New rifle cartridges legal in Iowa

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

"Rifles firing straight wall or other centerfire ammunition propelling an expanding-type bullet with a maximum diameter of no less than .350 of an inch and no larger than .500 of an inch and with a published or calculated muzzle energy of 500 foot pounds or higher is legal for hunting deer during the youth and disabled hunting season and first and second shotgun seasons."

Notable additions...

.35 Whelen
.358 Winchester
.375 Winchester

 

[Forestryguy]

Huh... Guess I need to get caught up on Iowa regs. Haven't had time to hunt, and haven't put in for points, since I left there a few years back. Would have been nice to be able to use those cartridges for reducing doe numbers.

 

[long hunter]

You did not mention , 45-70, 450 Bushmaster, both very good deer cals. and the thing with the 45-70 is you can roll yer own with black powder.

 

[Scrappy]

Great way to get even more people shot during the gun seasons. I believe one of the ones shot last year or so was from a rifle.

 

[OMB]

Great way to get even more people shot during the gun seasons. I believe one of the ones shot last year or so was from a rifle.

People getting shot during deer season has absolutely zero to do with rifle calibers and more to do with unethical and unsafe behavior. Iowa is literally surrounded by states without caliber restrictions and there's no discernable difference whatsoever with weapons allowed. I see this pop up all the time on Iowa forums or facebook groups and I can't for the life of me understand how this attitude is so pervasive within a state with a generally well educated population.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

People getting shot during deer season has absolutely zero to do with rifle calibers and more to do with unethical and unsafe behavior. Iowa is literally surrounded by states without caliber restrictions and there's no discernable difference whatsoever with weapons allowed. I see this pop up all the time on Iowa forums or facebook groups and I can't for the life of me understand how this attitude is so pervasive within a state with a generally well educated population.

Native Iowan here and couldn’t agree more. Guys have been running roads with CBs chasing coyotes with high powers for decades and rarely (if ever?) has there been an accident.

Most hunting accidents in Iowa (and other places) are due to mistakes and not following safe firearms handling rules.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

You did not mention , 45-70, 450 Bushmaster, both very good deer cals. and the thing with the 45-70 is you can roll yer own with black powder.

I did mention the straight walls above, and they’ve been legal for several years now. Many guys have switched to .450s, but I’d say in this area most have switched to .350 legend. This is due to a few factors:

1- almost zero recoil but fantastic terminal performance at moderate ranges
2- designed to be fired from AR platform and uses same lower as 556/.223, enabling guys to hunt deer with same rifle with simple upper change
3- perfect round to introduce youth and small statures hunters to the sport

 

[caesAR15]

People getting shot during deer season has absolutely zero to do with rifle calibers and more to do with unethical and unsafe behavior. Iowa is literally surrounded by states without caliber restrictions and there's no discernable difference whatsoever with weapons allowed. I see this pop up all the time on Iowa forums or facebook groups and I can't for the life of me understand how this attitude is so pervasive within a state with a generally well educated population.

Amen. The line I get really tired of hearing is the played out "but muh trophy quality will suffer" trope you hear from fudds who just can't seem get past the thought new hunters and new options harvest deer in our state (as if the DNR has no ability to manage anything such as tag allotments, season dates, etc) -- I say this all as I prep my old wingmaster for this year's season

 

[OMB]

Amen. The line I get really tired of hearing is the played out "but muh trophy quality will suffer" trope you hear from fudds who just can't seem get past the thought new hunters and new options harvest deer in our state (as if the DNR has no ability to manage anything such as tag allotments, season dates, etc) -- I say this all as I prep my old wingmaster for this year's season

"muh trophy quality will suffer" they say as they post pictures of their 5 year old kid pounding a 3 year old buck in October over a bean field with a gun during youth season.

The amount of comments I've seen from people thinking that "elephant guns" are going to destroy the trophy quality in Iowa now are astounding. The number one reason Iowa has great trophy quality is season dates, specifically not starting the bow season until Oct 1 and not gun hunting until after the rut in December. "hurr durr somebody's gonna use a 375 Cheytac and blow deers legs off at a mile" is a comment I've definitely seen more than once, completely ignoring the fact guys are shooting muzzleloaders out to 500 yards in October during early muzzleloader season.

I love you Iowa, but the cognitive dissonance is too strong to ignore.

 

[Rich M]

After 40+ years with 3006, I got a 350 legend last year and really like it. If you reload and get some softer bullets, it is a viable 300 yard gun. Have a load that shoots about an inch at 250 yards and can't get back another 50 yards to play with it at 300.

Nice to see a state adding cartridges instead of removing them.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

"muh trophy quality will suffer" they say as they post pictures of their 5 year old kid pounding a 3 year old buck in October over a bean field with a gun during youth season.

The amount of comments I've seen from people thinking that "elephant guns" are going to destroy the trophy quality in Iowa now are astounding. The number one reason Iowa has great trophy quality is season dates, specifically not starting the bow season until Oct 1 and not gun hunting until after the rut in December. "hurr durr somebody's gonna use a 375 Cheytac and blow deers legs off at a mile" is a comment I've definitely seen more than once, completely ignoring the fact guys are shooting muzzleloaders out to 500 yards in October during early muzzleloader season.

I love you Iowa, but the cognitive dissonance is too strong to ignore.

Trust me, it hurts to read some of those cringey posts.

 

[msalm]

I think the majority of IA hunters are on board with it. So far this year I’ve built 3 358 Win rifles (re-barreled 450 BM’s) and finished 1 out of 4 35 WSM’s so far, along with making some ammo for a friends 35 Whelen. All for IA this year.

 

[DropTyne]

This would be a great reason for me to "need" a 35 Whelen or 9.3x62.

 

[hutty]

They added straight-walled calibers for deer hunting 2 years ago here in Maryland in shotgun-only counties. Hunters have really taken to them, with the .350 legend probably being the most popular. Also seeing some of the old guns come out of the safe and being used. I love the .350 and own an elephant gun lol.

 

[Jimbee]

After 40+ years with 3006, I got a 350 legend last year and really like it. If you reload and get some softer bullets, it is a viable 300 yard gun. Have a load that shoots about an inch at 250 yards and can't get back another 50 yards to play with it at 300.

Nice to see a state adding cartridges instead of removing them.

Care to share any load data? I just picked up a cheap used 350 legend single shot.

 

[Rich M]

Care to share any load data? I just picked up a cheap used 350 legend single shot.

Very nice!

Been using Lil Gun - think the load was published at 25.7 gr - 28 but im not 100%, if you research it online, will pop up.

Fury bullets sells 158, 170, 180 gr in .355. The 158s shoot nice. The expand below 1200 fps. Guy said they stopped testing at 1200.

Hornady ftx 165 gr shoots real nice. They will expand down to 800 fps.
The $16/ box of 20 winchester solids is a good deal and the shoot pretty good. Use the winchester brass and small pistol primer (same as a .357 mag).

Hornady brass wont accept the small p primer and is soft. I get more speed w winchester brass.

I also use 357 mag crimp and crimp the bullets.

 

[Honyock]

It's odd that we killed 68,879 deer in Oklahoma with rifles in 2022 and no one got shot. I can't remember the last time someone was shot by someone deer hunting in Oklahoma. Anything 223 or larger is legal to use.

 

[IowaNative]

Been using a 444 for the last few years in central and southern Iowa on our farms. Game changer over the shotgun I grew up with. Still harvest the same amount, but I do a lot less tracking.

This year we experienced the excess tag antlerless season with high powers. It was pretty fun getting back out when everything else had closed up. Also allowed us to fill the freezer all the way. I like being able to cut up a few here and there vs all at once time over 3 full days.

 

[KenLee]

This would be a great reason for me to "need" a 35 Whelen or 9.3x62.

Yep I'd be buying a Whelen if I lived there.

 

[keystone112]

If you want a lever action, don’t mind buying a used one (expensive), and have ammo available, I recommend the following:

444 Marlin if you want a thumper.

375 Winchester if you want great performance and less recoil.