DNR Proposal for .243 and up rifle for deer season?

[pike]

Plus, on public land I don't know if they will change it or not. They might not. On public land I think that they should be able to tell you and I what we can use. On private property I like the idea of letting us use pretty much what ever we want to use. Thank you DNR for listening to many of us out there.

I agree. On private land or a lease I feel there is little need for caliber regulation. I would just like to be able to take my son, when he get a little older, to public land and not be afraid of a stray bullet from someone trying to take a deer in rapid fire fashion. I realize there are risks to every thing but most of us are not as skilled with a gun as we think, myself included. If the rules are a little restrictive but allows people to feel safe while participating in the sport of hunting, I am all for it.

 

[Willie]

The proposal will be preliminarily adopted by the Natural Resources Commission on September 16th. After that it will be open for public input. It will probably be early next year before it is considered for final adoption. The very earliest one can use the new legal rifles(if passed) will be the 2015-2016 season. It is a long drawn out process..

 

[ChrisK1977]

I will be patient if need be

 

[Willie]

BTW - kentuckians have used center fires for decades on private AND public ground .

 

[Willie]

I will be patient if need be

Ill post the the input information when it is available....

 

[ChrisK1977]

I would be willing to lower my argument about allowing me to use my 10mm if I can use a rifle of my choosing

 

[Mgderf]

BTW - kentuckians have used center fires for decades on private AND public ground .

I do hope they open it up. It would go a long way toward simplifying the hunting regs.
I have a Savage Striker PISTOL chambered in .308 Winchester. It has a 16" barrel, but only has a pistol grip. This set-up is legal to use for deer under CURRENT Indiana hunting regulations.
If I put that same barrel on a rifle stock, it magically becomes illegal!?
I also have a Thompson Contender pistol with a 16" barrel chambered in .45-70govt. that is legal for deer under CURRENT Indiana law, but if I put a rifle stock on it, you guessed it...Illegal!

The current laws make no sense. They allow the calibers, just not in the most convenient platforms.

It is my contention that these calibers would be better suited to rifle platforms than pistol platforms.
I know, as a rule, I'm MUCH more accurate with a rifle over a pistol in the same caliber.

 

[beehunter]

If center fire rifles were legalized I would think that most deer hunters would buy a bolt action center fire rifle vs a semi auto or pump therefore reducing the opportunity for 5 quick shots like they do out of a semi or pump shotgun. Maybe I am wrong but I would think legalizing center fires might actually reduce rapid fire in most hunting situations.

 

[avboiler11]

 

[bwframe]

...On public land I think that they should be able to tell you and I what we can use. On private property I like the idea of letting us use pretty much what ever we want to use...

Why the difference. Just because you are a property owner?

...I would just like to be able to take my son, when he get a little older, to public land and not be afraid of a stray bullet from someone trying to take a deer in rapid fire fashion. I realize there are risks to every thing but most of us are not as skilled with a gun as we think, myself included. If the rules are a little restrictive but allows people to feel safe while participating in the sport of hunting, I am all for it.

Actually IMHO, the biggest safety issue ever created was the allowance of the .410 slug so that youngun's could hunt. Every kid on my road ended up with a bead sighted .410 shotgun and box of 5 slugs. One slug got shot in the back yard to make sure they wouldn't cry when they were shooting AT deer with Pa or Uncle Bubba.

If we can escape that foolishness unscathed, center fire rifles ought to be fine.

 

[Willie]

Kentucky has used centerfires for DECADES of deer hunting and guess what? Their accidental gun fatality rate has been historically lower than Indiana's.

From the National Shooting Sports Foundation...

http://www.nssf.org/PDF/research/IIR_InjuryStatistics2013.pdf
and

http://familiesafield.org/pdf/IIR_12_page_4_Hunting.pdf

Pages 4..

We all are way more likely to be killed driving to and from hunting that being shot by anyone, including ourselves. The number one fatality among deer hunters is still falling out of a treestand. Should we ban treestands?

 

[pike]

Statistics do not make me any more comfortable when I am in the field listening to the rapid fire "spray and pray" deer hunters. Rather than looking at new calibers maybe a focus on ethical hunting would make sense so we can all enjoy hunting. Truth be told, all any of us need is a 357 mag single shot and we could kill all of the deer we could ever want. If they are too far for that then work on stalking skills or place a stand closer to where the deer are. Deer are not that tricky to kill or hunt.

 

[pike]

As far as deer stands go I don't use one nor do I see a need for one. Most of what is spent on deer hunting each year is marketing hype. I may be in the minority here be I fill my tags each year. I am also not a trophy hunter either so I may not need the advantage a stand offers.

 

[ChrisK1977]

Truth be told we only need a rock,recurve,longbow or minivan to kill deer. Nice to have more options.

 

[pike]

I am a better reloader than I am an auto body man so I will be leaving the minivan in the "quiver" this year. We have strayed from the original topic haven't we?

 

[jajwrigh]

I embrace the proposed change!

 

[rdb700]

I would support the rule change. Only if it would be implemented with common sense and not what "ifs" and where "ifs".

 

[Mark-DuCo]

I read the whole thread so far and it seems like the main arguments against this change are that people will shoot faster with rifles, they will care less about where they shoot with rifles, and they will shoot deer out of trucks with rifles. Seems to me that these are not arguments against rifle calibers, they are arguments against idiots who are already doing these things with shotguns.

 

[ghuns]

Seems to me that these are not arguments against rifle calibers, they are arguments against idiots who are already doing these things with shotguns.

Just like anitgunners blaming the gun and not the idiot with his booger hooker on the bang switch.

 

[pike]

My concern about allowing more calibers are the platforms from which they are launched. If they are idiots with a pump gun how about a legal caliber in an AR type gun? I guess after thinking about it some it is more the style of rifle that the rules change may allow that concerns me. Why be so hung up on more calibers? If I were to ranke the 12 ga, 44 mag rifle and 357 mag rifle in order of effectiveness on the deer I have shot, all three resulted in dead deer. One was not more dead than the other. Just practice shooting and be sure you can place the bullet where it needs to be. It is that simple.