# .40 S&W for deer??



## 5Cent

I just bought a new .40 S&W and was thinking about using it for deer season. While talking to my roomate, he said he didn't think I could because the casing isn't 1" long. I looked in the manual and can't find anything on this length rule, just caliber size and muzzle size. Any information would be much appreciated.

Adam


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## DaleM

The law states it MUST have at least a 6" barrel and be of 38 cal.or bigger
I've seen nothing about casing size. E-mail or call ODNR to be sure. Better safe than to lose the gun if your wrong.


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## H2O Mellon

I think the MAJOR law is that it must be a STRAIGHT WALL CARTRIDGE, a .40 isnt a straight wall, I thought it had to be something like a .41 Mag or larger. I know that most handgun hunters like myself, say nothing short of a .357. Up until this year it also said the gun had to be a revolver, but that wasnt included, so the guys w /Desert eagle 44's were in luck.


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## Darwin

A few years back there used to be a line in the hunting regs that stated .357 cal or larger with a straight walled cartridge 1" or longer. That has since been changed because as it is not anywhere in the ORC. You still must use a .357 or larger with a 5" minimum on barrel length. I myself have never fired a .40 S&W so I cannot advise wether or not to use it for deer hunting.....


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## 5Cent

Thanks for the information guys. Since the district office is just down the road, i'll ask for sure and let you all know for future reference.

Adam


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## papaperch

No, the .40 S&W was not designed nor imagined as a deer cartridge. The cartridges that are approved are as follows .357 Magnum . 357 Maximum .41 Mag .44Mag and the 45 Long Colt.


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## Papascott

Papaperch, I think that is what the regs said a few years ago befor they started to make alot of new large calibers like the 454, 480 etc. Here is a paste from the current regs as on their website.Gun Season and Youth Deer Gun Season:
10, 12, 16, 20, 28, or .410 gauge shotgun using one ball or one rifled slug per barrel (rifled shotgun barrels are permitted when using shotgun slug ammunition); or muzzleloading rifle .38 caliber or larger; or handgun with 5-in. minimum length barrel, using straight-walled cartridges .357 caliber or larger, or longbow, crossbow (draw weight limitations same as for Archery Season). Shotguns cannot be capable of holding more than three shells (this means the shotgun must be mechanically altered [plugged] to only hold a total of three shotgun slug shells).


Scott


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## H2O Mellon

Thats the key: STRAIGHT WALL cartridge, the .40 S&W isnt a straight wall cartridge, just as a .45 ACP isnt, etc......

Here are some of the more popular handgun rounds for Whitetails:

I'd say #1 is .44 Mag, #2 is probally still a .357 since alot of guys still use them, catching on fast is the .454 since you can use the .454 or .45 colt either one, the round that is probally catching on like wildfire in Ohio is the .45-70, due to T/C Contenders being legal now, plus Magnum Research created the .45-70 revolver. There are still odd balls like the .41 mag, .444 Marlin, .480 Ruger, plus the new .500 S&W.

I shoot a .454 Casua (Ruger). I love it, some say it kicks too hard. Had the S&W .500 been out when I bought my Ruger, I may have considered it. My dad is a faithfull .45-70 fan. The T/C contender still packs a pretty tough punch, your hand will get sore after sighting it in, but you wont beleive how nice the Mag Research .45-70 & .444 Marlin revolvers shoot. They are so well balanced, I've shot .357's w/ more recoil.


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## papaperch

Probably right I have not hunted last few years, but I know that a .40 S& W is not a deer cartridge. Power wise it falls between a 9 mm & 10 mm . The 40 S&W is 10 mm but is slightly less powerful than the full blown 10. Even the 10 mm would not be considered a deer round. For a HUMANE kill the .357 mag is the minimum. I personally favored the 357 maximum. The gun writers trashed this cartridge. Using handloads in a 12" barrelled T/C contender I could have downed any deer out to 200 yards. Deer being what they are , I never shot one with it over 35 yards. Just my luck develop a reliable 200 yard load and never see one that far.


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## H2O Mellon

hand gun huntign has came so far in the last few years, I think its great.


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## Lil' Rob

Curious....you guys sound pretty well informed. Here's a good question. A couple of years I was looking into a few rifles to hunt in PA with family out there. In my looking around, I was looking at some 30-30 and saw one from Winchester, the model 94 lever action, same gun a cousin has. I saw that this rifle was also available in .357 magnum and .44 magnum. 

I ended up getting a 30-06 and have used it once (sucessfully) in PA. I decided on this caliber, with the plans of going out west, cousin and I are building preference points in CO.

So, here's the question, if the cartridge is legal in Ohio (357 &44), would the lever action model 94 be a legal gun to use those calibers?


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## H2O Mellon

I wish, however the answer is no, not legally. Just as a New England Single shot rifle in .45-70 is not legal. A T/C Encore isnt legal either.-Sorry man! I'd love to use my Rossi .454 lever action rifle in ohio!


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## Lil' Rob

I figured that was the answer.


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## H2O Mellon

It has been brought up though, to try & get 30 caliber rifles legal in certain counties on Ohio. I sure hope that comes to life.


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## Lil' Rob

That would certainly make sense. Michigan has shotgun zone and a rifle zone. I think the northern part of that state allows rifle due to the lower population. It shouldn't be all that difficult to designate some of the SE counties of Ohio as rifle or shotgun. It would probably create some controversy as to which ones, but folks would eventually get over it.


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## 5Cent

Yes, I believe they'd do divided zones and such if we ever got rifle hunting brought up, but personally I wouldn't like to see it. Don't get me wrong, I love hunting whitetails with my 30-06, but only in PA. Being here in Athens, I wouldn't be to keen on rifle hunting during gun season. The foothills in PA are more rolling than steep, and the pitch of the ridges is a much greater distance. With the combo of shotgun and muzzleloaders (which reach plenty far), I believe we should be content with what we got. Just wish I would have thought about hand gun hunting before buying my gun, woulda got a .357 Mag


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