Before 2019, Indiana allowed deer hunters to use rifles only with pistol cartridges. Under a 2019 law, private ground alone became open to additional rifle cartridges, leaving different firearm requirements for private and public property. Legislation passed in 2025 abolished both distinctions together. Ending cartridge limits for rifles while giving public and private ground the same firearm rules could increase an average hunter's reach and efficiency. A one-buck cap is designed to counter that sort of pressure.
KEY FINDINGS
- Under Senate Enrolled Act 280 (2025), public-land deer rifles no longer have to use pistol cartridges, and private and public property no longer have separate firearm rules. Centerfire rifles are now lawful statewide with bullets measuring .219-inch (5.56 mm) in diameter or greater.
- The change allows a wider selection of firearms, especially on public land, where legal rifles had been limited to those chambered for pistol cartridges. Average harvest per hunter could increase, but the page provides no harvest data from after the change.
- Trophy quality faces an indirect threat: greater killing efficiency puts pressure on the older age distribution created by the one-buck limit (Working Paper 09).
IThe old line
Until 2019, mainly shotguns and pistol rounds
Indiana, much like several other states in the Midwest, traditionally excluded high-powered rifles from deer seasons. Hunters relied mainly on shotguns, muzzleloaders, and long guns chambered for pistol rounds. Those rules put a ceiling on effective shooting distance and therefore on the ease of killing deer farther away. Firearm requirements also differed between private property and public ground. The limits probably shortened effective shooting distance, which may have curbed harvest efficiency along with the one-buck cap.
IIWhat SB 280 does
Both restrictions lifted by the same bill
With the 2025 law, cartridge limits disappear along with separate rules for public and private property. During the firearms deer season, a hunter may hunt with a centerfire rifle whose bullet diameter is .219-inch or greater on ground open for deer hunting if rifles are permitted there. In practical terms, Indiana shifts from a state of medium-range shotguns to one of rifles. Public property, previously subject to the tightest limits, sees the greatest change. Added reach could make successful kills out of more chances: hunters may harvest a greater proportion of deer they encounter.
Under the rifle law, hunters may carry different firearms. If the law improves the efficiency of hunters who are already afield, each hunter would remain limited to a single buck by the one-buck rule.
IIIThe trophy tension
Killing efficiency versus buck age distribution
The trophy position Indiana holds (Working Paper 09) depends wholly on bucks growing older, which requires them to live through hunting seasons. Limiting hunters to one buck encourages them to spare young bucks. A firearm with greater lethality and reach makes bucks of any age, including young ones, easier to kill when hunters choose to shoot. These policies now work against each other. Whether Indiana retains its age distribution depends on hunters' decisions. If hunters do not choose selectively, Indiana's advantage in older bucks could fade as fewer animals live to older ages.
IVWhat to watch
What to track
Follow the ages of harvested bucks during the next few seasons, rather than the overall harvest count. Pay special attention to public ground, which experiences the biggest firearm shift. A rising proportion of yearlings among harvested bucks would not, by itself, separate out the rifle law's influence or establish the age distribution of live deer. Hunters' choices and sampling can alter that proportion too. An unchanged proportion would neither establish that these policies balance one another nor demonstrate that the herd's age distribution remained unchanged. Following the ages of harvested bucks in coming seasons may help evaluate the effects of relaxing firearm limits for hunters' convenience.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Indiana's Senate Enrolled Act 280 (2025) ends cartridge limits for rifles and separate firearm treatment of private and public ground. Centerfire rifles require a minimum bullet diameter of .219-inch (5.56 mm). Sources: Indiana Code § 14-22-2-8; Indiana DNR, in.gov/dnr.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. Fully Drawn Research is independent and not affiliated with the Indiana DNR. This paper analyzes a publicly enacted law and is informational only, not legal, hunting, or wildlife-management advice. Confirm current firearm regulations with the Indiana DNR before hunting.
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