planning on getting out into the shrubbery!

Originally Posted by yeah_na_missed

To the OP, apologies, as this will almost certainly hijack your thread, but here's about 7 pages explaining (more or less) the "half-cock": https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....-safety-96468/

I'd encourage you to have a read, then you can run your own risk assessment, and make an informed decision.

I personally don't do it, as I haven't yet encountered a situation where it would have made the difference. I also have a couple of experiences that support this decision:
- hunting with a mate who swore black and blue running half-cock (bolt half-open) was the safest way to hunt as he heard from a mate you shouldn't trust safety's. We stopped briefly for a map check, with him swinging his rifle hither and thither, muzzle-flashing me 3-4 times in the process. I pointed out his bolt was closed and asked if he'd unloaded. Upon checking, he ejected a live round and went rather white. He had knocked his "half-cocked" bolt closed, and had muzzle-flashed me with a loaded rifle without knowing. Rather than accept wrongdoing, his response was to try and catch me out for safety for the rest of the trip. We don't hunt together any longer.
- another mate ND'd while hunting solo, not realising his "half-cocked" (bolt half-open) rifle was no longer half cocked, and something knocked the trigger. He was honest enough to admit it, and learn from it.

I hope by now you have bought a suppressed Howa .308, and are planning on getting out into the shrubbery!

I meant the modification where the safety is engaged to lock the bolt in the up position. So releasing the safety AND lowering the bolt is required to fire. I appreciate this is not as safe as having to work the bolt to chamber a round however when I am hunting in tight bush it is a balanced approach to risk that I have somewhat grudgingly accepted. I unchamber the round if the country is tricky or the stalk has turned to a walk. Its a balancing act.

Originally Posted by Low box

I meant the modification where the safety is engaged to lock the bolt in the up position. So releasing the safety AND lowering the bolt is required to fire. I appreciate this is not as safe as having to work the bolt to chamber a round however when I am hunting in tight bush it is a balanced approach to risk that I have somewhat grudgingly accepted. I unchamber the round if the country is tricky or the stalk has turned to a walk. Its a balancing act.

Na, all good, not a dig at you - was just making sure the OP didn't mistake it for bolt half-open like many do. The thread covers your mod, agree it's a balancing act, and that's what I meant by making an informed decision. We're all adults, and can do what works best for our own situation and experience - acknowledging and responding to risk is good! Arguably a dying art. The main thing is actually just getting out there (and getting home again).

Now back to the sweet bush set-ups!

Best rifle to build a bush gun from is something cheap, ideally as thin a profile as possible to reduce snags eg, monte carlo or similar style stock, flush fit/internal mag, recessed or shrouded mag release etc. I started mine with a blued 20" hbar Howa 1500 chambered in .308win that I picked up new for $700 (from memory). I would have preferred a lightweight model but wanted to be able to use my already owned suppressor which has a minimum barrel dimension requirement that is incompatible with thin profiles.
I then had it chopped down to 14" barrel length, fluted for weight reduction (howa 1500 aren't known for being light), and cerakoted as the fluting stripped the bluing. I topped it with a very light and smallish optic, Leupold VX-3HD 1.5-5x20 and have zeroed it at 50m, it's a tack driver. With the suppressor on, it's pretty much the original overall length, approx 1070mm. With it off, it's very (but still well within legal) short, sitting next to the 24" barrel waypoint looks almost comical. Please excuse the dog hair, no one told me springers shed that bad, nor that they had such an affinity to human chairs...

Originally Posted by ojc2

With it off, it's very (but still well within legal) short, sitting next to the 24" barrel waypoint looks almost comical.

24" barrels look comical to me

Originally Posted by MB

24" barrels look comical to me

That all comes down to packaging too though, even with a longer length of pull my 24" single shot is shorter than my 20" r700

Originally Posted by MB

24" barrels look comical to me

They do look a bit retro don’t they…
But there will never be as many deer shot in the trees with so called “bush pigs” as there all ready have been with 25” SMLE’s. Dunno how they did it.
The majority of ‘bush pigs’ and their owners spend most of their lives in open country and scattered/open bush. Not many bush pigs go real bush hunting.