Will the DNR again screw up the Deer Harvest 'Gun Used' Data?

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • AJMD429

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jan 25, 2009
    215
    28
    Do you think the IN-DNR will get their act together this fourth year that RIFLES are allowed for deer, and have that as a 'choice' on the check-station forms?

    You'd think they'd have wanted to document how many people got their deer with the newly-allowed pistol-caliber rifles, and what age the hunter was, etc.

    As a landowner, they wanted to put my 13 year old son's buck down as a 'shotgun' deer, under my name. which didn't exactly help the statistics reflect reality.
     

    tenring

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Oct 16, 2008
    1,999
    38
    Martinsville
    Almost all the old forms have been used up as of this season, approximately 80% of the check stations will have the "rifle" check off this year, and it will be 100% next year. Had to use up all the old ones first. It's a 'guvmint thing.
     

    thumper31768

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   2   0
    Oct 7, 2010
    50
    6
    you guy ever notice that you can hunt any animal in indiana with any gun and ammo other than deer? like coyote you can take with any ammo i use a 30-06 now why is it ok to take a dog with a 30-06 and not a bigger animal like deer? thats what i want to know
     

    clfergus

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    49   0   0
    Mar 9, 2009
    1,464
    38
    Southeast Indy
    I always assumed that they do it so you dont have .308 or 30-06 flying around the woods when the masses of deer hunters hit for gun season. I guess they see slugs and pistol calibers as having a smaller travel range.

    Not as many hunters out hunting during the other seasons and I would say the hunters who are dedicated to hunt coyotes are probably more experienced.

    I can say that I would love to use my .308 but the last couple of years opening day has sounded like a war zone. I am not sure why people are shooting 5 times in a row with a shotgun..multiple times per hour.

    I doubt these same hunters are terribly worried about setting up to hunt in a direction that doesn't have homes etc on the other side of a hill.

    It would be interesting to see some accidental shotting statistics in a place like Kentucky where they are legal.
     
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Nov 19, 2009
    2,191
    36
    Central Indiana
    you guy ever notice that you can hunt any animal in indiana with any gun and ammo other than deer? like coyote you can take with any ammo i use a 30-06 now why is it ok to take a dog with a 30-06 and not a bigger animal like deer? thats what i want to know

    Uh. Yeah. We've noticed. It's simple and documented.

    1. Traditional rifle calibers are just too effective on light game like whitetail. Before Indiana had any true conservation efforts or hunting regulation, the whitetail population was decimated. Sportsmen actually had to reintroduce deer into the state. While the deer herd is healthy, the general consensus is that reintroducing large numbers of rifle hunters taking 200 yard shots will bring the same kind of destruction to the deer herd.

    2. The DNR doesn't want hunters taking the long shots. A long shot in the hands of an inexperienced shooter all too often results in a wounded deer. They don't call the 30/30 "the legbreaker" for nothing.
     

    EPD1102

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Nov 1, 2010
    404
    16
    Evansville
    I don't think we're really that limited. There's not much on our property that I can't cover with a good slug gun or muzzleloader. I still plan to buy a .458 SOCOM AR15 upper for next year and have ordered two of them for my son and I. I think if they had gone with any straight-walled rifle caliber, I would have been happy with a .45-70 for everything that I need. Since they didn't, I've decided to try the .458. There are still several slug-only states and, I think, there are some that don't allow rifled slugs. I think we should be happy with the options we have. I know I still hear a lot of "blasting away" on the properties around us on opening morning and I'm sometimes glad that those guys aren't allowed to have any more range than they already have.
     

    chevy2

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Dec 11, 2010
    59
    6
    With 150 grains of powder and a light bullet some muzzleloaders are getting close to low end rifle rounds.
     

    yotewacker

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Feb 25, 2009
    975
    18
    There are a lot of crazies that only hunt once a year. Most never even hold a gun any other time other than opening day to deer hunt. I believe that this type of hunter is what the DNR is afraid of. Most coyote hunters, hunt often and not in large numbers on the same day. which makes is far more safer.
    I believe that it should be legal to hunt with any center fire rifle south of Columbus. More hills and trees to be a backstop.
     

    Willie

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Nov 24, 2010
    2,679
    48
    Warrick County
    Almost all the old forms have been used up as of this season, approximately 80% of the check stations will have the "rifle" check off this year, and it will be 100% next year. Had to use up all the old ones first. It's a 'guvmint thing.

    What TenRing said....

    They buy three or four years ahead. They didn't want to waste the books so they instructed the check station operators to write Rifle or PCR on the form. How often did that happen? Not much I can assure you.

    The DNR thought that we would be out of the old non-PCR books for this season but someone found some more tucked away somewhere.

    The first year I checked in my PCR deer the operator asked "Shot gun or MZ?" I said," PCR". He said, "Huh?" I had to explain ot him what the PCR was and that it was legal. He said," Are you sure"? DUH... no I just wanted to kill a deer with my Ruger .44 Carbine.

    The DNR is well aware that PCR kills are being under counted.

    The only change on rifles that I see coming is upping the case length to .180.
     

    blackoak

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jan 4, 2010
    199
    16
    I always assumed that they do it so you dont have .308 or 30-06 flying around the woods when the masses of deer hunters hit for gun season. I guess they see slugs and pistol calibers as having a smaller travel range.

    Not as many hunters out hunting during the other seasons and I would say the hunters who are dedicated to hunt coyotes are probably more experienced.

    I can say that I would love to use my .308 but the last couple of years opening day has sounded like a war zone. I am not sure why people are shooting 5 times in a row with a shotgun..multiple times per hour.

    I doubt these same hunters are terribly worried about setting up to hunt in a direction that doesn't have homes etc on the other side of a hill.

    It would be interesting to see some accidental shotting statistics in a place like Kentucky where they are legal.
    I agree clfergus. I would say this is exactly why.
     

    blackoak

    Marksman
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jan 4, 2010
    199
    16
    I'm under the impression that the DNR is not going to increase the case length. Do you have any new information that says they decided to adopt it? Last I heard they rejected it. Not sure my information is accurate.
    All the proposed rules were scrapped including the case length change
     
    Top Bottom