Just curious, I have done almost all of my deer hunting for the last 20+ years here in Indiana, and it is shotgun only[or ML, pistol]? I have gotten at least one every year since I started deer hunting. Just wondered about the rest of you.

Mad Dog

Mad Dog,VA isn't shotgun only but where i hunt here in the state it is,and on top of that its buckshot only no slugs,later in the season when I go over two countys i can use slugs

Ohio Is shotgun/muzzelloader/and pistol all in one with a seperate muzzel loader season later in the year. Of course bow and crossbow can be used from Oct. 6th thru Jan 31st this year. I prefer to use my .44 mag over the shotgun!

The southern third of Michigan is shotgun or muzzleloader country. I'll be in the woods with my 870 next week Friday then up North so I can get the rifle some fresh air. All the bucks I've killed with a slug have gone down like a WWF body slam.

Jeff

Can someone tell me the rationale behind shotgun-only hunting for deer. What is it that the law, or game department, is attempting to accomplish (or prevent)? And what is it that is accomplished or prevented by prohibiting a shoulder-fired rifled barrel gun as opposed to a hand-fired rifled barrel gun? I am really just curious as this is a somewhat foreign concept in my home state. Thanks.

Stonecreek, ostensibly the reason is to use projectiles with much lesser range than centerfire rifle bullets due to the population and/or hunter density. AFAIK, rifle barrelled shotguns shooting saboted slugs are legal anywhere slugs are legal. That gives you plenty of accuracy up to about 150 yards, which is enough for deer hunting in most woods.

What I don't understand is why the restriction needs to be statewide. There are plenty of areas in Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, and Indiana (four states that are shotgun only for deer) where a centerfire rifle would be perfectly safe. What's even more weird is that in Indiana, centerfire rifles are legal for varmints. We all know how deadly a .223 Remington can be on a human being.

Also, there are now shotguns and slugs approaching big-game centerfire rifle performance, such as the Remington Core Lokt Ultra Sabot Slug and the Ithaca Model 37 Deerslayer III with its 26" heavy contour, free floated barrel.

quote:

---

Remington Premier Core-Lokt Ultra Shotgun Slugs provide big-game hunters with all the features that result in the ultimate hunting slug with devastating on-game performance.

Index No.
Gauge
Shell Length
Slug Wt.
Muzzle Velocity
Muzzle Energy

PR12CLU
12 ga.
2 3/4"
385 gr.
1900 fps
3086 ft-lbs.



BALLISTICS

12 gauge - 385-gr.

Range (yds)
Muzzle
50
100
150
200

Velocity (fps)
1900
1770
1648
1534
1426

Energy (ft-lb)
3086
2682
2325
2013
1741

Drop (in)
-1.5
+1.8
+2.4
0.0
-6.2



NOTE: Ballistics from 24 Inch Test Barrel / 150 Yard Zero

---

[ 11-07-2002, 23:30: Message edited by: ksduckhunter ]

In Virginia, anyway, restrictions on guns for hunting are set on a county by county basis by the local boards of supervisors. Since most of those ol' boys dunno nuthin' 'bout nuthin' we get some real strange rules.

One county I am familiar with is buckshot only EXCEPT they allow muzzle loading rifles in all gun seasons. Naturally, the folks who have a clue are out there shooting inlines with sabots and scopes.

Just read about those Remington Core Lokt Ultra Sabot Slugs. Sounds darn impressive ! I've never heard of such flat shooting slugs.

I've used the Federal premium, Barnes copper expanders for the last couple years and have been impressed by their accuracy, but they simply don't shoot anywhere near that flat.

Guess I better get on the phone tomorrow, call around and see if any of my local gun shops have them in stock. I'm guessing they'll cost about $12 for five.

Mad Dog - What county do you hail from ? I'm from Cass.

Minnesota has both rifle and shotgun zones, but the zone that I hunt in is shotgun, but we can also use handguns.

i have thought about buying a slug gun just to have it. so, you guys who are forced to use one...which is your favorite??

Favorite slug gun,
870 Rem. Wingmaster Circa 1971
Hastings 24" barrel pinned to the reciever
Winchester Supreme Sabots
Enhanced Trigger
Leupold 2X7 on a rail
Shoots under 2" for 5 shots

I have used this gun since 1971 with the factory barrel, then a smooth bore slug barrel and Brenneke slugs, then the Hastings and after testing the Winchester Supreme Sabots work the best. I have hunted thick cover in where rifles are legal and I have the best weapon for the job.
From 125 yards in I am not handicapped using a slug gun! Even though I love the rifle I pick the gun that works the best in the terrain hunted.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight...RiverRat

Steiny,
I live out in the country in White Co. I have been taking my deer to Rance's in Lake Cicott to get them processed.

Mad Dog

I have been shooting an old Rem 11-87 with a Rem fully rifled barrel. Shotgun shoots Fed Prem Barnes 2.75" slugs into 3" groups @ 100yds. Plenty accurate enough for shooting whitetails at that distance. Recoil is negligible with this autoloader.
I'll buy a bolt slug-gun when they figure out how to get them to shoot MOA :>
VH

I've got a Mossburg 500 pump with an Improved cylinder bore slug barrel. It is tapped for a scope mount and has iron sights (front and rear)
There are slug barrels with rifleing but I chose to get the one without it so I could use the gun for rabbits and birds if the opportunity presented itself.

Nice inexpensive pump gun.

I have an 870 turkey special with a 21" barrel. I was considering putting a rifled barrel on it but I tried a rifled choke tube first. I then mounted a Leupold 1-4x shotgun scope in a saddle mount. I've settled on 2 3/4" Lightfield Hybred-sabots and get 3" groups at 100 yards. The combonation works great where I hunt. 75 yards is about as far as I can shoot.

Jeff

As to the question about handguns, in Michigan in the shotgun zone you can only use straight wall cartridges. A t/C Contender in .44 mag would be legal but not one in 30/30.

Illinois is shotgun only. I use a Ithaca M-37 Deer Slayer smooth tube scoped with a 2.5x fixed. I was going to get a rifled barrel for it this year but never got around to it. Too late now, season opens in two weeks. Good luck to all this year!!

I have a mossberg 695, bolt action & rifled barrel.

www.thegunman.com/mossberg/m695lg.jpg

Good shooting gun and nice to mount a scope on. I just put a BSA 1.5-4.5 Illuminated on it, I'll find out next week whether or not it works. I've had a 3X9 scope on it for the last 4-5 years but I would like something a little wider field, so I'll see how a $62 scope from midway actually works. These guns cost about the same as a hastings barrel, and you get the whole gun this way too.

P.S. sorry I cant seem to get the image to post, only the link.

[ 11-09-2002, 11:52: Message edited by: MarkWhite ]

I moved to Illinois from Indiana two years ago. For the regular firearms season we can use a shotgun with slugs or a muzzleloader. We have a muzzleloader only season after that, and in January we get a three day handgun only season.

What baffles me is why I can't use my handgun in the regular season in Illinois. In Indiana, handguns, shotguns and muzzleloaders are allowed in the general firearms season.

When I lived in upstate NY, the more populated counties were restricted to shotguns, or handguns. Centerfire rifles were permitted in the more rural areas.
Greg

That is because they are more dangerous, and have to be kept more tightly regulated.

Depending on your pocket book,I think in this order
Tarhunt 12 or 20 sniper model
Browning A-bolt,if you can find one
Savage -210 bolt action
Remingtons with a Hastings bbl
Mossberg bolt action
Mossberg pump
NEF/H&H/Marlin single shot
All are offered in a rifled bbl set up and thats the way to go.
Haven't had chance to shoot the new solid bbl Ithaca, but it looks good on paper.
Mine is an Ithaca Auto-10 that has a rifled screw in choke,that way when I'm in the county thats is either,or the choke can be taken off or put on.

Massachusetts is shotgun only. I use an 1100 Remington with a Rem. slug barrel and rifled choke tube. Up until this year, I used Activ slugs, possibly the most accurate slug ever made. They will cut cloverleafs at 100 yds with my 1100, and also with my friends 870 with rifled choke. Since they stopped making them, we tried Wolf slugs this year and they seem to work pretty well. They are a Brenneke type and also made in Germany. Great value for the money!!! What ever you get, don't use Remington slugs, they are the most undersized slugs on the market and are made to shoot through a choke.There are much better choices out there.

bowhuntr

Iowa is shotgun with slugs, muzzleloader, or handgun firing straight walled cartridge. I shoot a 20 ga. browning bps with factory smooth bore slug barrel and open sights. It will put 5 federal classic punkin balls in a 6 inch circle at 100 yards as long as I keep the barrel clean. This fills my tags every year.

Brian