Caliber Restrictions by state

[Idaholewis]

Just curious what caliber restrictions you have in your state? And your opinions?

My .45 Caliber Muzzleloader With Green Mountain LRH Barrel is my favorite of all Muzzleloaders, I shoot bullets in this rifle that weigh over 400 Grains and move along right at 1400 FPS, Yet i can NOT hunt Elk here in my home state of Idaho with my .45 Caliber Muzzleloader? BUT on the contrary i CAN legally hunt Elk with a .25ACP in a firearm season, a .25ACP is about as ineffective of a weapon as i can possibly think of? How does that work/make sense??? I totally understand the light weight Round ball for .45 Cal at 128 Grains NOT being fit for Elk hunting, But why not make a Projectile weight restriction for .45 Caliber say in the 300 Grain range? This would EASILY take Round Ball totally out of it, but would allow you to Elk Hunt with your .45 Cal Muzzleloader using a heavy conical bullet. A .45 Cal with heavy Conical Bullets is EVERY bit as effective as any .50 Cal!! This Rule really gets under my skin here!

 

[CatamountRob]

Vermont requires .43 or larger for deer hunting, .45 or larger for moose hunting. Any sights or lock type is okay.

 

[Fmfdred56]

Same here in Colorado 40 cal or larger for deer antelope and bear, but 50 cal or larger for elk and moose. I shoot a 410 grain bullet out of my 410 caliber muzzleloader and it penetrates like you wouldnt believe i would have no issue using it for elk or moose if it were legal. I used it to shoot a mule deer last sunday and it passed through like butter perfect hole in the lungs and the heart was blown completely in half.

 

[bubba.50]

in Virginia's muzzleloading big game season the only requirements are "45cal or larger, loaded from the muzzle, at least 50gr powder charge."

for regular rifle big game season the only requirement is "23cal or larger."

and for pistols "23cal or larger with at least 350 ft lbs muzzle energy."

so technically I guess you could deer hunt durin' regular gun season with yer 32 with a roundball but if caught it would likely take a good lawyer & lots of the other kind of bucks to prove it with the gung-ho wardens prevalent in this area of the communistwealth. :huh?:

 

[MrTom]

.45 here in Minnesota on long guns. We can hunt muzzle-loading pistols as long as they are not revolvers and are at least the .45. I hunt a scoped Optima pistol and don't worry about a thing as I know what it does to a deer.

I'm not certain what the criteria is for centerfires anymore. I think its .23 for rifles and .38 for handguns but things change so much in this state from year to year its hard to say.

About twenty years ago on Thanksgiving morning a buddy and I hunted a while in the morning then came home for family stuff only to find a decent buck that had been dog-mauled in a local park hiding in my backyard. The cops came and shot the critter using a nine mm at point blank and it took 8 shots to dispatch the thing, but then they were shooting it in the neck of all places. I wasn't at all impressed with the 9 as deer medicine.

They found the dogs incidently and both were euthanized. The dogs tore into the deer for over 6 blocks before the owners could get them off it. The deer made it into our yard but couldn't clear the fence as it had two broken lower legs in the front, and half its face was tore off. It had snowed the night before and that 6 blocks of street looked like a blood bath.

 

[Saxtonyoung]

Michigan removed the muzzleloader caliber restrictions about 5 years ago. Most hunters are going after Whitetail for big game but some hunt Black Bear and ever year there are are a limited number Elk tags handed out. All though you are allowed to use Muzzleloaders in a firearm season, my guess is that most are using some type of center fire for Elk and Bear. Whitetail on the other hand a lot of people will use their muzzleloader in the regular firearm season and of course the special muzzleloader season. I do know one person that took a very nice Elk (6x5 if I remember correctly) with a .451 White that he received from Doc White.

 

[03mossy]

Same here in Colorado 40 cal or larger for deer antelope and bear, but 50 cal or larger for elk and moose. I shoot a 410 grain bullet out of my 410 caliber muzzleloader and it penetrates like you wouldnt believe i would have no issue using it for elk or moose if it were legal. I used it to shoot a mule deer last sunday and it passed through like butter perfect hole in the lungs and the heart was blown completely in half.

So I could not use my .45 Mountaineer for Elk during the rifle season in Colorado? Or is the .50 only restriction for the ML season only?

MrTom- Minnesota's centerfire minimum is .22.

 

[Fmfdred56]

Not even in rifle season sadly

 

[sabotloader]

Just curious what caliber restrictions you have in your state? And your opinions?

My .45 Caliber Muzzleloader With Green Mountain LRH Barrel is my favorite of all Muzzleloaders, I shoot bullets in this rifle that weigh over 400 Grains and move along right at 1400 FPS, Yet i can NOT hunt Elk here in my home state of Idaho with my .45 Caliber Muzzleloader? BUT on the contrary i CAN legally hunt Elk with a .25ACP in a firearm season, a .25ACP is about as ineffective of a weapon as i can possibly think of? How does that work/make sense??? I totally understand the light weight Round ball for .45 Cal at 128 Grains NOT being fit for Elk hunting, But why not make a Projectile weight restriction for .45 Caliber say in the 300 Grain range? This would EASILY take Round Ball totally out of it, but would allow you to Elk Hunt with your .45 Cal Muzzleloader using a heavy conical bullet. A .45 Cal with heavy Conical Bullets is EVERY bit as effective as any .50 Cal!! This Rule really gets under my skin here!

I think you will find in our State the controlling interests that govern our ML regulations are traditionalist. They are organized and have a very strong lobby.

In addition the more the variance to the rules the greater the enforcement problems for the under-manned game wardens. Caliber restrictions are much easier to manage than bullets and weights.

Why are still required to shoot a full bore lead concial - several years ago we could use sabots - but that got changed by the same group trying to protect the then established ML hunts to the few.

ML hunts in Idaho are not what the old original ML hunts were at all when ML hunting began. Today Fish and Game are using these hunts as a management tool + making money off of them, not as a traditional ML hunt. I wish in away, but then another enforcement problem, they would offer early season primitive ML hunts and the existing late season hunts to restricted ML's. I could still live with cap ignition and no scopes. But allow the freedom to use lead free and non-full bore bullets.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Idaholewis]

I think you will find in our State the controlling interests that govern our ML regulations are traditionalist. They are organized and have a very strong lobby.

I don't care to get to know ANY of them. An acquaintance from Buffalo Arms invited me to a shoot in Hayden/Coeur d'Alene, i got excited about it at first, I IMMEDIATELY asked if i could shoot my paper patched bullets and peep sights? NO BULLETS, Round ball only. My guess is these are some of the Traditionalist characters mentioned above? I have ZERO interest in Roundball so that was the end before it got started for me. I still plan to attend 1 of these shoots and see if my 'hunch' is correct?

Not long ago they had a Rendezvous (where grown ups dress up and pretend) about 15-20 mins from me, Before understanding what it was, My wife asked me if i wanted to go to it? I told her i would MUCH rather take a DIRECT kick to the balls and be able to stay at home, than have to go to something like that. I am not downing the guy's that attend these type of events, If it floats your boat/trips yer trigger, By all means get your Davy Crockett on and head out!! Just not my thing

 

[bubba.50]

I think you will find in our State the controlling interests that govern our ML regulations are traditionalist. They are organized and have a very strong lobby.

I don't care to get to know ANY of them. An acquaintance from Buffalo Arms invited me to a shoot in Hayden/Coeur d'Alene, i got excited about it at first, I IMMEDIATELY asked if i could shoot my paper patched bullets and peep sights? NO BULLETS, Round ball only. My guess is these are some of the Traditionalist characters mentioned above? I have ZERO interest in Roundball so that was the end before it got started for me. I still plan to attend 1 of these shoots and see if my 'hunch' is correct?

Not long ago they had a Rendezvous (where grown ups dress up and pretend) about 15-20 mins from me, Before understanding what it was, My wife asked me if i wanted to go to it? I told her i would MUCH rather take a DIRECT kick to the balls and be able to stay at home, than have to go to something like that. I am not downing the guy's that attend these type of events, If it floats your boat/trips yer trigger, By all means get your Davy Crockett on and head out!! Just not my thing

don't sugar-coat it Lewis, tell us how ya REALLY feel. oke:

but I agree about roundballs, they have just about zero interest for me. :yeah:

 

[Fmfdred56]

I want a round ball gun but im a big believer in overkill it will be a very big bore roundball gun. As far as the full bore restrictions go i honestly believe that even if i were able to shoot sabots to hunt with id still use my conicals they are just cheap effective and very very fun! I think the only thing id change about the muzzleloader restrictions in my state is id kill the caliber restriction and go 400+ grain bullet over 60 grains+ powder for elk and moose and keep the 40cal+ for every other big game animal. Id have to look again but i believe we already have a law stating a minimum weight projectile also i believe its 170 grain making round balls for sub 50 cal illegal like i say not 100% sure on that one.

 

[sabotloader]

I want a round ball gun but im a big believer in overkill it will be a very big bore roundball gun. As far as the full bore restrictions go i honestly believe that even if i were able to shoot sabots to hunt with id still use my conicals they are just cheap effective and very very fun! I think the only thing id change about the muzzleloader restrictions in my state is id kill the caliber restriction and go 400+ grain bullet over 60 grains+ powder for elk and moose and keep the 40cal+ for every other big game animal. Id have to look again but i believe we already have a law stating a minimum weight projectile also i believe its 170 grain making round balls for sub 50 cal illegal like i say not 100% sure on that one.

Why 400 grains? there is no need for that weight unless you are shooting pure lead. If you are shooting or could shoot a modern bullet that weight is a drag. I believe Washington, of the 3 PacNorWest States, is far ahead of the rest although Oregon has made the move to allow non-lead full bore projectiles.

 

[Fmfdred56]

My thinking is when shooting a small caliber the extra weight may be needed on the elk and moose. I would have no problems using my 410 on elk or moose but wouldnt consider anything less than a 400 grain bullet for such big game.

 

[user20839]

I want a round ball gun but im a big believer in overkill it will be a very big bore roundball gun. As far as the full bore restrictions go i honestly believe that even if i were able to shoot sabots to hunt with id still use my conicals they are just cheap effective and very very fun! I think the only thing id change about the muzzleloader restrictions in my state is id kill the caliber restriction and go 400+ grain bullet over 60 grains+ powder for elk and moose and keep the 40cal+ for every other big game animal. Id have to look again but i believe we already have a law stating a minimum weight projectile also i believe its 170 grain making round balls for sub 50 cal illegal like i say not 100% sure on that one.

Why 400 grains? there is no need for that weight unless you are shooting pure lead. If you are shooting or could shoot a modern bullet that weight is a drag. I believe Washington, of the 3 PacNorWest States, is far ahead of the rest although Oregon has made the move to allow non-lead full bore projectiles.

50 cal. round ball with pure lead is 175 gr. and if cast with w/w it is 173. Still too light for me to be confident. I would use a t/c maxi-ball.

 

[sabotloader]

My thinking is when shooting a small caliber the extra weight may be needed on the elk and moose. I would have no problems using my 410 on elk or moose but wouldnt consider anything less than a 400 grain bullet for such big game.

I am assuming you are talking about lead bullets... if so I agree.

But there are modern bullets with great Terminal Performance available today that could be used and are much lighter and faster + they will have equal energy.

Here is an extreme example with a .503x460 Bull Shop and a .40x230 Lehigh

Like compare these two...

 

[MrTom]

We've been able to hunt muzzies during the regular deer seasons with muzzies here in Minnesota for years. And then a number of years ago they opened a late season [December after the regular seasons close] for blackpowder hunting and hung some restrictions on the season and I just passed on hunting it. I always looked at it as another season for the license revenue cash cow to feed a little longer. I know many personally that ran right out and bought the toys so they might have more hunting time, but really what happened was that these people were shooting deer and not registering them because they'd killed their legal quota during the regular season or they were taking shots so far out of range that deer were being injured and lost due to those projectile and powder use limitations. Slowly they've changed things to favor fewer of the purists and hopefully accuracy and the killing ability of the loads will take sway over the slinging of lead at far distant targets. Today what we can use during regular deer seasons can be used during the late season and I may buy a license if I fail to fill early.

Personally I think that influence by purist and traditional lobbys is detrimental to sound hunting practices simply by removing very well proven ways of killing an animal the size of deer or larger. I think the emphasis should be put on the clean, quick kill. I think that the option to CHOOSE what type of ignition and sighting should be mandated so that a traditionalist or a purist can go afield as they CHOOSE to but I am strongly against these people shoving their ideals down hunters throats who do not embrace the same ideals.

 

[451 whitworth]

Just curious what caliber restrictions you have in your state? And your opinions?

My .45 Caliber Muzzleloader With Green Mountain LRH Barrel is my favorite of all Muzzleloaders, I shoot bullets in this rifle that weigh over 400 Grains and move along right at 1400 FPS, Yet i can NOT hunt Elk here in my home state of Idaho with my .45 Caliber Muzzleloader? BUT on the contrary i CAN legally hunt Elk with a .25ACP in a firearm season, a .25ACP is about as ineffective of a weapon as i can possibly think of? How does that work/make sense??? I totally understand the light weight Round ball for .45 Cal at 128 Grains NOT being fit for Elk hunting, But why not make a Projectile weight restriction for .45 Caliber say in the 300 Grain range? This would EASILY take Round Ball totally out of it, but would allow you to Elk Hunt with your .45 Cal Muzzleloader using a heavy conical bullet. A .45 Cal with heavy Conical Bullets is EVERY bit as effective as any .50 Cal!! This Rule really gets under my skin here!

The only ML'er elk I ever killed (I'm mainly a bow hunter) was in Idaho back in the early '90's before all those new regulations. I shot a 5x5 with my Parker Hale .451 Whitworth. I jumped it in some timber blow downs and broke it's back with the Lyman 457121 as it ran away at about 35 yards. My never went big game hunting before college roomate was with me carrying my T/C Renegade with .58 cal PRB which we used to finish it off. I understand not liking round balls when using the commonly available .45, .50, .54 as your base line. Big game round ball rifles need diameter and my .58, .69, and .72's hammer game well.

 

[Fmfdred56]

I was talking about lead bullets, im just starting to experiment with other type bullets. my wife shot her buck with a 170 grain lehigh cf bullet this year it worked very well but i question the penetration if her shot placement hadnt been so perfect. I think i just need more experiance to have more confidence in the light bullets. Even in my centerfire guns i shoot heavy for caliber bullets 107s in the 243, 117 in the 257, all the way up to 500 grainers out of the 460 weatherby.