the strange thing is tests have been done that show shotgun slugs will richocet much farther than rifle bullets because they don't deform on impact with the ground near as much as rifle bullets do. most hunters don't shoot at angles that would be conducive to the longer range of the rifle being a risk. this info is apparently ignored by states that have restrictions.
Which deer rifle for Indiana?
- Thread starter TCman
- Start date
I have heard them called Hand Cannons but one time a gunsmith I knew was building up a 30-06 on a single shot pistol action and he called it a WB.
I was confused because I was thinking of Warner Bros cartoons where some cartoon character pulls out a giant pistol and thought that was what he meant.
He informed me he meant Wrist Buster.
I wasn’t sure what he meant until I started shooting that 7.7mm and had a chance to shoot it about 20 times last weekend.
My wrist was sore for a whole week and I think I must have at the very least bruised some bones in there.
Next time I plan on taking a good padded glove I can put on my right hand before testing it out again.
I was confused because I was thinking of Warner Bros cartoons where some cartoon character pulls out a giant pistol and thought that was what he meant.
He informed me he meant Wrist Buster.
I wasn’t sure what he meant until I started shooting that 7.7mm and had a chance to shoot it about 20 times last weekend.
My wrist was sore for a whole week and I think I must have at the very least bruised some bones in there.
Next time I plan on taking a good padded glove I can put on my right hand before testing it out again.
j.chappell
New member
My 7-08 is nothing like that. They also make muzzle breaks for them. I have made shots on groundhogs out to 276 yards with that handgun. I just love it.
J.
J.
That's what that is on the end of that barrel now but I just have not drilled the holes in the top of it yet.
It did help right off the bat with muzzle rise a little as it is a drilled smooth bored to a .362 caliber barrel compared to the .312 caliber barrel it is welded onto which gives it a little pressure reduction.
It still packed a whallop on my right hand after firing it 20-25 times which seemed to add up a little at a time to the point where when I shot that last shot I knew that was the last shot I was shooting out of it that day without any padding for my hand LOL
I mounted the red dot on it this last weekend but there was not enough time to test it out again yet besides just putting a laser bore sight on it and seeing it is lined up perfect.
It was punching out a 1 1/2 inch group at 100 yards the last time I tried it with the open sights and I swear my eyes just are not what they use to be because I cannot focus between that front and rear sight anymore.
The red dot looks like it will be much easier to aim and get a better group with but it looks like company for Thanksgiving this weekend and the next so I will not find out until the end of November I guess.
I have a 7mm-08 rifle and it is the most fantastic rifle I have ever had and I can just imagine how nice a pistol like that eagle would be in that caliber.
It did help right off the bat with muzzle rise a little as it is a drilled smooth bored to a .362 caliber barrel compared to the .312 caliber barrel it is welded onto which gives it a little pressure reduction.
It still packed a whallop on my right hand after firing it 20-25 times which seemed to add up a little at a time to the point where when I shot that last shot I knew that was the last shot I was shooting out of it that day without any padding for my hand LOL
I mounted the red dot on it this last weekend but there was not enough time to test it out again yet besides just putting a laser bore sight on it and seeing it is lined up perfect.
It was punching out a 1 1/2 inch group at 100 yards the last time I tried it with the open sights and I swear my eyes just are not what they use to be because I cannot focus between that front and rear sight anymore.
The red dot looks like it will be much easier to aim and get a better group with but it looks like company for Thanksgiving this weekend and the next so I will not find out until the end of November I guess.
I have a 7mm-08 rifle and it is the most fantastic rifle I have ever had and I can just imagine how nice a pistol like that eagle would be in that caliber.
Don't see it specifically on the list, but the S&W XVR 460 sounds perfect...about as flat shooting and high speed as you can get out of a factory handgun. Can shoot .45 Colts or .454 Casull for "less drama". With the weight and compensator, not painfull at all to shoot. Hunter and Performance Center models are awesome. Using mine for deer this year. Lets see....200grain ballistic tip at 2300fps, or perhaps a 365 grainer at 1800fps...
Stillhunter
New member
Flat shooting,with knock down power the 454casull wins that category,but with a great expense,ammo.The 44 mag would be my choice for him.It,ll blow a hole in that buck,without blowing a hole in your pocket.I know,I have a Puma in a 454 and don,t reload.Ammo is a lot easier to find& very affordable in the 44mag.
redwing 40
New member
If the 500 S&W round was chambered in a rifle would it be close to the old 50-70 Spfld.? Those old 50-70s were very effective out to 200 yards and more. Many of the plains rifles were chambered for this old war horse.
GUNZABLAZIN
Inactive
The 500 S&W IS CHAMBERED IN A RIFLE,THE NEF, OR THE H&R (HANDI-RIFLE), I SHOT THIS NICE 8 POINTER LAST YEAR, WITH MY .44 MAG WINCHESTER TRAPPER.
THIS ONE WAS IN 2006, CONTENDER, 30/30 WIN.
I ALSO USE A DESERT EAGLE IN A .44 MAG.
THIS ONE WAS IN 2006, CONTENDER, 30/30 WIN.
I ALSO USE A DESERT EAGLE IN A .44 MAG.
Ruger has reissued their 77/44 carbine, this time in stainless with a synthetic stock.
With a 1-4X scope, this little bolt-action rifle should be fine for whitetails up to 100 yds or so. Further with Hornady's soft-tipped "pointy" ammo.
It's an alternative to lever-actions in pistol calibers.
With a 1-4X scope, this little bolt-action rifle should be fine for whitetails up to 100 yds or so. Further with Hornady's soft-tipped "pointy" ammo.
It's an alternative to lever-actions in pistol calibers.
I'd get a 44Mag too. I'd love to have a reason to buy one of these:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=159591122
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=159178732
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=159591122
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=159178732
I ended up getting the new Savage 220f. It is a bolt action rifled barrel slug gun. If it is accurate enough, a 20 guage slug will do fine out to 200 yards. My gun shop doesnt have a big selection of pistol ammunition, but they always have alot of slugs to choose from. Im going to try the new remington accutip slug and top it off with a Nikon Omega. I think it will make a fine deer hunting weapon and one you dont see everyday in the woods.
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/220FCAMO
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/220FCAMO
spotter123654
New member
.458 socom some ar companies make good ones
Thoughts on Hoosier Deer Rifles
Hey there, Hoosiers!
This Virginian thinks that you folks have some odd laws concerning legal deer rifle chamberings. However, I have kin in Indiana, and so I thought that I'd butt right in on the conversation.
First of all, some of the suggested legal chamberings listed in the Indiana Hunting Regs are just plain unsuitable for shooting a deer. For instance, I have a .44 Special revolver, and I think that .44 Special may be the best self-defense round ever designed--but shoot a deer with something with about 300 foot pounds of muzzle energy?
The easy choice would be to pick up a nice lever-action .44 Magnum. Rifles and ammunition are easily available, it has adequate energy for whitetails out to 100 yards. Easy, but who wants easy? So, in the spirit of nothing being too hard for the man that doesn't have to do it himself, here are a few thoughts from the Old Dominion.
The best existing (or slightly obsolete) chambering is probably the fine .357 Remington Maximum. Never seen one, you say? Well, neither have I, but it's ballistics are going to be pretty good considering the limitations in the Regs. The .357 Max was intended as a revolver round (in which applications it had some flame-cutting problems), though a few TC single-shot pistols were chambered in it for silhouette shooting. The only rifles that I've ever heard of being chambered for it were a very rare Savage Model 24 and a semi-custom TC rifle. CNC Cartridge and Grizzly Cartridge still produce the ammunition, but the large ammo makers no longer do. Here's a Hoosier who has a website devoted to it:
http://357maximum.com/
He's using a TC rifle as well as a modified Ruger Model 1. If you wanted to use a .357 Maximum, the TC is probably the easiest way to go; their custom shop will build you one; it's a SAAMI-certified round, and they will have the chamber reamers.
But, what if . . ..? What if Indiana deer hunters could design a chambering for their own purposes, designed to fit into the existing Regs but give them deer rifle performance of a very high order? [Drum roll . . . ], how about the " .357 Hoosier?"
Never heard of the .357 Hoosier, you say? Well, that's because it doesn't exist; it's just a gleam in some wild Virginian's eye. This would take a real wildcatter (and I'm not one), but here's an approach. Start with the existing .25 WSSM super-short case. Neck it up from .257 to .357. Then trim it by 45 thousandths in order to bring it down to the 1.625-inch upper limit in the Indiana Regs. There are lots of .357 spitzer hunting bullets. Voila! What, you complain? No gun? Picky, picky, picky. Yes, the first time, anyhow, you'd have to do what wildcatters do: characterize the round and have a machine shop or (preferably) a gunsmith create a chamber reamer. Existing .357 rifle barrels are, in general (except for .357 Magnum), chambered for rounds longer than the .357 Hoosier, so you'd probably have to order an unchambered barrel and have the gunsmith ream the chamber. Then what? You still don't have a gun to put the barrel on. The virtue of starting with an existing (and very new) round like the .25 WSSM is that the Winchester Model 70 is currently chambered for it--the Model 70 bolt face and magazines currently accept it. So, the gunsmith buys a Model 70 action and finished stock and installs the barrel. My guess is that you'd have a very accurate (accuracy is the driving force behind the WSSM concept) rifle which would deliver bullets in the 150 - 180 grain range with perhaps 2,300 foot pounds of muzzle energy which is just about what you want from a deer rifle. It would probably retain energy out to about 300 yards of over 1,000 foot pounds--the old Townsend Whelen rule-of-thumb for deer rifles. I would expect a +/- 3" maximum point blank range of about 225 yards. In other words, it would be not just an Indiana-legal deer rifle, it would be a well-balanced deer rifle for any state in the Union. Recurring cost (sans scope) of about $1,000: a kilobuck to kill a buck.
The other "suggested" cartridges in the Indiana Regs are all pistol--or rifle/pistol--cartridges. I haven't looked at the underlying legislation, but the Regs based on that legislation don't say that the cartridge has to be straight-sided, and the .38-40, which is one of the suggestions, is slightly bottle-necked, being a .44-40 necked down to .401.
Actually, there might be an Indiana niche market here. A guy could start producing these rifles and commission a custom loader to produce the ammunition.
Like I say, time on my hands and a computer in front of me.
Good hunting!
Hey there, Hoosiers!
This Virginian thinks that you folks have some odd laws concerning legal deer rifle chamberings. However, I have kin in Indiana, and so I thought that I'd butt right in on the conversation.
First of all, some of the suggested legal chamberings listed in the Indiana Hunting Regs are just plain unsuitable for shooting a deer. For instance, I have a .44 Special revolver, and I think that .44 Special may be the best self-defense round ever designed--but shoot a deer with something with about 300 foot pounds of muzzle energy?
The easy choice would be to pick up a nice lever-action .44 Magnum. Rifles and ammunition are easily available, it has adequate energy for whitetails out to 100 yards. Easy, but who wants easy? So, in the spirit of nothing being too hard for the man that doesn't have to do it himself, here are a few thoughts from the Old Dominion.
The best existing (or slightly obsolete) chambering is probably the fine .357 Remington Maximum. Never seen one, you say? Well, neither have I, but it's ballistics are going to be pretty good considering the limitations in the Regs. The .357 Max was intended as a revolver round (in which applications it had some flame-cutting problems), though a few TC single-shot pistols were chambered in it for silhouette shooting. The only rifles that I've ever heard of being chambered for it were a very rare Savage Model 24 and a semi-custom TC rifle. CNC Cartridge and Grizzly Cartridge still produce the ammunition, but the large ammo makers no longer do. Here's a Hoosier who has a website devoted to it:
http://357maximum.com/
He's using a TC rifle as well as a modified Ruger Model 1. If you wanted to use a .357 Maximum, the TC is probably the easiest way to go; their custom shop will build you one; it's a SAAMI-certified round, and they will have the chamber reamers.
But, what if . . ..? What if Indiana deer hunters could design a chambering for their own purposes, designed to fit into the existing Regs but give them deer rifle performance of a very high order? [Drum roll . . . ], how about the " .357 Hoosier?"
Never heard of the .357 Hoosier, you say? Well, that's because it doesn't exist; it's just a gleam in some wild Virginian's eye. This would take a real wildcatter (and I'm not one), but here's an approach. Start with the existing .25 WSSM super-short case. Neck it up from .257 to .357. Then trim it by 45 thousandths in order to bring it down to the 1.625-inch upper limit in the Indiana Regs. There are lots of .357 spitzer hunting bullets. Voila! What, you complain? No gun? Picky, picky, picky. Yes, the first time, anyhow, you'd have to do what wildcatters do: characterize the round and have a machine shop or (preferably) a gunsmith create a chamber reamer. Existing .357 rifle barrels are, in general (except for .357 Magnum), chambered for rounds longer than the .357 Hoosier, so you'd probably have to order an unchambered barrel and have the gunsmith ream the chamber. Then what? You still don't have a gun to put the barrel on. The virtue of starting with an existing (and very new) round like the .25 WSSM is that the Winchester Model 70 is currently chambered for it--the Model 70 bolt face and magazines currently accept it. So, the gunsmith buys a Model 70 action and finished stock and installs the barrel. My guess is that you'd have a very accurate (accuracy is the driving force behind the WSSM concept) rifle which would deliver bullets in the 150 - 180 grain range with perhaps 2,300 foot pounds of muzzle energy which is just about what you want from a deer rifle. It would probably retain energy out to about 300 yards of over 1,000 foot pounds--the old Townsend Whelen rule-of-thumb for deer rifles. I would expect a +/- 3" maximum point blank range of about 225 yards. In other words, it would be not just an Indiana-legal deer rifle, it would be a well-balanced deer rifle for any state in the Union. Recurring cost (sans scope) of about $1,000: a kilobuck to kill a buck.
The other "suggested" cartridges in the Indiana Regs are all pistol--or rifle/pistol--cartridges. I haven't looked at the underlying legislation, but the Regs based on that legislation don't say that the cartridge has to be straight-sided, and the .38-40, which is one of the suggestions, is slightly bottle-necked, being a .44-40 necked down to .401.
Actually, there might be an Indiana niche market here. A guy could start producing these rifles and commission a custom loader to produce the ammunition.
Like I say, time on my hands and a computer in front of me.
Good hunting!
southernmaninla
New member
My vote is move. 
or get the 44mag
or get the 44magNevmavrick
New member
I don't have a dog in this fight, but I thought I'd mention what my kennel is doing.
Gunzablazin has an interesting idea., the .30/30 in a TC Contender. I was thinking of a .30 or .357 Herrett. I carry a .357 Herrett in a 10" sometimes when I'm in short-range situations. The .357 will do very well out to 200yds, and with a little practice, further. There are .35 caliber rifle bullets that work fine, and .357 Magnum bullets that are sent out a lot faster.
They are wildcats, but are very easy to load. If you don't want to handload, .30/30's and .35 Remington's will come out of a box.
The .250 Savage makes a pretty nice pistol, so a .243 should be OK.
Have fun,
Gene
Gunzablazin has an interesting idea., the .30/30 in a TC Contender. I was thinking of a .30 or .357 Herrett. I carry a .357 Herrett in a 10" sometimes when I'm in short-range situations. The .357 will do very well out to 200yds, and with a little practice, further. There are .35 caliber rifle bullets that work fine, and .357 Magnum bullets that are sent out a lot faster.
They are wildcats, but are very easy to load. If you don't want to handload, .30/30's and .35 Remington's will come out of a box.
The .250 Savage makes a pretty nice pistol, so a .243 should be OK.
Have fun,
Gene
crankyranke
Inactive
44mag
i live in indiana and use a marlin 1894 in 44mag. i use hornady leverevoluion 225gr. i shot a very nice buck and 2 does last year with it.all one shot. the buck was about 80yds and run about 30 more before going down. doe #1 was 160 and dropped on the spot, doe#2 was 40yds and dropped on the spot also. All im saying is that i really like my rifle and feel very confident in 44mag. i can shoot 3-4 inch groups at 100yds with iron sights. i did have a problem twice if i worked the lever very slowly never happened at real speed.
i live in indiana and use a marlin 1894 in 44mag. i use hornady leverevoluion 225gr. i shot a very nice buck and 2 does last year with it.all one shot. the buck was about 80yds and run about 30 more before going down. doe #1 was 160 and dropped on the spot, doe#2 was 40yds and dropped on the spot also. All im saying is that i really like my rifle and feel very confident in 44mag. i can shoot 3-4 inch groups at 100yds with iron sights. i did have a problem twice if i worked the lever very slowly never happened at real speed.