Lets see, I can legally hunt with a rifle chambered in 6X45 or a 30 Carbine or a 300 RUM, but I can't hunt with a with a 6.5X47 Lapua, or a 6.5 Creedmore, 260 Rem or a 7mm08 or 8X57 or any of numerous other chamberings. This new ruling makes absolutely no sense to me. I have plenty of rifles chambered in the cartridges that are legal. However the stupidity of this ruling is embarrassing. I suppose on the bright side I can finally use a real rifle.
Actually, what pisses me off as an Indiana hunter is that your statement in bold is incorrect. All of those cartridges are perfectly legal in a handgun. It amazes me there is so much backlash about "high power" rifles but there seems to be zero problems with a "high powered" handgun!
Handguns, other than muzzleloading, must have a barrel at least 4 inches long and must fire a bullet of .243-inch diameter or larger. The handgun cartridge case, without the bullet, must be at least 1.16 inches long. Full metal-jacketed bullets are not permitted. The handgun must not be a rifle that has a barrel less than 18 inches or be designed or redesigned to be fired from the shoulder.
I would suggest the politicians and DNR simply apply the existing language defining case length and caliber for handguns to rifles.
Scott
