Handgun barrel length in NC

[riddleofsteel]

Here in NC to hunt big game with a handgun it must be at least as powerful as a .357 and have 6 inch barrel.
I just saw a notice on the NCwildlife web site that in 2005-2006 the barrel length provision may be dropped.
 http://yerfrockethellhound.com/stagblackhawks.BMP

I guess my 4 5/8" Blackhawk .45 Colt will get some woods time as a primary as well as a backup gun.
My 7.5" .45 Colt Blackhawk has been my companion on many a woodland adventure. Several deer and a particularly nasty feral hog have fallen to it over the years. I trust it but the 4 5/8" just has a balance and ease of carry that appeals to me.

[ftw]

Georgia went from one extreme to the other. The old law required a five inch barrel and ammo capable of 500 foot pounds of energy at 100 yards.(or something like that)

Then they changed it to read any centerfire caliber .22 or larger with expanding bullets. So legally you could hunt with a .25 auto. I hope they think we have enough sense to use a proper caliber.

I agree with you on the 4 5/8. I have a Blackhawk in .41 mag and it handles and carries great.

[riddleofsteel]

In NC it will be .24 or larger with the .357 magnum power level as the base. I think that part is highly open to debate as some factory .357 Mag loads are pretty weak.

[Mack in N.C.]

the old nc regs say 6 inches min lenght for 22's(small game) and 6 inches for big game 357 or bigger for straight wall and 24 for bottleneck...the new regs have dropped both lengths to 5.5 inches.......i doubt nc will go to a smaller lenght...mack

[riddleofsteel]

http://www.ncwildlife.org/news_stories/pg00_NewsRelease/pg00_proposed_changes05.pdf

Go to the last page.

"MANNER OF TAKE
H23. Remove barrel length restriction and standardize caliber requirements
for handguns used in taking big game.
JUSTIFICATION: Current barrel length restrictions have eliminated the use
of accurate handguns that fire cartridges as powerful as the .357 magnum.
This proposal would allow use of handguns that are no less than .24
caliber."

I do not see any length specified. This is the proposal the final regs may be different. Can you quote a soure of your info?

[Mack in N.C.]

yes i can.......you can not go by proposed regulations.......look at a hard copy of the current 2004-2005 regs......page 30 and part of 31 are tittled "manner of taking"..then look under "pistols"......i will quote the first paragraph undr pistols......during the open season for rabbits, squirrels, oposssums, raccoons, furbearing animals and legal nongame animals and birds, these species may be taken with a pistol of .22 cal with a barrel not less than 5.5 inches in lenght and loaded with long rifle ammunition.           un quote....
now the 4th paragraph under pistols.......
deer , bear, and wild boar maybe taken with a handgun during the established gun hunting season provided the handgun has a barrel length at least 5.5 inches in length, that metallic center fire cartridges firing single projectiles be used, that straight walled ammunition must be as powerful as .357 mag (.38 cal excluded) ant that bottleneck ammunition must be no less than .24 cal with a total length, including the projectile, of no less than 2 inches . muzzleloading pistols are not legal for hunting>  
......unquote......
i will repeat that everything gets proposed in nc but must dont pass.............mack

[Mack in N.C.]

also.....if you want to get technical about the nc regs..it only says 22's for small game loaded with long rifle ammunition and for big game the cal must be .357 or bigger for straight walled  or .24 cal for bottleneck ammunition for dear, bear and boar.....no where does it say that a .223 is ok for groundhogs........technically in nc this would be illegal with a pistol.......this is surely an oversight but the regs omit anything for pistols between 22 lr and .24 cal .....mack

[crawfish]

Mack you are reading something into the regulations that isn't there. Groundhogs are not game animals. They are vermin and as such are not governed by the "manner of taking". You could, if you wanted, shoot GH with a pellet gun. BTY for almost five years I attended as many game commission meetings as I could trying to get the cartridge length for bottle necked cartridges dropped and offered my case as proof. I shoot a number of .41 caliber wildcats. The way the regulation is written I can’t use either with some loadings because they are turned into a “bottle neck” by the necking process itself. Take the .41GNR (.44Remmag necked to .41) and the .44GNR#2 (.445Super necked to .41). As the regulations are written I can legally use either of the parent cartridges to hunt but the wild cats with some loadings are not allowed even though they are much more powerful than the .41RemMag, a legal cartridge, and in the case of the .41GNR#2 about 50% more power than the .44RemMag. I got tired of going so I quit last year.

[riddleofsteel]

you can not go by proposed regulations

just saw a notice on the NCwildlife web site that in 2005-2006 the barrel length provision may be dropped

As I said this is a proposal not a law yet. I was expressing joy that if it passes my 4 5/8" Blackhawk may see some time in the field as a primary.

[Mack in N.C.]

crawfish....you are probaly correct in that ground hogs are not protected......and anything is legal....but what about shooting a rabbit with a 38 special match wadcutter...this is done in a lot of states but our regs says rabbits can only be shot with a  .22 pistol loaded with long rifle ammunition......i see you live in the sand hills.....i love to hunt the sandhills for some big fat fox squirrels..i may be there wednesday......we have some almost to raleigh but they cant be hunted ...we have a few in southern wake and chatham co's........back to the barrel length the regs have been at 6 inches since i bought my first contender (1979) ,....i was suprised to see it at 5.5 this year,,,they may drop it but i doubt it..i personally thing 4 inches would be ok in some calibers but i think the commission is reluctant to put it any lower..i think there are scared of people taking snub nose .357 's out to deer hunt....this reduction in length has been proposed many times and it has been only dropped by a 1/2 inch.................thanks mack