State regulations for rifle deer

[Ben_BlueOx]

I am new totally new to hunting. My long-term plan is to hunt deer and elk to start. Issue I have is I live in Illinois where rifle is not an option.

can anyone provide info on what states allow rifle hunting on deer?

 

[SaskHunter]

Most, if not all, western states offer a rifle season.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Minnesota and Wisconsin both have full rifle seasons. Iowa has rifle limited to "hand gun cartridge" rifles I believe.

 

[Pucky Freak]

IN allows HP rifles on private land. Ohio is very similar to Iowa. MN had a shotgun only zone for a long time, but it’s on its way out. MI HP in the north and handgun cartridges in the south. Pretty much the entire rest of the country is HP rifle.

I have a dedicated slug shotgun for IA, and a HP rifle for hunting out of state.

 

[Buckyranger42]

I live in WI and have rifle hunted deer here all my life. It would be a great place for you to start - OTC tags, enough public land (and farmers willing to give permission), and your neighbor to the north. A lot of the good woods bordering farm fields have been bought up by IL hunters, including the woods I hunted growing up in Buffalo County, so maybe you already know someone who has access to the prime hunting land...

 

[marshman]

Google the State Fish & Game Regulations for the state(s) you plan to hunt, this information is easy to find. These regulations list weapons allowed and seasons. Read all of these regulations more than once you need to learn this information to begin hunting. Some state offer classes/mentoring for new hunters, in addition to hunter education classes.

 

[Ben_BlueOx]

IN allows HP rifles on private land. Ohio is very similar to Iowa. MN had a shotgun only zone for a long time, but it’s on its way out. MI HP in the north and handgun cartridges in the south. Pretty much the entire rest of the country is HP rifle.

I have a dedicated slug shotgun for IA, and a HP rifle for hunting out of state.

Sorry, what does HP mean?

 

[Ben_BlueOx]

Right now I have zero hunting connections. I’m 40 mins from the WI border, so that sounds like the best start.

 

[MO Betta]

The list of states that don't allow rifle hunting is much shorter than the ones that do. Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachuetts, Delaware, and Rhode Island do not allow rifle. Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia have shotgun only areas but not statewide. You can drill down further further on area restrictions but that list gives you a starting point.

 

[MO Betta]

Sorry, what does HP mean?

High Power

 

[Pucky Freak]

Groups of rifles:
-High power. Carriages are “necked”, meaning it’s a small opening for the bullet, and lots of gunpowder. They are long range, fast, powerful, modern guns.
-Straight wall/pistol cartridges. These are from about 120 years ago. Large, slow bullets, shorter range, less accurate. Somewhat traditional
-Muzzleloader. From 175+ years ago. These guns are loaded from the end, single shot. Traditional
-Rimfire. These are small caliber guns that use a different type of primer to ignite gunpowder. Most common is .22, and these are not used for large game

Lots of generalizations and exceptions here, but an overall picture.

 

[MJE2083]

The list of states that don't allow rifle hunting is much shorter than the ones that do. Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachuetts, Delaware, Maine, and Rhode Island do not allow rifle. Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia have shotgun only areas but not statewide. You can drill down further further on area restrictions but that list gives you a starting point.

I'm pretty sure Maine allows rifles.

 

[MO Betta]

I'm pretty sure Maine allows rifles.

They do, I was being lazy and grabbed a list from somewhere else that didn't have correct info

 

[Stocker]

Nebraska has mostly OTC rifle units with the season right on the rut. You can hunt whiteails in most of the state and Mule deer in the western 1/2 trophy potential isn’t very good, but


Well, I’m not sure what you have for rifles, or if you are planning on being a full blown gun nut like a lot of us. If you are looking for a rifle to hunt about everything with some of the old trusty’s like .308, .270, 7mm08 will do everything you need them to on deer and elk. 6.5PRC is a new one in that same category along with a boatload of other cartridges.

 

[1_pointer]

Groups of rifles:
-High power. Carriages are “necked”, meaning it’s a small opening for the bullet, and lots of gunpowder. They are long range, fast, powerful, modern guns.
-Straight wall/pistol cartridges. These are from about 120 years ago. Large, slow bullets, shorter range, less accurate. Somewhat traditional
-Muzzleloader. From 175+ years ago. These guns are loaded from the end, single shot. Traditional
-Rimfire. These are small caliber guns that use a different type of primer to ignite gunpowder. Most common is .22, and these are not used for large game

Lots of generalizations and exceptions here, but an overall picture.

You can use rifles, granted most are wildcats and a load your own proposition, that meet the above definition of "High Power" on public land in IN if it meets the other criteria. The 358 Hoosier and 358 WSSM were developed for this.

 

[Dougfirtree]

There are also states where different weapons are legal in different areas. Rifles are legal in most of NY, but there are zones where they're not and you can only use a shotgun, or others where only bows are allowed. Probably easier to focus on the where and then figure out what weapon makes sense for there.