Fudd Friday: The Brush-Busting Question

August 8, 2026
1:30 am

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The moment the 7mm Magnum barked and the stump exploded instead of the moose, every hunter in the party learned a lesson that no range session can teach: adrenaline, brush, and a split-second sight picture can conspire to turn a clean shot into an expensive lesson in terminal ballistics. Jason Tremblay’s client had already filled his tag, so the Quebecois guide was free to coach, yet even his practiced eye couldn’t override the shooter’s tunnel vision once the crosshairs settled on what looked like sternum but was actually a screen of alders. The bullet never reached the animal; it met cellulose first, shedding velocity and shedding the opportunity in a spray of splinters. For the 2A community, the anecdote is a reminder that marksmanship under field conditions is a perishable skill, and that the Second Amendment’s protection of arms is only as useful as the proficiency of the citizen behind them. Brush-busting calibers and “shoot-through” myths persist because they sell rifles, not because they survive real-world geometry. A 7mm Magnum carries plenty of energy, yet energy without a clear path is just noise. Tremblay’s quick correction—likely a few clipped French syllables and a firm hand on the shooter’s elbow—probably salvaged the afternoon, but the larger point remains: every missed opportunity in the woods is an unspoken argument for rigorous, ongoing training. When anti-hunting activists claim that “assault weapons” or “high-powered rifles” are the problem, stories like this quietly rebut them; the issue wasn’t the cartridge or the platform, it was the instant between trigger squeeze and bullet flight where judgment resides. Ultimately, the stump that absorbed the 7mm serves as a proxy for every range lane we neglect and every state law that rations ammunition or magazine capacity under the guise of safety. The right to keep and bear arms presupposes the right to become competent with them, and competence is measured in fractions of an inch and split-second decisions, not in statute language. Next time the crosshairs dance across alders, the disciplined hunter pauses, exhales, and waits for a clear lane—because the Second Amendment guarantees the tool, but only disciplined practice guarantees the harvest.

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Brush-busting calibers and “shoot-through” myths persist because they sell rifles, not because they survive real-world geometry. A 7mm Magnum carries plenty of energy, yet energy without a clear path is just noise. Tremblay’s quick correction—likely a few clipped French syllables and a firm hand on the shooter’s elbow—probably salvaged the afternoon, but the larger point remains: every missed opportunity in the woods is an unspoken argument for rigorous, ongoing training. When anti-hunting activists claim that “assault weapons” or “high-powered rifles” are the problem, stories like this quietly rebut them; the issue wasn’t the cartridge or the platform, it was the instant between trigger squeeze and bullet flight where judgment resides.

Ultimately, the stump that absorbed the 7mm serves as a proxy for every range lane we neglect and every state law that rations ammunition or magazine capacity under the guise of safety. The right to keep and bear arms presupposes the right to become competent with them, and competence is measured in fractions of an inch and split-second decisions, not in statute language. Next time the crosshairs dance across alders, the disciplined hunter pauses, exhales, and waits for a clear lane—because the Second Amendment guarantees the tool, but only disciplined practice guarantees the harvest.

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