State: IN

Why It Matters: Shooting ranges provide recreational shooters a safe, reliable place to practice their sport, while providing hunters the opportunity to sight in their firearms and prepare for a successful hunting season. Protecting ranges from local zoning authorities enacting ordinances designed to hinder their use and maintenance protects the time-honored traditions of sportsmen and women.  Highlights:  Just a gubernatorial […]

Why It Matters: Natural Resources Commissions provide sportsmen and women with a public forum in which they can voice their opinions and concerns and thereby help shape fish and wildlife regulations. Eliminating the Indiana Natural Resource Commission (NRC), as Indiana HB 1003 would have done as originally passed by the House, would have weakened the…

Why It Matters: Natural Resources Commissions throughout the country provide a dedicated forum for hunters, anglers, and trappers to voice their opinions to an appointed body that is specifically comprised of individuals that are knowledgeable about sporting-conservation issues. In many cases, such as Indiana, the Commission also serves as the regulatory entity charged with working with the Department to adopt […]

Why It Matters: Although hunters are at home in the field or woods, they must still be aware of what happens in the halls of their state government. Changes and updates to hunting laws and regulations can impact the pursuit of sportsmen and women’s favorite species, and hunters must stay on top of those changes…

Why It Matters: Advancement in muzzleloading technology has created a modern iteration of the classic firearm with enhanced safety and reliability without sacrificing the characteristics that have defined muzzleloader hunting for hundreds of years. Following a citizen petition that has the support of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Hoosiers may be able to more…

Why It Matters: While decisions that impact sportsmen and women are typically forged in statehouses and commission meetings, Governors can have significant influence over a state’s legislative and regulatory initiatives and wield powerful veto authority. Joining the Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC) is not only a public commitment to hunters and anglers, but also provides a…

Over the past decade, several states have introduced regulations allowing these cartridges, which provide effective, safe hunting options in densely populated zones. Straight-walled cartridges are considered safer due to their lower velocity and reduced risk of over-penetration compared to traditional bottlenecked cartridges, making them ideal for areas with high population density. These cartridges also often…

Why It Matters: State fish and wildlife agencies are staffed with wildlife biologists that are equipped with the experience and expertise needed to make sound, science-based decisions that benefit the state’s natural resources. Legislation that would impose unnecessary requirements on an agency, curtail its management authority, or add financial and staffing burdens threatens not only…

Why It Matters: Following an overhaul of the state’s regulatory processes by the Indiana General Assembly, the process through which harvest quotas are set in the Hoosier State has been significantly complicated. Rather than harvest quotas being set based on population data collected by the Indiana DNR, those quotas must now be set through a…