Koontzy

I am not upset, well kinda... I am from Indiana, and find it hard to believe that they have never allowed the taking of deer wiht rifles... I have heard numerouse reasons why..

Because of he possibility of missing the target and hitting a residential areas, a house ect..
Ok sounds good, but you can use a rifle for taking coyotes and squirrels.

I have been to south carolina where rifles are legal and it is more packed in areas that places in indiana(especially north of indy)

I went up to Laporte last week, and man there are tons and tons of flat land and fields... How do you guys get by without a rifle..

what are the chances of Indiana changing their laws, what can we do to find it to get rifles legalized???? what are he chances? I ma itching to buy a .270 or .30-06 but not yet>?

Indianahick

In order to get rifles added you and your friends that want to use them probably need to go to the dnr meetings that are held in your area and make that suggestion. If I did I would try to get the more mid range rifle to be accepted first. Like the 30-30 and that group, 44, 45, 38, 35. As for why they do not want long range firearms they say it is because there is seldom an area of 1 square mile without houses or buildings of some nature. When handguns were finally accepted we thought that we were in heaven back then, but they were restricted to a bullet, case length as well as some calibers being excluded because they were not deemed to be large enough for a quick clean kill.

Lanse couche couche

The laws regarding use of rifles are pretty contradictory. I have family who by law can hunt deer with 270's in areas of Louisiana that are thickly populated.Yetpeople in some of the more sparsely populated areas of Indiana or Ohio can't. I like the idea of at least allowing centerfire rifles in the low velocity range like 44mags or.357. They could even create rifle zones based on population density and terrain. I mean, hell, they are already allowing muzzleloaders that shoot almost as hard as a 30-30.

Primitive Weapon

Personally, I don't really care. I live in Indianapolis and my T/C Encore performs as well as any rifle at 100yds. The areas I hunt, 100yds would be my max shot.

I use to live in Mississippi and high power rifles ARE legal there. Back then I used a .270. Great gun.

Now, if rifles became legal here.......I could certainly buy another .270.

Indianahick

You could always buy one of the Savage ML 11 muzzleloading rifles that use up to 49 grains of rifle powder. Out to about 200 or maybe 300 yds it should be like shooting a 30-06. I have a friend that has used one for years and swears by it. Me I like a Knight.

Lanse couche couche

My point would be that if you are able to use a high-tech muzzloader that can knock 'em down at 200 yards, then why not make a 30-30 legal? It would mean few if any misfires and the opportunity for a second shot. The latter might mean fewer crippled deer getting away.

kevin1

The principle reason they don't allow higher powered rifles during the deer season is simply the huge number of them that would be in the woods at one time , too great a risk of accidental shootings for folks not used to shooting them . In the Southern Tier where I live the hilly terrain limits most shots to 150 yards or less , but on flat ground the bullet could conceivably travel for a mile or more .

There's talk of IDNR allowing "cowboy" rifles such as lever actions as early as next year due to increased popular demand from the hunting public . Opposition to rifles is generally from the non-hunting section of the public , and is usually not based on fact . Our new director is studying the issue before making reccomendations to the Legislature . Don't get your hopes up for anything bigger than a 30-30 or 45-70 anytime soon though . Between now and then you could always buy a pistol chambered for the caliber of your choice within the allowed parameters .

Pat Curtis

I'm in the "you don't need a rifle in Indiana" boat. Heck, I put down 3 deer with my bow, and could have taken many MANY more that I passed on.

On our family land, we just want dead deer. You wouldn't believe what they can do to a corn field next to a crick and thicket. We get the free pass on tags..and lay waste.

Koontzy

I can see some of the reasons... I am also from hilly terrain in southern Indiana. and have killed more deer with a bow then a gun.... Bu I also dont see why they wont allow rifles... In south carolina they allow rifles, as do 42 other states... Indiana does have a huge number of hunters, but so does kentucky... they allow rifles.. wiht alot of hunters in the woods even shotguns are dangerous... a slug from a shotgun that misses a deer can still travel a good 1000 yards on flat terrain.. Maybe when I get back up there.. I will start a petition and see about getting it changed at leats I know that Indiana listens to its hunters..

Indianahick

Personally I'am fairly happy the way thing are. I have went from slick bore, pumpkinball (damn inaccurate) shotguns to inline (highly accurate) muzzleloaders that have a range of upto 250 yards and am still shooting mostly in the 40-60 yard range. Maybe the midrange levers would be okay but they are definitly not a necessity. The longest tracking job that I have had to do on an animal that I have shot is maybe 100 yds. and most have fallen within 25 yrds.. Long range 30-06 and 270's, etc are not really needed.