45 70, legal for deer, or no?

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

What say you, oh learned ones? Can I put the smack on bambi with this?

 

[Mgderf]

As per the revised DNR rules, yes, you can.
Minimum case length of 1.16" and a maximum case length of 3", firing a projectile of .243caliber or larger.
This puts the .45-70 square in the middle of the cartridge case lengths, and well above the .243" projectile minimum.

These rules only apply to privately owned land.
I hunt private land, and there's a very good chance my Handi-Rifle in .45-70 will take a deer this coming season.

 

[oldpink]

The short answer?
Yes
The long answer?
Yes, with the qualifications that Mgderf already mentioned, but with the last one being that you must have no more than ten rounds on your person while hunting with whatever rifle you'll be using.
You can have five in the rifle and five in your pocket, or any combination in between.
Before you ask, yes you can keep as much ammo as you want in your vehicle.
Also, you cannot use full metal jacket bullets, but that's a rule that has long already applied to handgun-caliber rifles and all handgun hunters anyway.

 

[BigMatt]

Yes you can on private land. Hornady makes some ammo that would be killer on whitetail. It shoots higher out of my rifle than other ammo.

 

[Willie]

Correct me if I'm wrong but did not the maximum 3" part of the bill get dropped?

 

[oldpink]

Yes you can on private land. Hornady makes some ammo that would be killer on whitetail. It shoots higher out of my rifle than other ammo.

Yep
Their most excellent LeveRevolution ammo with the spitzer bullet made of a rubbery polymer that makes a more aerodynamic bullet safe to load in a tubular magazine.
I've use their 225 grain .452 diameter component bullet of this type in my .45 Colt Marlin to take three deer.

Correct me if I'm wrong but did not the maximum 3" part of the bill get dropped?

The 3" maximum length rule is still in effect, a clear measure intended to prevent people from hunting deer with .50 BMG, and perfectly reasonable.

 

[Bobby]

Yes, the bill that was signed into law this year made that caliber legal for hunting deer on private land. If you haven't bought that rifle yet it might be a good idea to wait until next month? when the 2017 deer regulations are officially released. I don't think there is any doubt that 45-70 is legal but you never know.

What say you, oh learned ones? Can I put the smack on bambi with this?

 

[oldpink]

Yes, the bill that was signed into law this year made that caliber legal for hunting deer on private land. If you haven't bought that rifle yet it might be a good idea to wait until next month? when the 2017 deer regulations are officially released. I don't think there is any doubt that 45-70 is legal but you never know.

Nah, no need to be overly cautious.
The grand old '70 fulfills all the requirements as written (bore diameter and case length), and there's exactly zero chance that they'll specifically disallow it.
I'm pretty sure that the OP already has one anyway.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Old Pink, you are correct. I bought the one from Mr. Lubie last week. Good guy.

 

[oldpink]

Old Pink, you are correct. I bought the one from Mr. Lubie last week. Good guy.

You knew this was coming, but...

 

[thunderchicken]

So does that make .300wsm legal?

 

[Leadeye]

I'll have to get the Winchester 1876 out hunting this year. Nobody is likely hunting with a 50-95.

 

[oldpink]

So does that make .300wsm legal?

.300WSM is legal, as are the other .308 bore magnums, .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .308 Norma Magnum, .300 H&H Magnum, and even the nearly insane .300-378 Weatherby Magnum.
As long as it has a case length (empty case, not loaded round) of at least 1.16" and is still under the 3.00" max length, and as long as it uses bullets of at least .243 bore diameter, it's legal.
Mgderf already provided those exact same details in the second post, so I'm only repeating him.

Winchester Short Magnum dimensional specs are:
Bore diameter of at least .243? Check - .308 bore diameter
Case length between 1.16" and 3.0"? - Check - 2.100" case length

There's really no need to tie yourself up in knots overthinking this whole thing.