I have learned that a new Rule Proposal is going to be made next week to allow center fire rifles of .243 and higher to be legal for Indiana deer hunting. The rule could not go into effect earlier than 2015 at the earliest.

The source of this new rule proposal comes from public comments which were taken in various forums over the past.

The proposal will go to Public Comment in the next several weeks, and depending upon that public comment feedback a final adoption meeting would be scheduled for sometime next year is my best guess.

Again, this is a RULE PROPOSAL. It will need to go through public comment periods and formal adoption hearings before it would be finalized. The purpose of this email is to inform hunters to that they can be prepared to comment should they choose to do so. Instructions for how to comment will be forthcoming from IDNR. You can also visit their website www.dnr.in.gov periodically to check if they have this information out there yet.