Posted October 16, 2017 11:00 am by Comments

By Chris Eger

Deer hunters in Indiana on public land this year can only use handguns, shotguns, and muzzleloaders as approved firearms. (Photo: DNR Law Enforcement)
Officials in Indiana were forced to issue a ban on sportsmen taking deer with rifles on state and federal land after a law that was supposed to expand the practice instead cut it short.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources issued the clarification to this season’s hunting regulations last week banning the use of rifles by deer hunters on public lands in the state, a practice that had been both legal and popular in the past. Hunters using a muzzleloader, shotgun or handgun can still use public lands as can rifle hunters on private land.
The mistake came in the language of a bill meant, ironically, to expand hunting opportunities by amending Indiana’s rifle season for deer hunting to allow the use of more rifle calibers. Instead, the act only applied to private land and eliminated public options.
“In an attempt to address last year’s rifle changes, the law was changed to something that likely differed from the intent of many involved,” said DNR in a statement. “Unfortunately, that sometimes happens in lawmaking. That fact was noticed recently, long after the

Source: Guns.com

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