mcb
Member
So though my profile says I am in Alabama I grew up and hunted in Ohio for most of my life. I always dreamed of hunting deer with a rifle there, but for all the time I lived there it was a slug only state, though they did add handgun hunting in the late 1990's. Unfortunately I moved out of the state the year they allowed straight wall cartridges for the first time so I have not yet had a chance to hunted with a rifle in my home state. I have several rifles now that would be legal and given my Ohio roots I was intrigued by the 350 Legend.
Now Ohio hunting regulates for rifles have change since it was first allowed in the 2014-15 season. The first two or three season it was rifles chambered in one of a very specific list of cartridges (like 357 Mag, 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 45-70, 50-90 etc). Since then the law has change and reads as follows: "All straight-walled cartridge calibers from a minimum of .357 to a maximum of .50."
At first blush it would seem that 350 Legend would be legal. And I admit that from the first I assumed 350 Legend would be legal in Ohio but at the NRA show I stopped by the Winchester booth and was talking to a Winchester representative there about the 350 Legend. In the course of the conversation I asked specifically what diameter bullet the 350 Legend used and he replied, "9mm". I followed that question up and asked him specifically," You mean it uses a .355 diameter bullet rather than a .357 diameter bullet" and he replied in the affirmative.
Now you would think .002 inch would not be a big deal but the regulation for legal handgun cartridge in Ohio reads with very similar language: "With 5-inch minimum length barrel, using straight-walled cartridges .357 caliber or larger." In the case of handguns several years ago I called the ODNR office and talked to an officer about this regulation and asked if it would be legal to hunt deer with a 9x19mm handgun and was told it would not be legal. I asked him if a 38 Special handgun would be legal and he replied it would be. He indicated that the .357 caliber was very specific and was why 38 Special was legal and 9mm was not. So at least at that point in time when Ohio said .357 or larger than meant that very specifically.
So if that interpretation has continued into the new rifle regulations, and as far as I can see there is no reason to believe its changed, and that the person I talked to in the Winchester booth was not mistaken on the bullet diameter, then it would appear that 350 Legend is not a legal deer hunting cartridge in Ohio.
That was a lot of rambling... Thoughts from other Ohio hunters?
Now Ohio hunting regulates for rifles have change since it was first allowed in the 2014-15 season. The first two or three season it was rifles chambered in one of a very specific list of cartridges (like 357 Mag, 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 45-70, 50-90 etc). Since then the law has change and reads as follows: "All straight-walled cartridge calibers from a minimum of .357 to a maximum of .50."
At first blush it would seem that 350 Legend would be legal. And I admit that from the first I assumed 350 Legend would be legal in Ohio but at the NRA show I stopped by the Winchester booth and was talking to a Winchester representative there about the 350 Legend. In the course of the conversation I asked specifically what diameter bullet the 350 Legend used and he replied, "9mm". I followed that question up and asked him specifically," You mean it uses a .355 diameter bullet rather than a .357 diameter bullet" and he replied in the affirmative.
Now you would think .002 inch would not be a big deal but the regulation for legal handgun cartridge in Ohio reads with very similar language: "With 5-inch minimum length barrel, using straight-walled cartridges .357 caliber or larger." In the case of handguns several years ago I called the ODNR office and talked to an officer about this regulation and asked if it would be legal to hunt deer with a 9x19mm handgun and was told it would not be legal. I asked him if a 38 Special handgun would be legal and he replied it would be. He indicated that the .357 caliber was very specific and was why 38 Special was legal and 9mm was not. So at least at that point in time when Ohio said .357 or larger than meant that very specifically.
So if that interpretation has continued into the new rifle regulations, and as far as I can see there is no reason to believe its changed, and that the person I talked to in the Winchester booth was not mistaken on the bullet diameter, then it would appear that 350 Legend is not a legal deer hunting cartridge in Ohio.
That was a lot of rambling... Thoughts from other Ohio hunters?