I think some of the problem stems from the regs being written by too many who don't understand either hunting or firearms. This is why we ended up with discrepancies such as a 35 Remington being a legal deer round when fired from a handgun such as the Contender and yet the same round isn't legal when fired from a rifle. Most of the deer my son and I have taken over the last few years have been taken with a Contender in either 7TCU or 357Herrett neither of which would be legal from a rifle. Yes, wording of the regs have changed over the years to help clarify intent, but I don't think the basic regs have changed from what was first intended when they were first implemented.
The other part of the problem is trying to make conversation with anyone at Dick's or Walmart.
Neither of them get my money any more and I avoid a lot of the head shaking frustration.