i'm thinking about saving up to buy a new rifle and i wanted some suggestions..the land i hunt is mostly hardwoods with a few small fields scattered through it..i currently own a Ruger M77 in .270 Winchester, but i was wanting something a little more powerful than that to use in the hardwoods. would you suggest something like a .30-06 or .308? or something more along the lines of a .444 Marlin or a .45/70 Gov't.? Thanks for thehelp!

A lot of tests have shown the notion of "brush guns" is pretty much a myth. Light fast bullets tend to explode in brush. Heavier bullets get deflected. As for killing your game, one is about as bad as the other. Your situation probably depends on how far your shots are and what you might meet in the woods. Thick brush isn't great hunting ground for anything and I suspect you hunt the open spots where your 270 is fine. A 30/06 isn't terribly different from a 270 but it will give you a heck of a range of bullets to choose from and it shoots them all well. The 30 magnums only give you more of what you already don't need...more velocity to blow up bullets when they hit brush.

If you want to get into the woods and play jungle warfare, a 30/30 would be as good as anything.

I whole heartedly agree with Paxomesa - there is nothing that is going to penetrate brush - other then a bazooka.

Use a good 30 caliber rifle with common sense and you will get lot's ofgame.

I also agree that on close shots that a 30/30 Winchester rifle is as good as any out there.

yea there are some shooting lanes open when i hunt in the hardwoods, but sometimes they come in through the hardwoods and i can't get a shot at them. i would say most of my shots are about 100-150 yards out...maybe around 200 at the very most. would a .30-06 give me a good bit more distance/power than the .270?

No. Not in your situation.

Your .270 is fine for any big game hunting in North America regardless if you are in dense woods or not.

A 30-30 is often called a 'brush-gun' because it isn't suited for long shots in open country. Your .270 will vastly outperform it from 0 -yards to as far as you can possibly shoot it.

A 06 will not give you more power or down range performance? The 270 is one of the best all around rifle cartridges out there. Stay with what you have is my vote? Save your money for more shells to practice with instead of buting a new gun. There is no such thing as a Brush Buster rifle!
Mike

I have a 30-30 and for the brush its all i use!

ok thanks for all of your responses! i think i will save my money and spend it on something else later...thanks again for your help!

when i think of a "brush gun" i usually think of somethin with a shorter barrel(little bit smaller gun), not necessarly what caliber the gun is. that way you can move the gun around easier if your in thick brush.

My initial thought was if conditions exist that prevent you from ethical shots with the .270. then no other caliber is going to improve that. Maybe consider a nice big handgun with scope?