Deer Hunting Equipment
Hunters may use any legal equipment to hunt deer as long as that deer hunting season is open, and they have the appropriate deer hunting license or meet a license exemption.
For example, a hunter with a deer license bundle may carry both a bow and a rifle during firearms season because archery season is also open.
Hunters may carry more than one type of firearm during seasons where those firearms are legal.
Vertical Bows:
- Hunters may use hands or other methods such as hand-held release aids (i.e. a draw-loc device) to draw, hold, or release the bowstring.
- Arrows must have broadheads made of metal, napped flint, chert, or obsidian.
- Minimum draw weight of 35 pounds.
Crossbows:
- Device for propelling an arrow by means of limbs mounted on a stock and a string, and having a working safety that may be drawn or held.
- Minimum draw weight of 125 pounds.
Explosive or poisoned arrows and bolts are not legal.
Legal Season: Archery, youth, deer reduction zone.
Licenses for Use: Archery, multi-season antlerless, deer license bundle, youth hunt/trap, deer reduction zone, lifetime license, license exemptions.
- Centerfire rifles with a bullet diameter of at least .219 inches or 5.56 mm.
- Full-metal jacketed bullets are illegal.
- Hunters may carry no more than 10 of each cartridge type at a time.
- May be used on both public and private land.
Legal Season: Youth, firearms, deer reduction zone (beginning with start of firearms season where local ordinances allow).
Licenses for Use: Firearms (buck only), multi-season antlerless, deer license bundle, youth hunt/trap, deer reduction zone, lifetime licenses, license exemption.
- Barrel length: 4 inch minimum.
- Bullet diameter: .234 inch minimum.
- Case length: 1.16 inch minimum, except for 10 mm Auto and .40 S&W.
- Prohibited ammunition: .25-20 Winchester, .32-30 Winchester, .30 carbine, and .38 special.
- Not permitted for hunting on military areas.
Legal Season: Firearms, deer reduction zone (beginning with start of firearms season where local ordinances allow).
Licenses for Use: Firearms (buck only), multi-season antlerless, deer license bundle, youth hunt/trap, deer reduction zone, lifetime licenses, license exemptions.
Note: Hunters may carry a handgun while hunting without needing a special handgun license in accordance with Indiana Code 35-47-2-1 found at iga.IN.gov.
- Bore: 10, 12, 16, 20, or 28 gauge or .410 inch.
- Shooting slugs and saboted bullets only.
- Combination rifle-shotguns are allowed.
Legal Season: Youth, firearms, deer reduction zone (beginning with start of firearms season where local ordinances allow).
Licenses for Use: Firearms (buck only), multi-season antlerless, deer license bundle, youth hunt/trap, deer reduction zone, lifetime licenses, license exemptions.
Rifle/shotgun:
- Barrel caliber: .40 inch minimum.
- Bullet diameter: .357 inch minimum.
- Single bullet loaded from the muzzle.
- Powder may be loaded from the breech end.
- Saboted bullets permitted.
- Multiple barreled guns permitted.
Handgun:
- Barrel caliber: .50 inch minimum.
- Bullet diameter: .44 inch minimum.
- Barrel length: 12 inch minimum, measured from base of the breech plug (excluding tangs and other projections to the end of the barrel, including the muzzle crown).
- Loaded from muzzle and single shot.
Legal Season: Youth, firearms, muzzleloader, deer reduction zone (beginning with start of firearms season where local ordinances allow).
Licenses for Use: Firearms (buck only), muzzleloader, multi-season antlerless, deer license bundle, youth hunt/trap, deer reduction zone, lifetime licenses, license exemptions.
- Use non-ignited compressed air or other gas charged by external high compression power source.
- Projectiles: must shoot .40 caliber or larger single bullet generating 400 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy; or an arrow or bolt with a sharpened metal or metal-edged broadhead at minimum of 300 fps at release.
Legal Season: Youth, firearms, deer reduction zone (beginning with start of firearms season where local ordinances allow).
Licenses for Use: Firearms (buck only), multi-season antlerless, deer license bundle, youth hunt/trap, deer reduction zone, lifetime licenses, license exemptions.
Deer decoys: legal to use on public property as long as it doesn’t have an electronic call.
Night vision scopes: legal for deer hunting (except for infrared equipment) during legal hunting hours only – ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
Thermal/Infrared scopes and sensors: illegal for locating and taking deer. However, thermal technology can be used to search for deer that have been legally harvested.
Suppressors: legal for deer hunting as long as the hunter is in compliance with federal law.
Pistol stabilizers: legal for hunting in the appropriate seasons following federal regulations.
Drones: illegal for locating and taking deer. May be used to recover deer that have been legally harvested.
Electronic calls: illegal for deer hunting.
