Hunting deer with a .38 Special

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Diamondback

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I have been involved elsewhere in a discussion regarding hunting deer with pistol calibers. I made the statement that I knew of no state that legally allowed deer hunting with a .38 Special. Perhaps I am grossly misinformed.

Some one referred me to the following California hunting statute claiming that indeed it is was legal for a hunter to take deer with a .38 Special in CA:
From Cal Fish and Game.
(c) Pistols and revolvers using centerfire cartridges with softnose or expanding bullets may be used to take deer, bear, and wild pigs
__________________
Click to expand...

Can anyone from CA confirm this applies to the .38 Special......and in general, are there other states that allow this practice.

Personally, notwithstanding the legal issue, I would not hunt deer with this caliber, under most circumstances. In this post I am just looking for an education regarding the statutes and the legal use of the .38 Special caliber to hunt deer.

- regards
 
http://www.fgc.ca.gov/2006/mammalregs06.html#353

Perfectly legal. Here's the law:

(c) Pistols and revolvers using centerfire cartridges with softnose or expanding bullets may be used to take deer, bear, and wild pigs.

(d) Pistols and revolvers with minimum barrel lengths of 4 inches, using centerfire cartridges with softnose or expanding bullets may be used to take elk and bighorn sheep.
Click to expand...

You can legally use a .38 Special 2" barrel to hunt deer, as long as you use expanding bullets. For Elk, you have to have a 4" barrel.

That doesn't mean anyone actually does this.:)
 
You can legally use a .38 Special 2" barrel to hunt deer, as long as you use expanding bullets. For Elk, you have to have a 4" barrel.

That doesn't mean anyone actually does this.
Click to expand...
Originally from NY, where the caliber allowed to hunt deer is more restricted, as it is in most Eastern states, I made an assumption that had no basis in fact what-so-ever. A man lives and learns. Thank you for that clarification, ArmedBear !

- Regards
 
YIKES!!! I am not criticizing the idea of using a low energy round like the .38 special as a primary hunting round...I just haven't known of anyone who has...

When I deer hunt, I wear a .357 magnum revolver as a 'secondary' or 'backup' firearm (eg: the rifle/shotgun is leaning against a tree and making a move to get it will spook the deer...like while quietly eating or taking a whiz);

with that said, I carry a Bianchi Speed Strip loaded with .38 specials (158 grain lead round nose) that I would use for a close shot to the cranium or neck to put down a suffering animal;

with that said, I live in PA and I cannot find anything in the way the regulations read that forbid using .38 special...guess anything is possible
 
You know...truthfuly, I believe I made an assumption about all state deer hunting laws based upon my personal experience as a hunter while residing in NY state. I just never knew anyone who hunted deer with the .38 Special. I am aware that the .22LR is a favorite of poachers for obvious reasons.

- regards
 
Here in Arkansas you can hunt with any handgun from 25ACP up provided that the barrel is a MIN of 4" long


In rifles NO FMJ bullets. a minimum of .22 caliber centerfire.


Don't poo poo the 38 you can load some VERY heavy cast bullets on that shorter case and still have them fit in a revolvers cylinder
 
Don't poo poo the 38 you can load some VERY heavy cast bullets on that shorter case and still have them fit in a revolvers cylinder
Click to expand...
Of course you're right.....a heavy bullet loaded similar to what Buffalo Bore does with their 158gr. +p LSWCHP out of a 6" revolver or lever action carbine would be lethal on smaller deer within 0-70 yards...perhaps a bit more.

- regards
 
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Michigans laws for Handgun hunting in the "Rifle Zone"
It is legal to hunt deer in the rifle zone with any caliber of firearm except a .22caliber or smaller rimfire (rifle or handgun).

Michigan Handgun laws for the "Shotgun Zone"
A conventional (smokeless powder) handgun must be .35 caliber or larger and loaded with straight-walled cartridges and may be single- or multiple-shot but cannot exceed a maximum capacity of nine rounds in the barrel and magazine combined.

Handgun hunting in Michigan is very popular. I have seen Black Bear killed with .357's and many White Tails killed with 38's and 9mm's very effectively.

Most people in Southern Michigan handgun hunt in their Bow Stands so distance is not a factor.

Do a search for some of Moderator Stephen A. Camp's results of hunting with a 9mm.
 
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I wonder if anyone, in states were it's legal, go afield with their trusty 2" Dick Special loaded with the old standard pressure Nyclads stalking deer ??? It would be hard to imagine a Humphrey Bogart type character in a trench coat, fedora, and wing tips roaming the hillsides with a classic film-noir .38 snub in hand seeking a trophy buck.....somehow a blaze orange vest over a belted trench coat seems all wrong ! :)

- Best to all !
 
There was a recent compact between a group of states where they align their hunting regulations so if you were hunting out of state and got ticketed, you could be tried in your home state.

I was told that many of the states that recently broadened the definition of legal handguns as well as crossbows for use in archery season were signatories.

I don't know for certain.
 
I am flat against it whether it's legal or not. Seen a number of deer shot and lost with some pretty heavy caliber rifles. I'm sure there are members here that could use a .38Sp and take deer on a regular basis but they are not the average hunter like most of us.
 
Regardless of what caliber the law will allow, you should think about what is fair to the animal. If you are going to kill it, then put it down with a weapon that will SURELY do the job. In WA, you can hunt Deer with a 9mm. :what:
That seem a little redicules, and so does the .38.

If you feel the need to take the life of an animal, at least kill it well.
 
In Minnesota the regs for Firearms Cases and Bullet diameters are regulated as follows
Subdivision 1. Firearms and ammunition that may be used to take big game. (a) A
person may take big game with a firearm only if:
(1) the rifle, shotgun, and handgun used is a caliber of at least .23 inches;
(2) the firearm is loaded only with single projectile ammunition;
(3) a projectile used is a caliber of at least .23 inches and has a soft point or is an expanding
bullet type;
(4) the ammunition has a case length of at least 1.285 inches;
(5) the muzzle-loader used is incapable of being loaded at the breech;
(6) the smooth-bore muzzle-loader used is a caliber of at least .45 inches; and
(7) the rifled muzzle-loader used is a caliber of at least .40 inches.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), clause (4), a person may take big game with a ten
millimeter cartridge that is at least 0.95 inches in length, a .45 Winchester Magnum cartridge, or a
.50 A. E. (Action Express) handgun cartridge.

I don't have any .38 Specials to measure but I think they meet the case length .
 
Note that there is another reason for allowing this.

Suppose you want to carry something like a Ruger SP101 .38Sp in 3" as a backup gun when approaching downed game in the brush, where a big bolt gun is not good for much.

There's no reason you couldn't use it to put down a wounded deer of the size common here. It would be a lot more humane than what I saw this season, when a guy was charged by his apparently dead but actually wounded deer in the brush and had to point-shoot it a few times at close range with a full-sized rifle. Shot a couple legs off before he got lucky with a neck shot. A little .38 on his belt would have been far better.

Nothing wrong with a .38 for that purpose. However, you'd get a fat fine for using it, if the regulations didn't allow it.
 
It just has to be a centerfire in Texas. I often carry a light .38, especially hunting out west spot and stalk, for rabbits and a coup de gras gun. It's light and handy. I also carry .357s loaded with .38s, though, more versatile.

I think in Texas it just has to be a centerfire.
 
.38 special is a great hunting round for small game and has been extensivly used in medium game, such as deer, hog, etc.
 
Good question, I will check NM because Im going feral pig hunting with 357mag in three weeks. But I thought here it had to be a magnum cartridge which included .45ACP.
 
Yeah, I would think .380 is a little uh....light for Elk around here since they weigh about a million pounds in New MExico.
 
In KS there are certain cartridge dimensions that must be met:

For deer:

Legal handgun for deer - centerfire handguns that are not fully automatic, fire a bullet larger than .23 inches in diameter, and use a cartridge case 1.280 inches or more in length, while using only soft point, hollow point, or other expanding bullets.
Click to expand...

1.28 inches is about the size of a .357 magnum casing.

For small game anything goes; slingshot, bb/pellet gun, handgun/rifle, bow/crossbow.
 
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