Deer hunting rifle calibers

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  • Warthog007

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Oct 10, 2017
    1
    1
    Bloomington
    Firearm season for deer hunters is closing in, which brings me to my question....
    Why do they only allow .30 caliber and above?
    I understand the whole stray bullet idea, but I know a .223 round is is going to travel less distance and with less power than say a 30-06 or .308. And of course, the 300 Winchester Mag . Which, a 180 grain bullet has a point blank range of around 300 yards. That means the bullet doesn't start to drop until around 300 yards. The .223, 55 grain bullet starts dropping almost immediately and at 300 yards is several inches. My 2 cents is anyone who gets ahunting license should be required to take a hunters safety course. I don't believe regulating hunting calibers is the answer.
     

    ART338WM

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Jun 2, 2013
    426
    18
    Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Indiana revise the rules for 2017 to allow most caliber rifle cartridges I think from .243 and above? My sons and I will all be hunting with Marlin 336CA in 35 Remington as the land we have this year has no open fields on it and I have yet to find an area on it that will allow anything beyond a 100 yard shot. The reloads I made for our 35 Rems are perfect short range deer rounds pushing a 180 grain Speer flat nosed Hot Core at a MV of 2350fps. Great thing about our Marlins (JM stamped pre Remlin 336CA's) are they cost me either the same or slightly less as a Savage 220F would have for my sons and the reloads I make cost about 1/4 the price of sabot ammo and are more accurate.
     

    ru44mag

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Feb 6, 2013
    2,369
    48
    Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Indiana revise the rules for 2017 to allow most caliber rifle cartridges I think from .243 and above? My sons and I will all be hunting with Marlin 336CA in 35 Remington as the land we have this year has no open fields on it and I have yet to find an area on it that will allow anything beyond a 100 yard shot. The reloads I made for our 35 Rems are perfect short range deer rounds pushing a 180 grain Speer flat nosed Hot Core at a MV of 2350fps. Great thing about our Marlins (JM stamped pre Remlin 336CA's) are they cost me either the same or slightly less as a Savage 220F would have for my sons and the reloads I make cost about 1/4 the price of sabot ammo and are more accurate.

    You are correct. Just don't wander onto public land with your rifle this year.
     

    GrinderCB

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jun 24, 2017
    227
    18
    Greendale
    My hunting is on private land so the whole government land thing is a non-issue to me. That said, I still wonder about the whole question of why these laws exist. What was the reasoning when establishing these rules? The first time I hunted in Indiana we were limited to shotguns with slugs but since then they've changed it to allow rifles with pistol calibers. They've also created these "reduction zones" where rifle calibers can be used. Problem is that in all the books and websites I've reviewed since moving here, I can't locate anything about what they're trying to accomplish. Okay, I think I get it that by using a .30-06 (possibly the most popular hunting round in America) they're concerned about stray shots. But in order to get permits or tags here don't you agree to abide by certain safety rules regardless of what weapon you use? Anyone verifying his target, what's behind it and aiming carefully would not have stray shots be an issue.
     

    LarryC

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jun 18, 2012
    2,418
    63
    Frankfort
    I just received an Email this morning (10-12-17) regarding clarification of the Deer hunting requirements ~ they referenced the following official website which states the following:

    [h=3]Legal Firearms[/h]Shotguns, handguns, rifles with legal cartridges, muzzleloading long guns and muzzleloading handguns are legal during the firearms and special antlerless seasons. Only muzzleloading firearms are legal during the muzzleloader season.Hunters may carry more than one type of legal firearm when hunting during the firearms, youth, reduction zone (in zones where local ordinances allow the use of a firearm), and special antlerless seasons only.[h=3]Shotguns[/h]Shotguns must be 10-, 12-, 16-, 20- or 28-gauge or .410 bore loaded with slugs or saboted bullets. Rifled slug barrels are permitted. Combination rifle-shotguns are allowed.[h=3]Rifles[/h]A state law passed in 2016 that allowed certain rifle cartridges to be used for deer hunting on private land was amended earlier this year to allow additional cartridges. This law also prohibits the use of rifles on public land for deer hunting. During the firearms, reduction zone from Nov. 18-Jan. 31 (in zones where local ordinances allow the use of firearms) and youth seasons, rifles with a minimum 16-inch barrel that fire cartridges meeting the following requirements may be used to hunt deer on private land only:
    • The cartridge must have a minimum case length of 1.16 inches and a maximum case length of 3 inches
    • The cartridge must fire a bullet with a minimum diameter of .243 inches (same as 6 mm)
    • A hunter must not possess more than 10 of these cartridges while hunting deer
    • Full metal jacketed bullets are illegal
    Rifles that had been legal to use on public land in years past can now only be used on private land.[h=3]Handguns[/h]Legal handguns can be used to hunt deer during the firearms, reduction zone from Nov. 18-Jan. 31 (in zones where local ordinances allow the use of a firearm), and special antlerless seasons.Handguns, other than muzzleloading handguns, must have a barrel at least 4 inches long and mustfire a bullet of .243-inch diameter or larger. The handgun cartridge case, without the bullet, must be at least 1.16 inches long. There is no maximum cartridge length for those used in handguns. Full metal-jacketed bullets are not permitted. The handgun must not be a rifle that has a barrel less than 18 inches. (A rifle with a barrel less than 18 inches is not considered a handgun.)Handguns are not permitted for hunting on any military areas.Some handgun cartridges that are legal for deer hunting include .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .44 Special, .45 Colt, .45 Long Colt, .45 Winchester Magnum, .35 Remington and .357 Herrett.A new state law also legalizes a handgun that fires the 10mm Auto and 40 Smith & Wesson cartridge.Some handgun cartridges that are illegal for deer hunting are .38 Special, .38 Smith and Wesson, .38 Colt New Police, .38/200, .38 Long Colt, .38 Super, .38 ACP, .38 Colt Auto, .45 ACP, .45 Automatic and .45 Auto Rim. All .25/.20, .32/.20 and .30 carbine ammunition is prohibited.[h=3]Muzzleloaders[/h]Legal muzzleloaders can be used to hunt deer during the firearms, youth, reduction zone (in zones where local ordinances allow the use of a firearm), muzzleloader, and special antlerless seasons. Only muzzleloading firearms (including muzzleloading handguns) are legal during the muzzleloader season.Muzzleloading firearms must be .44 caliber or larger, loaded with a single bullet of at least .357 caliber. Saboted bullets are allowed, provided the bullet is .357 caliber or larger. A muzzleloading firearm must be capable of being loaded from only the muzzle. Multiple barrel muzzleloading long guns are allowed.Muzzleloading handguns are allowed. The muzzleloading handgun must be single shot, .50 caliber or larger, loaded with bullets at least .44 caliber and have a barrel at least 12 inches long, measured from the base of the breech plug excluding tangs and other projections to the end of the barrel, including the muzzle crown.[h=3]Carrying Handguns[/h]While hunting, an individual may carry a handgun without a handgun license in accordance with Indiana Code 35-47-2-1 at
    iga.IN.gov.
    Deer can be taken with a handgun when in compliance with DNR regulations and only during the firearms and special antlerless seasons, and with muzzleloading handguns only in the muzzleloader seasons, or in deer reduction zones when and where local ordinances allow.
     
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