I was at my safety briefing this morning and if I understood them correctly they said cowboy rounds could not be used this year they said they were told this information yesterday.

no rifles of any type .... ? ... Slug Guns/ML's only ?..... handguns ?

To me that is a good thing. Cowboy rounds are low powered lead round tip bullets, not exactly the ideal round for killing deer at much distance. h.h.

That what there saying I just got off the phone and there going by what the statue says and it says "NO RIFLES " on public land per new Statute!!!

lol ... what a mess!

That is correct about the public ground Brew which I think is a bunch of crap. This hurts our young hunters and also people who have injuries/disabilities. It will be messed up since the hunting guide still states you can use those calibers

So no pcr on public ground period?

That's correct deerhunter986, shotgun/muzzleloader/handgun only.

Per DNR that's the rules. Which confusion will be a big issue since this isn't stated anywhere. I was not aware of it till after my big oaks briefing today

The statue says one thing the yearly books says another!

That's why th DNR should be making the rules not the State House! SMH...

Exactly Brew

It's going to be interesting to see how all of this is going to get enforced since not everyone gets online and the hunting guide has already been printed and distributed. I for one am not happy with this news at all. I just bought a new 450 bushmaster rifle back in February to use on public land hunts this year 😡😡

I know the F&W areas were not allowing rifles last season, at least not the new calibers, not sure about the PCR's, but then again, all I do is bowhunt any more .... Ive got my slug gun and ML if I decide I want to, but I dont see than happening... what brought this about I wonder ??

It has to do with one of the house bills I am hearing. Sad thing is we have been able to use them for how long now. Like backwoods said earlier i just went and bought a new .44 single shot with a scope myself for public land but looks like I'll have to use it for private land now

IC 14-22-2-8Deer hunting; permitted firearms; required report

Sec. 8. (a) This section applies to a hunting season beginning after June 30, 2016, and ending before January 1, 2020.
(b) A hunter may use a rifle during the firearms season to hunt deer subject to the following:
(1) The use of a rifle is permitted only on privately owned land.
(2) The rifle must have a barrel length of at least sixteen (16) inches.
(3) The rifle must be chambered for a cartridge that fires a bullet that is two hundred forty-three thousandths (.243) of an inch in diameter or larger.
(4) The rifle must fire a cartridge that has a minimum case length of one and sixteen-hundredths (1.16) inches, but is no longer than three (3) inches.
(5) A hunter may not possess more than ten (10) cartridges for the rifle while hunting deer under this section.
(6) The rifle must meet any other requirements established by the department.
(c) The use of a full metal jacketed bullet to hunt deer is unlawful.
(d) The department shall report on the impact of the use of rifles to hunt deer under this section to the governor and, in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6, the general assembly before February 15, 2020.
(e) This section expires June 30, 2020.
As added by P.L.110-2016, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.195-2017, SEC.7.

So, is this ^^^ new ?? if so when ?? .... .270's legal now but only on Private ??

Someone needs to answer the public on how kids got to hunt the Hoosier NF with 44s and 357s in September and then this pile of steaming dung lands at our feet. It says Gov Eric Holcomb on the DNR letterhead so start with him for an explanation about why they changed the rules in such a strange fashion. Call and make some noise this is a hot mess seemingly made by our politicians.......hold them accountable for doing their job right. If this was an intentional development to our regs, please explain.....I am trying to understand.

Let me make this as clear as possible, The legislature in trying to clear up its' previous screw up did it again only on a larger scale. They clarified the calibers per IDNR recommendations but then added the "centerfire rifle" is not legal on public ground, this now includes the PCR rifles. It is going to take the next legislative session to correct this as IDNR does not have the power to over ride state statute!

Many of us(Woody Williams included) have ALWAYS said "keep the legislature out of wildlife management", well it is abundantly clear what happens when you circumvent the DNR. I'm sorry that some people are going to suffer but, laws are laws. Don't beat up IDNR, they had nothing to do with this mess, it is the people who went around the IDNR administrative rule process and took it to our legislature who has no clue........

Who knows.......... it might be fun again to hunt with "close to medium range weapons" as our rules were meant to be.

I agree.... for what it is worth. Legislators need to stay out of it.

Well, nothing except the same signs from last season up at JP stating none of the new centerfire calibers were allowed, and the signs just mention the case length restrictions as before....but, it aint gun season yet.... I would think they'd post it so guys going to the range would be aware so they could change what they are going to use... or maybe it wont be enforced ?? ... like Ive said, all I do anymore is BOWhunt, so it wont effect me one way or another ....never get politicians involved with wildlife management/making rules unless they have some serious help form those who know.. smh ..

The only thing that strikes odd to me is that the wording around "The use of a rifle is permitted only on privately owned land" did not change between 2016 and 2017 bills. Thus, the PCRs should have also been illegal last year. I think some lawyer reading the laws probably made the discovery and made it aware to the DNR so the DNR had to make the statement that PCRs are not legal.

2016 law:


2017 law:

I feel sorry for the Conservation Officer that has to attempt to enforce this law in the field. It will be a total screwup. Can you imagine the out of state hunter that has bought a new firearm just to hunt in Indiana. And after driving all that way only to be told they can't hunt with the gun they have.
It doesn't bother me I hunt with a pistol, as long as they don't say I can't hunt with my .300 blackout pistol I'm fine.

This is very confusing but here's a message that came out late today from DNR;

Start Date: 10/11/2017 All Day
End Date: 10/11/2017

Event Description:
Indiana deer and waterfowl hunters need to be aware of two important changes in the print version of the 2017-2018 Hunting & Trapping Guide.

Due to recent legislation passed this year by the Indiana General Assembly, hunters can no longer use rifles when hunting deer on public land. “Public land” includes both state and federal property. Before the change, the use of rifles on public land had been legal.

It remains legal to use a muzzleloader, shotgun or handgun when hunting deer on public land in accordance with deer hunting regulations.

The waterfowl correction is that the daily bag limit for black ducks is two. The printed Hunting and Trapping Guide mistakenly states the bag limit as one.

The online Indiana Hunting & Trapping Guide has been updated with these corrections. You can view the updated guide at wildlife.IN.gov/2343.htm.

For more information on rifle requirements for deer hunting on private land, visit wildlife.IN.gov/7389.htm and click on “Equipment.”

For up to date information on waterfowl seasons, visit: wildlife.IN.gov/3569.htm.
Contact Information:
Name: Marty Benson
Phone: (317) 233-3853
Email: mbenson@dnr.IN.gov

Indiana, though irritating me, still better than Illinois.

Im with ys backwoods. I ordered the ruger 450 bushmaster also this summer. Got it in Aug and bought ammo and scope and have it sighted in. Now can't use it this year. Very upsetting. I called an CO that I know where I hunt and he stated there hands are tied and the law will be enforced.

rifles on private land only. That's it. plain and simple.