Cartridge minimums

[The Fish Box]

The Alaska thread has me wondering how many guys have actually gotten busted, or allowed minimum caliber requirements to influence their rifle choice?
I don’t hunt a ton but between myself and the guys I know it comes out to a fair amount of days in the field. No one I know including myself have ever been checked.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

I doubt many will incriminate themselves on a public forum, if they didn’t let minimum caliber requirements effect their choice.

I’ve never been checked in Alaska, but I would guess that a place like Colorado or California might be different.

 

[AntelopeEater]

I always follow the law, but of all the times I have had an interaction with a park ranger or game warden, they sometimes check license, they sometimes check if ammo is non-lead (non-toxic shot on wildlife refuges)

But they have never checked the caliber of any of my guns, or the draw weight of my bow when bow-hunting.

 

[hereinaz]

I can’t see any benefit for going below the minimum worth the risk.

 

[Legend]

The Alaska thread has me wondering how many guys have actually gotten busted, or allowed minimum caliber requirements to influence their rifle choice?
I don’t hunt a ton but between myself and the guys I know it comes out to a fair amount of days in the field. No one I know not myself has ever been checked.

How long have you been a game warden? You need to be a little more sly.

 

[LongWayAround]

I’ve never been checked in Alaska, but I would guess that a place like Colorado or California might be different.

One of our local wardens in Colorado asked to see one of my rounds last year.

That was a first, other than having shotgun shells checked for steel/lead.

 

[medvedyt]

every year but not in Alaska while going for bison hunting in winter ... they are checking the caliber as the law here require a caliber .30 minimun ... i ve been checked as well on a river trip and few times on lake while hunting for ducks and making sure i had no access on lead ammo for the shotgun ...

 

[Felix40]

Tickets for hunting with fmj ammo or field points are surprisingly common. I haven’t seen any minimum caliber tickets but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Unless you are being a total fool or doing some special hunt (like bison or mtn goat in a park) it would generally be seen as a total chicken shit ticket.

 

[Timberline001]

While hunting with a 6x45 in Washington I got checked by a game warden. He asked why the brass was stamped .223 and I explained to him what it was and he actually went and got a caliper out of his truck and measured it. Washington law was the only reason I built that gun for my sister or I would have just had her shooting a .223.

 

[roadrunner]

So...it would be okay to break the law because a game warden probably won't check that you're using a caliber that isn't legal?

 

[Loper]

The Alaska thread has me wondering how many guys have actually gotten busted, or allowed minimum caliber requirements to influence their rifle choice?
I don’t hunt a ton but between myself and the guys I know it comes out to a fair amount of days in the field. No one I know including myself have ever been checked.

I’ve often wondered this myself and was thinking of posting the question on here recently. With the .223 thread popularity and people putting together more rockslide specials, I’ve just assumed there’s a good amount of people who have ignored a caliber minimum and put the 223 to use even if it is just once for a single hunt.

 

[z987k]

The Alaska thread has me wondering how many guys have actually gotten busted, or allowed minimum caliber requirements to influence their rifle choice?
I don’t hunt a ton but between myself and the guys I know it comes out to a fair amount of days in the field. No one I know including myself have ever been checked.

The current Alaska regulations only have a firearm minimum for bison and there is no minimum bullet diameter. Only at least 175gr and 2800ft-lbs at the muzzle. Lots of ways to get there and without a bullet puller, a scale and a chronograph absolutely no way to actually tell in the field.

 

[Macintosh]

Afaik there’s only a few states where a 22 centerfire would be illegal to hunt with due to a caliber restriction, so I guess Im surprised folks assumed there were people ignoring legality. I believe in my state…which is stupidly Progressive about a lot of things and seems to be sprouting laws against various things as fast as our lopsided legislature can pass them…doesnt have any restriction whatsoever, I believe 22lr would technically be legal. Given that, its not something that wardens check here. On the rare occasion I see a warden they are checking that people have licenses, maybe checking fish in a livewell, on-water dui etc.

 

[z987k]

While hunting with a 6x45 in Washington I got checked by a game warden. He asked why the brass was stamped .223 and I explained to him what it was and he actually went and got a caliper out of his truck and measured it. Washington law was the only reason I built that gun for my sister or I would have just had her shooting a .223.

Minimum bullet diameter seems pretty stupid anyways. You could load a 243 to 500ft/s and be legal, while a normal 22-250 isn't.

 

[Dave0317]

Yep, most of these types of laws are poorly written and show the lack of knowledge on the topic the legislators usually have.
Like bullet diameter having any correlation to lethality.

I get the weapons/seasons rules are there to manage game numbers and herd counts, opportunity, etc. They are often a bit arbitrary as well, but I at least understand it.

The attempt to intertwine law and ethics with calibers, bullet types, Mag capacity, etc. are where it gets goofy. I guess they have to draw the line somewhere, but you think they would consult some knowledgeable people in that first.

suppressors and “assault weapons” while not strictly a hunting law topic, is the other area where politicians get up and proudly proclaim their ignorance. They literally ban safety features and then claim it’s for public safety. Lol.

 

[rookieforever33]

Its not worth the ticket to bother. Im not letting them regulate me into being a criminal. Ive seen guys lose their RIGHT to hunt for several years by getting caught trying to game the system. If I dont like the laws there I wont spend my money to hunt there. Not pay a fine to line their pockets with.

 

[Timberline001]

Minimum bullet diameter seems pretty stupid anyways. You could load a 243 to 500ft/s and be legal, while a normal 22-250 isn't.

Exactly. We hunted with an 87 gr v max in that rifle and .223 88 gr eldm would have only done the job better and almost the same velocity but a much better BC.

 

[roadrunner]

Check if there is a centerfire requirement before just assuming any 22 cal is legal....

 

[Marbles]

Even if I disagree with it, so long as the law doesn't demand action that I deem unethical, I try to comply. Caliber/energy is not a hill I will die on.

 

[atmat]

Even if I disagree with it, so long as the law doesn't demand action that I deem unethical, I try to comply. Caliber/energy is not a hill I will die on.

Totally agree. And doing the opposite does nothing to win the general public over to hunters. Be winsome out there, y’all.