Legal "Rifle" Cartridges for Deer

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!
  • kludge

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Mar 13, 2008
    5,360
    48
    I thought I'd start a list of legal cartridges for hunting deer with a rifle during firearms season.

    If you think of others, post up and I'll edit the list from time to time.

    .357 Magnum
    .357 Maximum
    .357/44 Bain & Davis
    10mm Magnum
    .38-40 (.38 WCF)
    .41 Magnum
    .44-40 (.44 WCF)
    .44 Special
    .44 Magnum
    .445 Super Mag
    .45 Colt
    .45 Winchester Magnum
    .454 Casull
    .458 SOCOM
    .480 Ruger
    .50 Action Express
    .500 Magnum

    Others possible wildcats I'm looking into:

    .35x39mm (7.62x39mm necked up to accept .358" rifle bullets)
    There is also a 9x39mm Russian cartridge, but it's doubful with current laws that any of these guns will ever get imported... I think they are all machine guns.
    .357 Auto (10mm Magnum Brass necked down in a .357 Sig die)
     
    Last edited:

    melensdad

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 94.7%
    18   1   0
    Apr 2, 2008
    23,985
    77
    Far West Suburban Lowellabama
    Just my opinion only, but I think the 458 Socom may become a popular hunting round here in Indiana. It was developed for the AR15 platform, which is the most popular gun sold in the US. The 458 Socom satisfies the needs of the tactical shooters and is "deer legal" in Indiana. Its available in many factory loaded rounds suitable for hunting. It would also work nicely on feral hogs.

    possible wildcats I'm looking into:

    .35x39mm (7.62x39mm necked up to accept .358" rifle bullets)
    There is also a 9x39mm Russian cartridge, but it's doubful with current laws that any of these guns will ever get imported... I think they are all machine guns.
    .357 Auto (10mm Magnum Brass necked down in a .357 Sig die)

    If you go wildcat, go wtih the 358 WSSM. Its a standard WSSM case, trimmed a bit and then necked up to take a 358 bullet. D-Tech is currently chambering them in AR15 platform rifles and bolt actions. The round was SPECIFICALLY developed to comply with the Indiana law. It is probably the most powerful round developed that is "deer legal" in Indiana. This round beats the 358 Winchester Magnum by 100fps. I've been in contact with Mike about the development over the past year and its really progressing well. D-Tech Superstore Link

    I thought the .450Bushmaster would have been on that list but I guess not.
    The 450 Bushmaster, as well as the 50 Beowulf, are both too long. Neither are legal for Indiana hunting.
     

    Indy_Guy_77

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    16   0   0
    Apr 30, 2008
    16,576
    48
    Good thread since deer season is just right around the corner!

    The 450 Bushmaster, as well as the 50 Beowulf, are both too long. Neither are legal for Indiana hunting.

    I'm sure that most folks will know that you mean "neither are legal for Indiana deer hunting", but I figured I'd clarify. I mean, if you were so inclined, you could hunt squirrels with the 50 Beowulf and the 450 Bushmaster.

    I can't figure out why they restrict the deer hunting cartridges so much, but don't put any limitations at all on what you can use to harvest squirrel?

    -J-
     

    kludge

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Mar 13, 2008
    5,360
    48
    I can't figure out why they restrict the deer hunting cartridges so much, but don't put any limitations at all on what you can use to harvest squirrel?

    -J-

    Because deer hunters sit in trees and shoot toward the ground and squirrel hunters stand on the ground and shoot up into the trees...

    Oh... wait... :n00b:

    [/sarcasm]
     

    kludge

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Mar 13, 2008
    5,360
    48
    I would love to have a .458 SOCOM upper.

    Me too, but my wife would never justify the cost...

    I wish there was a 45 Winchester Magnum carbine or 10mm Magnum carbine a la Ruger's Deerslayer/Mini-14 or Kel Tec Sub 2000. A long time ago there was a guy that converted the 30 Carbine to .45 Win Mag... that would be a sweet deer hunting/home defense caliber.
     

    melensdad

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 94.7%
    18   1   0
    Apr 2, 2008
    23,985
    77
    Far West Suburban Lowellabama
    I would love to have a .458 SOCOM upper. Maybe next year if all goes well. Thanks for the info Melensdad.
    It is also on my 'short' list of uppers to buy.

    I'm sure that most folks will know that you mean "neither are legal for Indiana deer hunting", but I figured I'd clarify.
    Yup. I wrote about deer hunting earlier in that post and simply PRESUMED that people would realize the implication. It was probably wrong to presume that.
     

    wolfman

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    May 5, 2008
    1,734
    63
    S Side Indy
    I can't figure out why they restrict the deer hunting cartridges so much, but don't put any limitations at all on what you can use to harvest squirrel?

    Hit a tree rat with a 12ga slug, and you will imediately be able to tell why limitations are not necessary, the result is kinda like hitting a deer with a semi

    :coffee:
     

    jeremy

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Feb 18, 2008
    16,482
    36
    Fiddler's Green
    My brother and I used to shoot Pigeons with a 270 from the top of a grain bin. Maybe 75 yards out.... Maybe.
    Expensive, yes. Overkill, yes again. Fun, yup.
     

    Indy_Guy_77

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    16   0   0
    Apr 30, 2008
    16,576
    48
    Hit a tree rat with a 12ga slug, and you will imediately be able to tell why limitations are not necessary, the result is kinda like hitting a deer with a semi

    :coffee:

    Oh, I definitely understand why it's not a good idea to hunt squirrel with 12ga slugs or 150gr .270 Winchester round, 168gr .308, etc etc.

    What I'm saying is, is that it's LEGAL to do so. That means that it's perfectly legal for me to shoot UP at a tree rat with very high powered rifle rounds. Rounds that probably won't slow down at all after hitting said tree rat.

    Rounds that, given a total miss of animal and tree, will likely travel several hundred (possibly approaching a mile!) yards on a true ballistic path. A projectile going straight up and straight down might cause a headache. Slight concussion, possibly. But a true ballistic path can be LETHAL. DRT. Pushing Daisies. Picking corn in your JD one moment, lying in a pool of blood with your combine pushed up against a fence-row tree the next.

    On the other hand, shooting DOWN at a deer from a tree stand with a 7mm Rem Mag is illegal. And shooting LEVEL at a deer with a .308 is illegal. (Because everyone knows that if you shoot perfectly level with the ground, gravity acts upon said bullet and pulls it down rapidly. A bullet fired perfectly parallel with the ground will impact the ground at the same instant as a bullet dropped from the same height)

    The problem is not "true hunters"; anyone who's serious about A) conservation, and B) putting food on the table isn't going to be shooting a .45-70 at Mr. Red Foxx Squirrel. The problem is 17 year old idiot Bubba and Bubba's dad, Roscoe, who just want to go out and kill bushy tails. And that, my friends, is legally accomplished with anything you want.

    Doesn't make sense, does it?

    -J-
     

    Kirk Freeman

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Mar 9, 2008
    47,969
    113
    Lafayette, Indiana
    Oh, I definitely understand why it's not a good idea to hunt squirrel with 12ga slugs or 150gr .270 Winchester round, 168gr .308, etc etc.

    What I'm saying is, is that it's LEGAL to do so. That means that it's perfectly legal for me to shoot UP at a tree rat with very high powered rifle rounds. Rounds that probably won't slow down at all after hitting said tree rat.

    Rounds that, given a total miss of animal and tree, will likely travel several hundred (possibly approaching a mile!) yards on a true ballistic path. A projectile going straight up and straight down might cause a headache. Slight concussion, possibly. But a true ballistic path can be LETHAL. DRT. Pushing Daisies. Picking corn in your JD one moment, lying in a pool of blood with your combine pushed up against a fence-row tree the next.

    On the other hand, shooting DOWN at a deer from a tree stand with a 7mm Rem Mag is illegal. And shooting LEVEL at a deer with a .308 is illegal. (Because everyone knows that if you shoot perfectly level with the ground, gravity acts upon said bullet and pulls it down rapidly. A bullet fired perfectly parallel with the ground will impact the ground at the same instant as a bullet dropped from the same height)

    How dare you question the Magic Bullet Theory of the IDNR!!!

    A .308 bullet launched at a squirrel at a 45 degree angle with no backstop turns into harmless pixie dust 10 yards past the squirrel.

    A .308 bullet launched at a deer turns into a juggernaut of doom, seeking out women, minorities and children. What about the children? Won't someone please think about the children!
     

    patience0830

    .22 magician
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 96.6%
    28   1   0
    Nov 3, 2008
    17,590
    149
    Not far from the tree
    but

    NOT legal for deer hunting in Indiana with a rifle. Too long under the Indiana regulations. But the 458 Socom is roughly a ballistic equivalent of the 45-70.
    .. you can hunt with a pistol in 45/70...say a 15" bbl on an encore with a muzzle tamer. hows that for making no sense. take the gun thats harder to hold steady and shoot accurately and let us have bigger cartridges.
     

    sickpuppy

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Nov 14, 2009
    1
    1
    Has anyone thought about trimming a .460 Smith & Wesson cartridge down to 1.62" and using a Thompson Center Encore?
     
    Top Bottom