Indiana Deer Rifle
 

Indiana recently passed a new law allowing rifles with pistol cartridges .357 and larger in diameter. I am wanting to buy one to hunt with but I don't know enough to narrow it down. What is the best pistol cartridge to shoot in a rifle as far as range and knockdown for whitetail?

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

I'd get me a 44mag lever action or a single shot Encore. The 44 is great for deer.

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

My first thought was the 44mag also, but that's because it's the only one I really know much about in the larger diameters.

Anybody want to list several cartridges that might be contenders in this area? Maybe in order of preference or power level?

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

The .500 S&W is the largest, most powerfull allowed by the new law. I think NEF makes a handi-rifle in that caliber. The .460 S&Wis too long. Next would be the .454 Casull, which I'm pretty sure comes in a lever action from Rossi. I'd like to see someone do some wildcatting with the .500 S&W.

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

I have spent a great deal of time looking for a rifle in a pistol cartridge. My goal is to pair up a rifle and revolver in the same round. I purchased a Marlin 1894 in 44 MAG for use on my Dad’s land as it is not very large and has no shot over 150 yards or so. I will not put a scope on this rifle because I want this gun to serve as a quick handling brush gun. Ammo is relatively inexpensive and easy to find.

A list of some of the approved cartridges can be found at (http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/about/rules.html). The list is :
The rifle must fire a cartridge that meets the following specifications:
A) fire a bullet of three hundred fifty-seven thousandths of an inch (.357) diameter or larger;
(B) have a minimum case length of one and sixteen hundredths (1.16) inches; and
(C) have a maximum case length of one and six hundred twenty-five thousandths (1.625) inches.
Some cartridges that will be legal include the following:
.357 Magnum
.38-40 Winchester
.41 Magnum
.41 Special
.44 Magnum
.44 Special
.44-.40 Winchester
.45 Colt
.454 Casull
.480 Ruger
.475 Linebaugh
.50 Action Express
.500 S&W

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

Good post Ford.
That list should get the brains working on a selection.
Thanks.

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

I think you shoud include the fastest factory round available...the S&W 460! JMHO

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

Is the 460 S&W legal? That would be an awesome round. H&R is making their Buffalo Classic long distance rifle in 45 LC. I have been told that it could be chambered to the 460 S&W. And then you could still shoot 45 LC ammo for practice.

I also think the 1894 Marlin Cowboy in 45 LC would be an awesome rifle.

However the best would be the BC in 460S&W. In the hands of a well practiced and competant shooter. I think 300 yard kills would not be a problem with the 460. Just my opinion. But I am pretty sure I could do it. It might take a 1000 rounds to really learn your rifle, but I have plenty of casting lead, and powder is cheaper if you buy the bigger can. Tom.

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

The list I re-printed is not mine; it is one I found on the state DNR page of legal cartridges. The list I started with left out some of the more exotic rounds. As to the 460, according to Chuck Haws (http://www.chuckhawks.com/460_SW_Mag.htm) the overall case length of a 460 is 1.800 inches. The maximum legal length is 1.625 inches so the 460 is not a legal round according to what I have read.

As for a gun, A buffalo classic in 45 Colt would be a classy choice for a single shot. As would be a H&R in 500MAG. The choice for lever actions is almost limitless. Marlin, Ruger, Hennery, and Puma come directly to mind. Basically any cowboy action rifle should work out for this application. If a semi-auto is called for look at a Ruger Deerfield carbine.

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

I bought a Henry lever chambered in a .357 mag simply because I was already reloading for my pistol. It has worked just fine for me. A friend of mine has one chambered in .44 mag. and is also effective but has somewhat more kick. His cal. choice was for the same reason. Bigger may be badder but do the deer really know the difference?

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

I wouldn't think that a .44 Magnum would have bad kick in a rifle, since Henry rifles are kinda' heavy for their size, it should absorb the recoil pretty well, I think a .44 Magnum would be better for deer, more power, and more range, and, yes, when aimed well, I think the deer would notice a difference, at 100 yards, the 44 has substantially more power than a 357.

It's like saying will a deer notice the difference between getting hit by a 25-06 in comparison to a 30-06.

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

They don't notice. A well placed shot is far more important than any cal. and as for getting close or for having that excellent oppertunity for that perfect shot comes down to the skill as a hunter. As my grandfather used to say, "It's not the gun, it's the gunner." And that from a farmer that lived during the depression that hunted so his family would be able to eat (cattle were money not for food).I remember as a kid on the farm (long time ago when there was little to no regulations) being given a couple of .22 rounds and a oldsingle shot rifle and being expected to harvest an animal. Times were tough and I know that times have changedbut skill as a hunter determines the hunter that fills the freezer consistantly, unless of course you are paying the big bucks for a guide and a game farm, which is just fine if you have the bucks and that type of hunting is your cup of tea. Sorry if this postcomes across astoo strong but I see far too many hunters out there that their expectations mirror what they see on TV or on hunting videos. Just an opinion from a guy whose family still hunts as a lifestyle and not a sport.

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

It all depends on what kind of shot you get on a deer, if you're hunting deer with a 22 LR, then you would have to go for an upper neck shot, thus severing the spinal chord, resulting in a quick kill.

However, if you do as most hunter's shoot, a vitals shot, most of the time, not always, but most of the time, after a vitals shot, the deer will run, and you will have to track it.
While the deer is running away, I bet you he would feel a difference, a deer hit with a different bullet will bleed differently, the expansion of the bullet will vary from bullet to bullet, that's inevitable, so, yes, a deer, would feel a difference between different bullets.

Of course, in real life, you would be right, a deer wouldn't feel the difference, simply because, it wouldn't survive to feel one and then compare it to another, most deer never live long enough to be shot on two seperate occasions, as most wounded deer die at least a week or two later from infection.
There are exceptions, though, but this is more often an occurence with bowhunted deer.

A bigger, more powerful bullet, if shot at a deer, from the same distance, same spot, etc., would prove to be more effective than the smaller bullet.

Let's just use the example of the 30-06 and the .270, both have the same powder capacity, but the bullet size is different.

Of course, in the field, it's all about the shooter's ability to shoot well under thepressure of buck fever.
I'm just talking as if it's a lab test, but the broad debate that was raised, was whether or not a bigger bullet would have better performance on a deer, versus a smaller bullet. I say yes, and no offense, but the fact that your grandad could kill deer with a 22 has nothing to do with whether or not bigger bullets can be more effective or not,what you were saying about killing deer with a 22 is another debate entirely.

RE: Indiana Deer Rifle
 

I have researched this topic for quite some time, well as soon as I heard that they might pass it. I'm a huge Winchester Model 94 fan and I havea model 94 chambered in 44 magnum that I'll carry this year. If Winchester would've made a model 94 454 Casull I would probably spend my wad trying to buy one of those! Winchester did make a Model 94 in the 480 Ruger for a very short period of time but I'll be damned if I can find one of them anywhere, at any price! I have played around with the Legacy Puma Model 92 in the 454, it's a nice gun but I'd have to shoot one before I'd buy it. NEF does sell their Handi Rifle chambered in the 500 S&W with fiber optic sights for around $275-$300 which would be an awesome deer set up. I've also considered buying a Katahdin 500 S&W barrel for my Encore as well, I can get one of those for about the same price as the NEF rifle.

I think the NEF 500 S&W rifle and the lever action 454's are going to be pretty popular, but I think you'll see the 44 mag carried most often. A lot of us care about the cost of ammo and some people won't care for the recoil that the 500 brings.

Hope this helps!
Happy hunting,