legal help

[scooterbob]

im looking at a encore pistol..30/30 now where im at im michigan im shotgun or pistol no rifle would that be considered a pistol or a rifle srrin how its a 30 30 ....makes me think

[ajstrider]

Well by firearms law, it is a pistol. Some states further define handguns for hunting as being "straight walled handgun cartridges" to eliminate the use of rifle cartridges in handguns. I took the following the quote off the Michigan DNR site.

A conventional (smokeless powder) handgun must be .35 caliber or larger and loaded with straight-walled cartridges and may be single- or multiple-shot but cannot exceed a maximum capacity of nine rounds in the barrel and magazine combined.

So your 30-30 is ILLEGAL to use in the shotgun zone. A straight walled pistol case is just that, a straight case, no neck to it. So the .357, .41, .44, and .45 LC all fit into that category.

Sorry about your luck.

[vabyrd]

Originally Posted by scooterbob

im looking at a encore pistol..30/30 now where im at im michigan im shotgun or pistol no rifle would that be considered a pistol or a rifle srrin how its a 30 30 ....makes me think

will aywod tink ar 30 as thei ghen sit yh hunt shotgij anin non pisln in mign.

din thi on etim o wne to gat men a 410 t o shut me a big ol buckss

Try a little grammar, genius.

[spaniel]

Read the regulations, it's pretty clear that a 30/30 pistol is not legal for deer hunting in the shotgun zone. Come to Indiana and a 30/30 pistol is legal but not a 30/30 rifle. Figure that one out.

[Ol'Mongo]

"Rifle" and "Pistol" will be defined by your Penal and Fish and Game Codes (or their equivalents) and the controlling factor is generally length and concealability. Check Find Law on the internet, click on "Michigan Codes," then select the appropriate one and enter your search.

[thatmichhunter]

I was in a gun store the other day and they had a sign in there that explained it, and it goes by length to determine if it is a pistol, but the round would still be illegal to use down here

[spaniel]

Originally Posted by thatmichhunter

I was in a gun store the other day and they had a sign in there that explained it, and it goes by length to determine if it is a pistol, but the round would still be illegal to use down here

So to concisely summarize multiple posts, the first question is the difference between a pistol and rifle and that is defined federally by the ATF and has little to do with game laws at the state level.

Second question is what type of pistol is legal to hunt with in MI and pretty separate from the first issue. Bottleneck cartridge pistols are not legal to use on game in MI shotgun zone unless laws have changed VERY recently.