Hunting white tail with a pistol?

[GoOfY-FoOt]

The way I understood it, is that it is a county ordinance that seems to be worded to exclude all rifles for deer.
Did I read that correctly? The state says .23 or bigger, but the county says .22 or smaller, meaning No Rifles for deer. ???

Or perhaps I misunderstood, as well...hmmph?

edit to add: Maybe the OP'er should just hunt in another county and avoid the issue all together? Just a thought.

[rdf.hack]

Yes I realize. As Goofy said, I live in Lancaster County, which prohibits use of rifles for deer, by saying you can only hunt with a .22 or smaller rifle (Varmint hunting) while the legal limit for deer is .23 cal. However it does not prohibit handguns.

I've considered hunting in another county, but the nearest county I'm aware of is Matthews, which is almost an hour away. I'm at an advantage in my own county, I have a large tract of wooded property where I have figured out the local deer movement patterns during the deer season.

I may get a functional shotgun by then, so I may not need the .45 Colt, but its always nice to prepare.

[mete]

BfloBill, 6" ? When did they change that ? IIRC it used to be 4" ,then any centerfire .Anyway I use my old 6.5" 44 mag ,it works well on deer !

[shortwave]

I live in Lancaster County, which prohibits the use of rifles for deer, by saying you can only hunt with a .22cal. or smaller rifle(varmint hunting) while the legal limit for deer is .23

RedDaemonFox,

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to refute what your saying but just want to make sure your not cheating yourself out of using your 'potentially' legal rifle if its .23cal. or larger for deer hunting.

Looking up VA hunting regs on www.dgif.virginia.gov/hunting/regulations then clicking to firearms regulations, you'll see highlighted in blue and caption about Local Firearms Guidelines.
Clicking on that, you'll get a list of counties with numbers to the right of each county. Scrolling on down you get an extensive, numbered list with all the locals laws. The numbers to the right of each listed county is the numbers you scroll down to for your specific county.
Other than thoughs specific laws, all state laws apply.

The way I'm reading Lancaster County is as follows:

Lancaster 6,12,26

Law #6 reads: No rifles larger than .22 for hunting outside of regular hunting season.

Law #12 reads:It is unlawful to use muzzleloading rifles for game animals in the regular hunting season.

Law #26 reads: No hunting with firearms of any game animal from the road including ditch to ditch.

Again, I would check with your local wildlife office to insure what your intitled to hunt with cause I don't interpret rule #6 as you apparently are. I think It would be worthwhile.

My interpretation is of law#6(laws 12/26 don't really appy to discussion) is as follows:

It does not say you cannot use anything larger than .23 during regular hunting season but they don't want you hunting with anything larger than a .22 when it's not deer season.

[publius]

several deer have died from being hit with a 255gr. SWC out of my .45 colt. That's my pick.

[bamaranger]

Somebody tell me, what pray tell is ".23 caliber"? Never heard of anything so odd. Sounds legalese for no .22 centerfires.

RE deer handgun hunting. For me, handgun range is bow range, which again, for me is 40 yards or so and half (or less) of that is better. I use climbing or put up stands, play the wind and opportunities are close. Problem is, every time I take a handgun, the shot doesn't present. Take the bow the next day and one goes by at 10 yards, full daylight, no problem.
(seasons here in AL often run concurrent) Taking both handgun and bow same time is illegal.

My handguns are all portable, 4-5" rigs w/ iron sights. Before my eyes get any worse as I age, I WILL kill a deer, with a handgun. Likely w/ G20/10mm or a 629 mtn .44. I got the handgun hunting bug in the early 80's and got pretty handy on groundhogs w/ a 6" M27. Before I could kill a deer, I got the bowhunting bug and have gone that route for deer more than any other. Maybe this year.

[shortwave]

...what prey tell is ".23 caliber ammo?...

Good question.

Sounds legalese for no .22 centerfires

...or rimfires.

My thoughts also.

As I read through VA's hunting laws,local laws in particular, as stated in earlier post, the list of counties with special 'local' laws are listed with numbers out to the right of them.

Law #7 states: no rifles.
There are about 10 counties listed which have this law and Lancaster Co is not one of them.

Again, Lancaster Co. list's law's #6,12 and 22.

Reading law #6 does NOT interpret that you cannot use a larger than .23 cal. rifle during regular hunting season in Lancaster Co.

It means they don't want you using anything larger than a .22 outside of regular season.



One of three things is going on:
A. There's another law pertaining to rifle hunting in Lancaster Co.(specific) that I can't find.

B. Whomever wrote the 'book' of various 'local' laws for the different counties didn't word things very well or clearly when it came to Lancaster Co....thats assuming RedDaemonFox is correct and there's no rifle hunting there.

C. RedDaemonFox has miss-interpreted the laws in Lancaster Co.

OR...

RedDaemonFox is looking for an excuse to ultimately buy a pistol for hunting and is telling wife he can't use his rifle to hunt with.

If thats the case, thats very understandable as I've been guilty of that one also.

[AJG]

RedDeamonFox,

In Lancaster County, you ARE NOT allowed to use a pistol for hunting.
Reference The General Information & Hunting Regulations, Legal Use of Firearms and Archery Equipment section.
12th point down:
-Pistols and revolvers are lawful for deer and bear hunting only in those counties where hunting deer and bear with rifles is lawful. Cartridges used must be .23 caliber or larger and have a manufacturer's rating of 350 footpounds muzzle energy or more.
Since it IS NOT LEGAL to use rifles larger than .23 caliber in Lancaster County, you cannot use a handgun.
Shortwave (and others) have not included all of rule #6 for Lancaster County:
#6 reads in its entirety:
"6. No rifles larger than .22 for hunting except groundhogs outside of the regular hunting season."
This means that a person (farmer or private land owner) may use a rifle with a caliber larger than .22 to hunt groundhog ONLY outside of regular hunting season. Leaving out the groundhog in this regulation makes it interpreted very differently...

People here are giving you advise based on incomplete understanding of the regulations.
Don't listen to ANYONES thoughts, including mine to determine what you go into the woods with.
Call your counties VDGIF office and ask them.

[shortwave]

LANCASTER ='S NO RIFLE AND PISTOL

AJG,

You are absolutely correct and Thank You.

Per my recent conversation with Gary Martel, Deputy Bureau Director of VA's Wildlife Resources Dept....

Only shotgun and muzzleloader are legal to hunt deer with in Lancaster Co.

Too, Mr. Martel was not impressed with the way the #6 law is worded in the earlier posted via VA's website under Local laws and could see how it could be misleading. It's apparently not as detailed as the actual written booklet as AJG found.

Maybe clearer 'wording' to come in the future eh! ... sooo

To the OP.
Better get that shotgun fixed or use a muzzleloader.

Thanks again, AJG... and yes,as I also posted, its always best to check directly with people inforcing the laws of where your going to be.