Deer Hunting in Indiana - rifle?

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  • illini40

    Sharpshooter
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    Nov 28, 2010
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    Hello all,

    I am new to Indiana and am curious about deer hunting in the state.

    I have done some searching, but am still a little confused.

    Can you hunt deer with a rifle in Indiana? If so, rifle cartridges such as .270 or .30-06? I have done some reading and see discussion of pistol calibers, but I am little confused still.

    Thank you!
     

    tyrajam

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    Dec 2, 2008
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    Fishers
    Welcome! If you do a search, you will find questions just like yours with tons of discussion and answers. It boils down to this: If you are hunting with a rifle, it must be chambered for a round less than 1.6" long-which is mostly pistol calibers-AND the bullet must be .357" or bigger. So a .44mag out of a rifle-good. A 30-06 out of a rifle-illegal.
    If you are hunting with a pistol, it must fire a bullet at least .243" in diameter, but there is no maximum length. So .44mag out of a pistol-good. 30-06 out of a pistol-good. 460 weatherby out of a pistol-fine.
    And don't worry, it isn't supposed to make sense. It's comes down to us from those who know best.
     

    kludge

    Grandmaster
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    Mar 13, 2008
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    the latest proposal will increase the maximum allowable cartridge length to 1.8"
     
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    Dec 24, 2008
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    Way up North
    Like these guys said, basicly you can use a pistol round in a rifle, but cannot legaly deer hunt with a hi power rifle .223 .270 .30-06 Etc.
    I believe that one exception to this would be a deprivation permit. A bit hard to come by, but you could research it first and ask your local tree farmers Etc.
    The other thing that you can do with your rifle is coyote hunt.
    I actually used to think that you could not legaly shoot a hi power rifle in the state of IN, obviously I was just a lost kid though.:):

    Hello all,

    I am new to Indiana and am curious about deer hunting in the state.

    I have done some searching, but am still a little confused.

    Can you hunt deer with a rifle in Indiana? If so, rifle cartridges such as .270 or .30-06? I have done some reading and see discussion of pistol calibers, but I am little confused still.

    Thank you!
     

    redneckmedic

    Grandmaster
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    Jan 20, 2009
    8,429
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    Greenfield
    I would use a nice muzzle-loader. You can hunt both ML and rifle season with it. And my ML can probably out shoot any legal rifle in IN out to 300. At least those that aren't hand-loaded.
     

    squirrelhntr

    Shooter
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    Oct 10, 2010
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    n.w. indiana
    :popcorn: a white tail deer's hide is'nt to hard to penatrate. its a good idea to punch a bleed hole through the whole body though, it'll help you track em if u miss the vitals. shooting from a higher level than the deer should put the exit hole on it's underside helping drain the blood. the best thing u can do is wait for a close shot...... a scoped .54 caliber muzzel loader does a fine job on em.... good luck
     
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