Update: Matched at IU and will be moving to Indy.
 

The title pretty much says it all. I may be moving to Indianapolis this summer for atleast 3 or 4 years and wanted to know what the scoop is on deer hunting there. I understand that there isn't a rifle season, but wasn't sure on what kind of restrictions they have on MLs. I've never shot one before, but would be willing to get into it in order to hunt them in IN. Is most hunting land public, or to have any success do you need to hunt on private land? Are there areas of the state that hold all the deer or is it pretty well distributed? Is there a lottery system, or can you just buy tags/license over the counter? Thanks for helping a newbie out.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

Bullseye,

Deer hunting here in IN is great. There are many oppurtunities on public hunting areas, but with that comes large numbers of hunters in many places. The key is to get in with a landowner to hunt public property which annually produce trophy whitetails.Leasing property to hunt isbeginning to grow and grow each year. Your problem will be that you will have to travel some distance to findprivate property to hunt due to the fact that it will be leased or already hunted being so close to Indy.

As far as muzzleloaders go the only restriction is that it has to be at least a .45 ca, (I think) scopes, sabots, pelletized powder are all legal.We also have a muzzleloader only season after the rut. All tags are over the counter for every season. There are certain state parks and millitary properties that have special draws and only allow a certain number of hunters on each day. You can find all that info in our DNR hunting regulation booklet published annually.

Archery season is the way to go. With an archery tag you can realistically hunt the entire season on that tag alone.Deer are obviously more predominant in the country/rural areas, but I have seen some dandies in what we call urban zones which are very close to populated areas. If you talk to enough people and knock on enough doors there are still plenty oflandowners that will allow you to hunt for free. Good luck and be sure tolet everyone know you are a Boilermaker fan and not a fan of that "other"team down south.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

indiana is one of the best undiscovered deer haven. you could hunt the hoosier national forest. I live in northern indiana and the public land gets hammered in shotgun season, bow and muzzeloader not so much. in 91' my freind shot a 23 point that grossed 204'' on public land

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

YOu might check out hoosierhunting.com and huntingindiana.com

SE part of the state and NE hold the most deer. Last Year I saw 383 deer in 521 hours of hunting. While hunting the SE part of thestate. Finding private land might be a tough.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

I can only add one other commment to this discussion. Boiler-who.Hoosiers all the way. The hunting in our state is getting better and better all the time in my opinion. We do have a rule where you can only kill one buck throughout the entire hunting season, that includes bow, gun, muzzleloader seasons. I think you will find plenty of opportunities throughout the state to hunt. I work in Indy, but drive an hour to get there from the south and there is plenty of places to hunt within an hour or so of Indy. Hope you enjoy being a Hoosier.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

Hey, thanks for all the help. If we do end up moving there, I will be an employee of IU and so I don't think that I'll have much of a choice as to which school I adopt.

Can you hunt ML's during shotgun season, or only during the specified ML season? I guess I'm just trying to decide if I should get a rifled barrel for my shotgun, or buy a ML.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

SO what will you be doing for IU?

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

Yes, you can use a ML during the general firearms season as well as the ML season. For all you want to know about our hunting regs go here:
In. Dept. of Natural Resources

Indiana has some great hunting opportunities, and not all of the public land is crowded, especially during archery and ML seasons. You can use the topo map feature of TerraServer and other satellite sites to locate all of the public land with ease, and access to private land is usually just a matter of networking with other hunters who live locally.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

I graduate from medical school in June and hope to be doing my residency in Emergency Medicine in Indianapolis. I've ranked the different programs, and submitted my list and I'll find out where I'll be going in about 2 weeks. Indy is my first choice, followed by Charlotte, NC and Pittsburgh. Wherever I end up, I'm sure that the hunting will be better than where I am now (stuck in SoCal).

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

Deer hunting here in Indiana is pretty good. I do most all of my hunting on public land and I see plenty of deer during early archery before shotgun season opens. After that it can be tough but you can still see them. The public land I hunt is about an hour and a half north of Indy.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

I'm a second year med student at IU school of Medicine and I say BOILER UP!!! You are more than welcome to adopt Purdue and not that crappy IU team!!! The only problem about hunting indiana is when the deer decide not to leave uncut corn fields... This last season from my stand I could see a nice 8 point walking a corn field (there was about a 3 yard path he would walk acrossed) but due to rain it didn't get harvested unil late in the season when I didn't have time to hunt. I also am curious to see how you find the time in a residency to hunt. From what I hear there aren't enough hours in the day!

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

I'll be doing an Emergency Medicine residency, so aside from my 2-3 weeks of vacation a year, I can also schedule blocks of 3-4 days off in a row when I'm on my ED months since I'll only be working about 20 shifts a month. Trust me, I'll make time.;)

So, do I need to get into bow hunting if I want a reasonable shot at getting a deer, or will I be okay hunting the general and ML season with a ML? I wouldn't be totally against bow hunting, but it's been 5-6 years since I've even picked up a bow, and it might take me a while to get comfortable enough to take a shot at a deer.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

Let me know if you end up this way. I can probably take you out during the season. I have multiple places to hunt in west central Indiana and also some places up around Boiler Country. I'm in college now, but I hunt most weekends during deer season.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

I just know that I took my pathology books with me to my stand this year and ended up spending more time reading than looking for deer!

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

Iwould suggest thinking about bow hunting.I end this season killing 4 deer with my bow and one with my black diamond. I'm a jr at manchester with a double major in business management and marketing. I found ground around the college but also hunted some public land not to far away.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

Thanks for the offers and advice everyone. I find out where I matched in less than a week, and then we'll move to wherever we're going sometime in June. I'll be sure to look you guys up if we do end up in Indianapolis.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

Send me an email if you get matched up in indy... I will be there doing my rotations for third year starting June

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

Well, it's official. I matched at IU for my residency in Emergency Medicine, and will be moving to Indianapolis in June. I'm still a little torn about whether to go with a ML for deer or try my hand at bowhunting (never bowhunted, but have done some target shooting). Either way I'm going to need some new gear. ;)Unfortunately, we'll probably only be in IN for 3 years, and I don't think I'd be doing much ML or bowhunting after we move back out west (but I could be wrong). Any suggestions?

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

I will say that if you want to enjoy the peace and quiet of the woods, then get yourself a bow and get out there and enjoy. The bow season last from October to January, with a one week break after the firearms season ends. It is really up to you what you use, just getwhatever you feel comfortable with, but with a bow you can hunt a lot longer and it is sometimes easier to gain access to private grounds if you tell them you will bowhunt only. These are just my suggestions, so you do as you feel you should. But welcome to Indiana, hunt hard, and be safe out there.

RE: May be moving to IN. What do I need to know about deer hunting?
 

Congrads on the match. I recommend bowhunting, as whitetaildave said, you can hunt a lot longer and I too have found it easier to get permission to hunt when I say BOW ONLY. Good luck this season.