HuntingNet.com Forums - "Bottleneck" cartridges w/ cases under 1.4" for IL pistol hunting...

Greetingsall!

Tonight I decided to read up on IL state pistol and blackpowder whitetail hunting regulations, as I might try one of the two as an addition to my seasonal shotgun hunting. The most preferred I would like to try, being hunting with a handgun.

Upon reading, there was just one regulation that leaves me wondering if this might perhapsbe counter-productive, being directly qouted in the following text as stated:

"The only legal ammunition for a centerfire handgun is (1) a bottleneck centerfire cartridge of .30 caliber or larger with a case length not exceeding 1.4 inches, or (2) a straightwalled centerfire cartridge of .30 caliber or larger..." (and must contain) "...at least 500 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle."

With that being stated, I'll add that the only two types of permissable handguns for whitetail are revolvers and single-shot pistols, with a minimal barrel length of 4".

Reverting back now, my confusion arises from the regulation applied to the "bottleneck"cartridges whoms case cannot exceed 1.4", but must be above .30 caliber while making 500+ ft-lbs energy.This instantly got me thinking, and mainly due to the fact that I would like to use a single shot pistol, can any of you think of suitable "bottleneck" cartridges for deer, which meet these regulations?

I myself cannot, it seems like everything is way underpowered when compairing to the fellow straightwalled cartridges whos case lengths aren't regulated (and shouldn't be). I don't want to cause a stir in the wrong direction, but for instance, my buddy can use his 5-shot .500 S&W mag for hunting, but if I wanted to use a single shot pistol with a short barrel (Magnum Research Lone Eagle for instance), any under-1.4" bottleneck caliber I try to find falls far short energy-wise of being acceptable for deer use. For instance, here is a link to some common cartidges and their case lengths: http://www.reloadbench.com/cart.html

Any suggestions on capable "bottleneck" cartridges worthy of the job, which I'm possibly not thinking about? Keep in mind, only one shotwould beon-the-line in this hunting situation, so it must be well-able toperform it's takedown duty.

My personal opinion is that minimal case length regulationfor bottlenecks should be lengthened to say...2.3-2.5 inches.

Any other comments on this topic? (I'm hoping I posted this in the correct place by the way)

Thanks for any input!