Quick question about white-tail deer hunting.

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  • Ri22o

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    I have a friend that is wanting to get back into deer hunting. He wanted to know what calibres are legal. Also, is the .458 Socom legal to hunt with? TIA
     

    bigcraig

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    The .458 SOCOM IS legal for deer hunting in IN, in fact if I was going to get back into deer hunting, the SOCOM would be my first choice.

    A couple of Pro's for the .458 SOCOM
    1) If you already have an AR you can just buy/build an upper.
    2) Uses UN-modified AR mags.
    3) Ammo variety is awesome, everything from slow and heavy to fast and lite.
     

    melensdad

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    The new regulations opened up a line of cartridges (aparently intended for handgun) with lenth and caliber stipulations that would be legal for big-game. They didn't actually say that it had to be fired from a handgun though so that opens up lever action, pump, single shot, and semi-auto rifles that are chambered for large bore pistol calibers that meet specific case/caliber requirements (and thus assure enough power to cleanly kill a deer size animal)

    The cartridge has to:

    a) fire a bullet of .357 diameter or larger;
    b) have a minimum case length of 1.16 inches; and
    c) have a maximum case length of 1.625 inches.

    As for the 458 Socom, that round is specifically mentioned as LEGAL for deer hunting in Indiana by the DNR.
     

    indyjoe

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    The Hunting Guide has caliber information on page 18 of the PDF (16 of the guide).

    Edit: Re-reading that, it is talking about handgun cartridges in rifles. I thought that was where I read about rifle hunting... Hmm.
     
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    melensdad

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    6.8x43 IS NOT legal for deer in indiana.
    Don, you are correct, the 6.8 SPC is illegal because it fires too small of a projectile and uses a 6.8mm diameter bullet, the minimum diameter for hunting would be 9mm, which is equivalent to .357".

    Here is the correct link: Rock River Arms: .458 SOCOM CAR A4 Upper Half

    The Hunting Guide has caliber information on page 18 of the PDF (16 of the guide).

    Edit: Re-reading that, it is talking about handgun cartridges in rifles. I thought that was where I read about rifle hunting... Hmm.

    Please see the attached image below, from the Indiana hunting guide, this is a screen capture from that brochure. It mentions that rifles are legal, gives the cartridge restrictions I listed above. For reference, the 458 Socom cartridge is 1.575" long, easily short enough to fall under the DNR's maximum case size, yet long enough to qualify above the minimum requirement.
     
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    rhino

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    I've heard an outlandish rumor that a whitetail deer can actually be harvested with a 12ga and slugs. But that's just crazy talk.
     

    Cwood

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    I've heard an outlandish rumor that a whitetail deer can actually be harvested with a 12ga and slugs. But that's just crazy talk.


    I heard that rumor but untill I see photographic evidence I'm not putting any faith in it.:dunno:
     

    melensdad

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    I think there still is a loop hole for typical high power rifle cartridges less than .357" in a handgun form.
    I do not see such a loophole. The different publications that I have seen have listed the same cartridge requirements. I believe the regulations were written specifically to prevent the use of sub-357 caliber ammunition so traditional loads like the 30-30 and other common deer rounds are not legal.

    So the beowolf is out by .025 eh?
    That is correct. And since the 50 Beowulf headspaces on the rim if you trimmed the case back to legal length you may not have reliable primer strikes. The 450 Bushmaster is also eliminated as a cartridge because of the same reasons. The 458 Socom, however, fits into the criteria.

    Oh yeah, when did these regulations change?
    From what I understand this past year so this season will be the first to allow pistol caliber rifle hunting.
     

    Indy_Guy_77

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    I could SWEAR that my my step-dad's brother used to hunt deer (legally) with a T/C pistol chambered in .30-30...

    Maybe I'm dreaming...

    -J-
     

    rhino

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    I could SWEAR that my my step-dad's brother used to hunt deer (legally) with a T/C pistol chambered in .30-30...

    Maybe I'm dreaming...

    -J-

    You can use those centerfire rifle calibers for deer in Indiana in handguns, but you can't in long guns. Long guns are slug or certain pistol calibers only.
     

    melensdad

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    You can use those centerfire rifle calibers for deer in Indiana in handguns, but you can't in long guns. Long guns are slug or certain pistol calibers only.

    Can you please sight the law/regulation that allows that. I am under the impression (and would love to be corrected) that your statement is incorrect. The wording from the DNR seems to be very clear, there are case length minimums and maximums and the bullet itself has size restrictions with nothing under 357 diameter. A 30-30 or similar round would lose out on caliber (being only a .308/.309 diameter bullet) but it would also lose out because the case length is greater than 1.625" long (a 30-30 is 2.039" long).

    Much of the wording regarding the cartridge limitations seems to be directed toward RIFLE hunting, and I am not a PISTOL hunter so I am not sure if the same restrictions apply.
     

    Indy_Guy_77

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    Can you please sight the law/regulation that allows that. I am under the impression (and would love to be corrected) that your statement is incorrect. The wording from the DNR seems to be very clear, there are case length minimums and maximums and the bullet itself has size restrictions with nothing under 357 diameter. A 30-30 or similar round would lose out on caliber (being only a .308/.309 diameter bullet) but it would also lose out because the case length is greater than 1.625" long (a 30-30 is 2.039" long).

    Much of the wording regarding the cartridge limitations seems to be directed toward RIFLE hunting, and I am not a PISTOL hunter so I am not sure if the same restrictions apply.

    I was under teh impression that the regulations and rules that you're quoting are for pistol-caliber rifles only...that the older rules/regs allow for handgun hunting with many different kinds of cartridges?

    I am not, nor ever have been a deer hunter. I really don't know about this kind of thing! :dunno:

    -J-
     

    Indy_Guy_77

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    "Legal Handguns for Deer Hunting
    [FONT=Adobe Garamond Pro,Adobe Garamond Pro][FONT=Adobe Garamond Pro,Adobe Garamond Pro]Handguns, other than muzzleloading, must have a barrel at least four inches long and must fire a bullet of .243-inch diameter or larger. The handgun cartridge case, without the bullet, must be at least 1.16 inches long. Full metal-jacketed bullets are not permitted. Handguns are not permitted on any military areas. Some types of handgun cartridges legal for deer hunting include 357 Magnum, 41 Magnum, 44 Magnum, 44 Special, 45 Colt, 45 Long Colt, 45 Winche-ster Magnum, 35 Remington and 357 Herrett.[/FONT]

    [/FONT][FONT=Adobe Garamond Pro,Adobe Garamond Pro][FONT=Adobe Garamond Pro,Adobe Garamond Pro]Some illegal handgun cartridges for deer hunting are 38 Special, 38 Smith and Wesson, 38 Colt New Police, 38/200, 38 Long Colt, 38 Super, 38 ACP, 38 Colt Auto, 45 ACP, 45 Automatic and 45 Auto Rim. All 25/20, 32/20 and 30 carbine ammunition is prohibited also."[/FONT]

    [FONT=Adobe Garamond Pro,Adobe Garamond Pro]The above quote was taken from the 2007 Indiana Hunting Guide, can be found online here: http://www.in.gov/dnr/files/0708_hg_generalinfo.pdf[/FONT]

    -J-[/FONT]
     
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