bamaranger
New member
Alabama
Centerfire, expanding projectile. The new .17 centerfire will be contoversial.
Centerfire, expanding projectile. The new .17 centerfire will be contoversial.
So what is the minimum caliber for deer in your state?
- Thread starter globemaster3
- Start date
Crankylove
New member
My state, Utah, allows any centerfire rifle cartridge using an expanding bullet.
You could, legally, use a .25 ACP to hunt moose or bear, as long as you use an expanding bullet and fire it from a rifle.............not necessarily a good idea, but it would be legal.
For pistols, it's .24 minimum, with expanding bullets. Also requires 500 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle for antelope and deer, 500 ft lbs of energy at 100 yards for elk, moose, or bear.
You could, legally, use a .25 ACP to hunt moose or bear, as long as you use an expanding bullet and fire it from a rifle.............not necessarily a good idea, but it would be legal.
For pistols, it's .24 minimum, with expanding bullets. Also requires 500 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle for antelope and deer, 500 ft lbs of energy at 100 yards for elk, moose, or bear.
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Colorado Redneck
New member
Colorado hunting regs--firearms
1. CENTERFIRE RIFLES
a. Must be minimum of .24 caliber (6 mm).
b. Must have a minimum 16-inch barrel and be at least 26 inches long.
c. If semiautomatic, a maximum of six rounds are allowed in the magazine
and chamber combined.
d. Must use expanding bullets that weigh minimum 70 grains for deer,
pronghorn and bear, 85 grains for elk and moose, and have an impact
energy (at 100 yards) of 1,000-ft. pounds as rated by manufacturer.
Handguns
a. Barrel must be minimum 4 inches long.
b. Must use a minimum .24-caliber (6 mm) diameter expanding bullet.
c. Shoulder stocks or attachments prohibited.
d. Must use a cartridge or load that produces minimum energy of 550-ft.
pounds at 50 yards as rated by manufacturer.
1. CENTERFIRE RIFLES
a. Must be minimum of .24 caliber (6 mm).
b. Must have a minimum 16-inch barrel and be at least 26 inches long.
c. If semiautomatic, a maximum of six rounds are allowed in the magazine
and chamber combined.
d. Must use expanding bullets that weigh minimum 70 grains for deer,
pronghorn and bear, 85 grains for elk and moose, and have an impact
energy (at 100 yards) of 1,000-ft. pounds as rated by manufacturer.
Handguns
a. Barrel must be minimum 4 inches long.
b. Must use a minimum .24-caliber (6 mm) diameter expanding bullet.
c. Shoulder stocks or attachments prohibited.
d. Must use a cartridge or load that produces minimum energy of 550-ft.
pounds at 50 yards as rated by manufacturer.
FrankenMauser
New member
I hunt Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. Essentially.... anything but a rimfire is legal for rifles. There are some other minor restrictions, but not much.
For handguns, the rules can be a little more complicated. Generally, .327 Federal and up is good for deer. .41 Mag and up is good for Elk/Moose/etc.
For handguns, the rules can be a little more complicated. Generally, .327 Federal and up is good for deer. .41 Mag and up is good for Elk/Moose/etc.
Just to point out, state hunting regulations are NOT about what is the minimum needed to cleanly and humanely take game. They are about what is felt to be in the best interests of safety and sport.
And, they do change, some rarely, some fairly often.
40 years ago, I was hunting in northern NY state. The rules there, (and then) were for deer; rifle .24cal centerfire or larger. Shotgun, 20ga or larger, slug only. Handgun:centerfire (IIRC, it might have been centerfire, .35cal or larger, I don't recall, not being a handgun hunter at that time) That was for the northern zone. Southern Zone (over half the state) was shotgun only, slug only.
For black bear, the same rules, except buckshot was allowed. Slugs only for deer, slugs or buckshot for bear. Makes sense? hmmm...
Then I moved, and hunted in Washington. Rifle was centerfire, 24 caliber or larger, 85gr bullet or heavier, and there was also a ft/lb minimum at 100yds, but I don't recall exactly what it was. I do remember that the 117gr .25-35 Winchester load just barely made the energy minimum. I no longer remember the shotgun requirements at that time...
The handgun requirements I recall pretty clearly, there was a 6" barrel min. The allowable cartridges were listed by name, being .41Mag, .44Mag, .44 Automatic Mag, & .45 Win Mag. At the time, I had a nice Ruger old model Blackhawk in .41 Mag, that wasn't legal for deer hunting, because of the 4 5/8" barrel, and I ended up trading it for a .30-30....something I still regret...
The regs at the time also clearly stated that the 9mm and .45ACP were NOT legal for deer.
A few years later, the handgun regs changed, dropping the barrel length to 4", and replacing the listed cartridges with an energy/distance requirement, something like 500ft/lbs for deer and 750 for elk. After they did that I REALLY regretted getting rid of that sweet .41.
It may be common sense to you, and it may be the legal requirement in some places, and it is certainly enough to get the job done, but many places have a lower minimum legal requirement, certainly less than 1000/100 is able to do the job cleanly. Handguns delivering less than that are certainly "adequate", and legal in many places.
I'll say again, the regulations about minimum calibers for hunting are about SPORT hunting, not about what is enough gun to do the job. The hunting regs take into account both the expert hunters like all of us here on TFL
as well as those who are barely safe with a gun off the pavement. Public safety (as a perception), and what is best for the game population are part of the equation as well. Also, it seems, in recent years, in some places that encouraging, or discouraging hunting is also being taken into account when new regs are being created.
I stopped hunting in one state when the regs about where, when, and what you could hunt got so complex (in the name of game management, of course) that one needed high quality maps and good training in land navigation (pre GPS tech) just to stay within the regs. One could, literally be perfectly legal in one Game Management Unit, cross the next hill, and be a criminal. This, to me was a discouragement, and I don't think I was the only one. Also, I always had a feeling that it was intentionally done just for that result, but maybe that's just me.....
And, they do change, some rarely, some fairly often.
40 years ago, I was hunting in northern NY state. The rules there, (and then) were for deer; rifle .24cal centerfire or larger. Shotgun, 20ga or larger, slug only. Handgun:centerfire (IIRC, it might have been centerfire, .35cal or larger, I don't recall, not being a handgun hunter at that time) That was for the northern zone. Southern Zone (over half the state) was shotgun only, slug only.
For black bear, the same rules, except buckshot was allowed. Slugs only for deer, slugs or buckshot for bear. Makes sense? hmmm...
Then I moved, and hunted in Washington. Rifle was centerfire, 24 caliber or larger, 85gr bullet or heavier, and there was also a ft/lb minimum at 100yds, but I don't recall exactly what it was. I do remember that the 117gr .25-35 Winchester load just barely made the energy minimum. I no longer remember the shotgun requirements at that time...
The handgun requirements I recall pretty clearly, there was a 6" barrel min. The allowable cartridges were listed by name, being .41Mag, .44Mag, .44 Automatic Mag, & .45 Win Mag. At the time, I had a nice Ruger old model Blackhawk in .41 Mag, that wasn't legal for deer hunting, because of the 4 5/8" barrel, and I ended up trading it for a .30-30....something I still regret...
The regs at the time also clearly stated that the 9mm and .45ACP were NOT legal for deer.
A few years later, the handgun regs changed, dropping the barrel length to 4", and replacing the listed cartridges with an energy/distance requirement, something like 500ft/lbs for deer and 750 for elk. After they did that I REALLY regretted getting rid of that sweet .41.
It may be common sense to you, and it may be the legal requirement in some places, and it is certainly enough to get the job done, but many places have a lower minimum legal requirement, certainly less than 1000/100 is able to do the job cleanly. Handguns delivering less than that are certainly "adequate", and legal in many places.
I'll say again, the regulations about minimum calibers for hunting are about SPORT hunting, not about what is enough gun to do the job. The hunting regs take into account both the expert hunters like all of us here on TFL
as well as those who are barely safe with a gun off the pavement. Public safety (as a perception), and what is best for the game population are part of the equation as well. Also, it seems, in recent years, in some places that encouraging, or discouraging hunting is also being taken into account when new regs are being created.I stopped hunting in one state when the regs about where, when, and what you could hunt got so complex (in the name of game management, of course) that one needed high quality maps and good training in land navigation (pre GPS tech) just to stay within the regs. One could, literally be perfectly legal in one Game Management Unit, cross the next hill, and be a criminal. This, to me was a discouragement, and I don't think I was the only one. Also, I always had a feeling that it was intentionally done just for that result, but maybe that's just me.....
Kreyzhorse
New member
Any center fire in Kentucky.
I stopped fishing a state for the same reason. From year to year the locale of legal fishing on rivers/streams changes so much it became more of a hassle to keep up with the regs then the trip was worth. I often felt it was a money game as the DNR fella's had a rep. for not cutting anyone a break. Especially if you were from out of state.
I truly wish Ohio would drop their minimum legal length of pistols from 5" to 4" to cover the 4.75" pistols as well. I have a few pistols in the popular 4"-5" lengths that I'd like to hunt with that I'm no less accurate with then my guns in the 5-6" range. But as always, I could be more accurate with all of them.
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Co. requires a .24 caliber. And you cannot hunt varmints during a regular big game season with anything larger than a .22 center fire if you do not have a current unfilled tag for that big game season. Guess they figured out the party hunters. Once the regular big game season is over the larger calibers are legal for varmints & fur bearers.
FrankenMauser
New member
In Utah, they completely ban rimfires on "temporary game preserves" (any area open to hunting) during big game hunting seasons.
Even if you don't have a hunting license and you're just chasing jackrabbits and coyotes (non-game) or plinking, you're technically illegal. And, the way the law is written, it is "prima facie evidence of poaching".
If you do have a license... To remain legal, target shooters and upland/small game hunters have to stick with centerfire firearms and/or shotguns allowed for big game, upland game, and small game.
However, enforcement is non-existent. Unless the wardens think you're a poacher, they don't care.
(The same goes for hunter orange - if you're in a hunting unit during the season, you MUST wear hunter orange ... even if you're just out cutting firewood. Of course, it doesn't get enforced.)
Backwoodsboy
New member
To expand on what Brian stated here is a cut and paste from NYS Dec page for legal implements.
Descriptions of Legal Implements for Big Game Hunting
Implement Description
Bow Long (stick), recurve or compound bow with a draw weight in excess of 35 pounds. A legal arrowhead is non-barbed, has 2 or more cutting edges and is at least 7/8 inches wide.
Muzzleloader Firearm loaded through the muzzle, a minimum bore of .44 inches and shooting a single projectile. Scopes may now be used during the Special Muzzleloading Season in addition to the Regular Big Game Season and the Early Bear Season. See Muzzleloading section of regulations for special requirements during the muzzleloading season.
Handgun* any centerfire pistol or revolver. Barrel length maximum is 16 inches
(NOTE: Possession of handguns in New York State requires a NYS Pistol Permit. New York does not recognize permits issued by other states.)
Shotgun* Must be 20 gauge of larger and fire a single projectile, rifling in the barrel or choke is allowed
Rifle* any centerfire rifle.
* It is illegal to hunt with:
a fully automatic firearm;
an autoloading firearm that holds more than 6 shells (except an autoloading pistol with a barrel length under 8 inches);
any firearm equipped with a silencer.
Descriptions of Legal Implements for Big Game Hunting
Implement Description
Bow Long (stick), recurve or compound bow with a draw weight in excess of 35 pounds. A legal arrowhead is non-barbed, has 2 or more cutting edges and is at least 7/8 inches wide.
Muzzleloader Firearm loaded through the muzzle, a minimum bore of .44 inches and shooting a single projectile. Scopes may now be used during the Special Muzzleloading Season in addition to the Regular Big Game Season and the Early Bear Season. See Muzzleloading section of regulations for special requirements during the muzzleloading season.
Handgun* any centerfire pistol or revolver. Barrel length maximum is 16 inches
(NOTE: Possession of handguns in New York State requires a NYS Pistol Permit. New York does not recognize permits issued by other states.)
Shotgun* Must be 20 gauge of larger and fire a single projectile, rifling in the barrel or choke is allowed
Rifle* any centerfire rifle.
* It is illegal to hunt with:
a fully automatic firearm;
an autoloading firearm that holds more than 6 shells (except an autoloading pistol with a barrel length under 8 inches);
any firearm equipped with a silencer.
Have to correct you on this because it opens up those interesting loopholes noticed in other states.
Pg. 9 of Ohio regulations
"Handgun: with 5" minimum length barrel, using straight walled cartridges .357 or larger."
That means that .38 special, .45acp etc. are all legal as well. You can hunt with a pistol or revolver.
You may also use a muzzle loading shotgun 10 gauge or smaller using one ball per barrel, but no muzzle loading handguns.
Seems kind of dumb to me that we can use a muzzle loading .410 gauge, but aren't allowed to use a 12" barrel .54 handgun.
globemaster3
New member
Well, since our Northern Tier brethren are frozen in right now, what about something from Montana, North Dakota, Maine, Vermont, etc?
I need to start tracking this on a map!
I need to start tracking this on a map!
Here in NH..No rimfire firearms for hunting deer. Shotguns single projectile or buckshot 00 or larger and some towns dont allow buckshot. Muzzleloader minimum 40 caliber and bow minimum draw weight 40 lbs..No specifics on handguns.
Now I have a question, how many states REQUIRE hunter orange. NH has no requirements, just suggestions.
Now I have a question, how many states REQUIRE hunter orange. NH has no requirements, just suggestions.