For all intents and purposes, most lever guns where and still are considered ideal for hunting in brushy areas. Short, quick and light. A marlin 336 or winchester 94 chambered in 30-30 is a very fine choice. Marlin 1895 chambered in 45-70 is another fine choice, but ammo prices of the 45-70 are alot more than the 30-30 ( atleast in my area they are ) Winchester made a model 88 lever that is chambered in many configurations which would also make a fine gun for brushy hunting. ( for all of you out there that are lucky enough to have a model 88, I envy you, I am still looking for a nice one at a decent price) Ruger made the model 96 which you can find chambered in .44 mag which would also be a nice choice for what you want to do. Out to 100 yards you should be fine with the 44 mag. Browning has the blr, which is chambered in many choices. savage made the 99, if you can find one that has a shorter barrel, it would be great too. The couple Savage 99's that I have seem to have pretty long barrels. I don't know how short they made the 99 barrels from the factory. There are also a buttload of semi auto carbines that where made by Remington, Winchester (model 100), and the Browning bar that would be awsome!!!!!
Gee, with all this talking about some of these guns, I feel like going out and buying a bunch of them, but I currently don't have the funds to so that sucks.
There are plenty of guns to choose from out there that will suit you just fine. Go out, pick them up, handle them, draw it up to your shoulder and find the one that feels best to you. Good luck and God bless.