DNR Proposal for .243 and up rifle for deer season?

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  • DEC

    Sharpshooter
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    Jul 25, 2008
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    All the more reason for me to put the bow away and do more waterfowl hunting once firearms season opens.

    As if gun season wasn't bad enough already. Now the fence sitters can reach out there all the way across my open fields and shoot the deer on the other side. Maybe I will get lucky and they will shoot each other from opposite sides of my properties. Sorry if this comes off as "elitist" and I guess I don't care really if it does, but shooting a deer at 300 yards is target shooting, not hunting IMO.
     

    DEC

    Sharpshooter
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    I'm not "pro" or "against" either way on either weapon. Just pointing out 1) fact: the fence sitters will be able to shoot entirely across my fields ... trust me you have no idea the battle that I fight with these slobs already ... and 2) my opinion: shooting an animal at 300 yards is not hunting ... it is target shooting. I have nothing against rifles, I own plenty.

    I have nothing against Xbows, my 13 year old daughter owns two of them and hunts with them. I don't "hunt" with either rifles or xbows by my choice as I am pretty much a bow only guy these days. But I will say that at least an Xbow hunter has to get close to a deer. I bow hunt 99.9% of the time and I wasn't against Xbows at all. They still have to get bow close.

    The Xbow lobbies strong armed their way in ... it is what it is ... doesn't upset me at all, just calling a spade a spade. Gun hunting lobby would appear to have taken a page right out of that play book.

    I didn't like gun season before for many reasons and when this gets implemented ... as it surely will ... I'll like gun season even less.
     

    ViperJock

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    Feb 28, 2011
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    While I would love to run my .308 for deer... I agree with some of the previous comments; this is a bad idea. True, coyote hunters are already using anything they want, however, let's be honest the number of yahoos "hunting" deer is significantly higher than coyote hunters and all huddled together in the same piece of public land...
     

    gun_nut

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    Jan 30, 2009
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    Haubstadt. IN
    Its not necessarily the round that I am concerned about... its the amount and type of rifles that shoot them. I could see a 20 round mag in an AR-10 with 10 shots being fired by someone who is only hunting now because it became "easier"

    That's why Armalite sells a 5 round magazine - to meet the hunting restrictions in most states.

    GN
     

    avboiler11

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    Jun 12, 2011
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    New Albany
    Oh look, its this thread again, where people use the same exact logic as the "why do you NEED a high capacity assault rifle clip?" crowd and twist it into hunting. To say nothing of the "MY way of hunting is better than YOUR way of hunting" and "How dare we make the rules more inclusive, allowing more people to try and shoot MY deer" crowds...

    Modern centerfires have been legal in Kentucky for DECADES with a great safety record. Fear of fools blasting mag after mag at a deer is just that - FEAR. Stop being scared of change, people.

    FWIW, Kentucky has a 10 round magazine capacity limit. I hunted last year with a 5.56 AR with a 20rd Pmag with a 10rd limiter in it. Worked well, lasted long time, only took 1 shot with a 77gr Nosler to bang/flop a doe. Like most things, shot placement trumps bullet displacement.

    As for the original topic...I'm hopeful for allowing modern centerfire rifles with a bullet diameter 6mm or greater, but most certainly not holding my breath.
     

    Willie

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    .....................
    The Xbow lobbies strong armed their way in ... it is what it is ... doesn't upset me at all, just calling a spade a spade. Gun hunting lobby would appear to have taken a page right out of that play book.

    And your proof of that is what? I keep hearing that but so far not a single person has brought forth any proof.


    I didn't like gun season before for many reasons and when this gets implemented ... as it surely will ... I'll like gun season even less.

    Do you like archery season less now that crossbows are in it?

    ..........................................
     

    ViperJock

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    Feb 28, 2011
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    I've heard enough hunting stories to know I need to be done hunting in bow season. All you have to do is listen to people talk and you know that there are way too many idiots shooting at anything that moves and ignoring the four rules. What's the probability the addition of HP rifles will cause additional damage? Idk. But gathering data would put a lot of people at potential risk. We are already allowed a lot of weapons that work fine. Hunting is not the 2A. Any comparison of hunting rules and infringement of the 2A are apples and oranges. Comparing a right to a privilege. An AR style weapon and a 30rnd magazine is more dangerous than a lot of other weapons--that's why the military use them instead of hunting rifles. But the purpose of the 2A demands that we have the most dangerous things. Hunting on the other hand does not.
     

    DEC

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    Jul 25, 2008
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    Get over yourself Woody. I have told you for years that I have NO issues with Xbows and have said so in this thread.
     

    BehindBlueI's

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    Oct 3, 2012
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    I sincerely feel sorry for hunters stuck in high population areas that are predominately flat and who don't have their own private land. If you get into the southern part of the state where there are knobs and hills, population density drops a bit, and the woods are fairly thick you don't have nearly as much to worry about. I doubt a shot from a tree stand is going any further from a rifle than it is a shotgun. Its going into the deer or the dirt or both.
     

    Hookeye

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    Dec 19, 2011
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    armpit of the midwest
    I am getting kinda tired of the "coyote hunters" argument for HP rifles.
    Yote hunters may use HP rifles, but any worth a d*mn are using VARMINT bullets.
    So enough with the apples to oranges.

    This is the same lack of understanding/logic.........that will be found with problematic HP rifle users.

    Maybe we just need IQ and shooting tests to screen folks before they can get a deer license.
     

    woodwalker

    Marksman
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    Nov 26, 2010
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    Brownstown
    I already have enouge trouble people shooting from vehicles on the road with shotguns. My house is right by my woods. First day of gun season by 10:00 they are driving the roads and running woods their definition of deer hunting. Now give them a high powered rifle and I don't know what will happen. I know they could use some wildcats rounds now but they are more expensive to get started in
     

    snapping turtle

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    Dec 5, 2009
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    Madison county
    I have no real issues with the HP rifles. I did wish when the PCR rules went into effect the the rounds would include 30-30 35 rem and 444 marlin. Mainly because I own them. I also own 308, 30-06 and 270 but where I hunt even the 44 mag is good enough for the distance I cover so the others would be just icing on my cake. After the first weekend I am on the ground still hunting game. I guess if my stand was near fields I would consider something with a bit of distance but most of my deer have been 100 yard shots easy. Maybe my stand locations would shift if allowed to use HP but I normally only see them within my shot range. I can see me using any of my levers to hunt now. Maybe even purchase a shooter lever in some caliber to keep my collectors items in the safe.

    If one is in the market for a rifle now would be the time to invest in one. A very nice browning safari 30-06 has been setting at crack shot in Anderson from 2 years with mike wanting to move it. The demand is not high here now. Open it up and the demand will skyrocket. I personally think the older rifles blow away the new ones I see made today. I have plenty I can use.

    Maybe capping off the legal rounds is still an idea worth having. Maybe it is not. I hunt with a guy who uses a 308 pistol and another that has a wildcat Hoosier round. Good hunters I have no issue with them at all. Now take some hung over billy bob with no hunting background and a good case of buck fever. Man I can hear the rounds fly now.

    I do like the idea of using some of my guns that now sit semi dormant in IN but I would expect that my 44 mag lever will still get the majority of the work if this passes. I can see the savage 99 getting some use and the blr and Abolt all of them in 308. I remember my grandmother shooting a buck from her kitchen with a 7mm mag in the 1980's. She said that deer kept eating her flowers and garden treats. That buck was a good 500 yards from the kitchen. I had never seen her shoot but she was farm raised. I never even knew she had a rifle other than a 22 and a bolt 410 shotgun.
     
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