---
type: "Bill"
title: "Deer hunting."
description: "Provides that, for a hunting season beginning after June 30, 2025, rifles may be used to hunt deer on public property subject to certain restrictions. Removes certain rifle case length limitations and provides that a hunter may use a rifle chambered for a centerfire rifle cartridge that fires a bullet that is at least five and fifty-six hundredths (5.56) of a millimeter in diameter or larger to hunt deer. Prohibits the department of natural resources from adopting rules regarding centerfire rifle case length limitations."
jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
session: "2025"
identifier: "SB 280"
citation: "Indiana SB 280 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["AGENCIES; Department of Natural Resources (DNR)", "FIREARMS AND WEAPONS", "NATURAL RESOURCES; Fish and Wildlife", "PROPERTY; Generally"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Chris Garten", "Scott Baldwin", "Shane Lindauer", "Tyler Johnson"]
version_count: 6
action_count: 29
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2025-01-13"
last_action: "2025-04-16"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/58414b23-b6f1-4049-a1ea-0c5f85d26b6d"
source_url: "https://api.iga.in.gov/2025/bills/sb0280"
source_hash: "7a9bd2f3b6c22b14b2efd39ada1145e3c95719e9984ddb728c2d361b01565191"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
---

# Indiana SB 280 (2025) — Deer hunting.

Provides that, for a hunting season beginning after June 30, 2025, rifles may be used to hunt deer on public property subject to certain restrictions. Removes certain rifle case length limitations and provides that a hunter may use a rifle chambered for a centerfire rifle cartridge that fires a bullet that is at least five and fifty-six hundredths (5.56) of a millimeter in diameter or larger to hunt deer. Prohibits the department of natural resources from adopting rules regarding centerfire rifle case length limitations.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Engrossed Senate Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/senate/bills/SB0280/SB0280.03.ENGS.pdf)
2. **Engrossed Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/senate/bills/SB0280/SB0280.05.ENGH.pdf)
3. **Enrolled Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/senate/bills/SB0280/SB0280.06.ENRH.pdf)
4. **Introduced Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/senate/bills/SB0280/SB0280.01.INTR.pdf)
5. **Senate Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/senate/bills/SB0280/SB0280.04.COMH.pdf)
6. **Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/senate/bills/SB0280/SB0280.02.COMS.pdf)

## Votes

- SB 280 - Baldwin - 3rd Reading — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- SB 280 - Lindauer - 3rd Reading — **92–0** (pass) · lower
- SB 280 - Baldwin — **46–1** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Chris Garten — primary (person)
- Scott Baldwin — primary (person)
- Shane Lindauer — primary (person)
- Tyler Johnson — primary (person)
- David Abbott — cosponsor (person)
- Jeff Raatz — coauthor (person)
- Matt Commons — cosponsor (person)
- Robb Greene — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-01-13** First reading: referred to Committee on Natural Resources `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2025-01-13** Authored by Senator Baldwin
- **2025-01-16** Senator Garten added as second author
- **2025-01-27** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2025-02-03** Senator Johnson T added as third author
- **2025-02-03** Senator Raatz added as coauthor
- **2025-02-03** Amendment #1 (Baldwin) prevailed; voice vote `amendment-passage`
- **2025-02-03** Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2025-02-04** House sponsor: Representative Lindauer
- **2025-02-05** Referred to the House `referral`
- **2025-02-04** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 71: yeas 50, nays 0 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2025-03-03** First reading: referred to Committee on Natural Resources `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2025-03-13** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-13** Representative Commons added as cosponsor
- **2025-03-17** Representative Greene added as cosponsor
- **2025-03-17** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2025-03-17** Representative Abbott added as cosponsor
- **2025-03-24** Placed back on second reading
- **2025-03-25** Reread second time: amended, ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2025-03-25** Amendment #1 (Lindauer) prevailed; voice vote `amendment-passage`
- **2025-03-28** Returned to the Senate with amendments `receipt`
- **2025-03-27** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 320: yeas 92, nays 0 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2025-03-31** Motion to concur filed `filing`
- **2025-04-02** Signed by the President Pro Tempore `passage`
- **2025-04-01** Senate concurred with House amendments; Roll Call 331: yeas 46, nays 1
- **2025-04-03** Signed by the Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-09** Signed by the President of the Senate `passage`
- **2025-04-16** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-16** Public Law 76 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/58414b23-b6f1-4049-a1ea-0c5f85d26b6d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).