The 1.8 Regulator

[Good Cheer]

Some states have regulations on deer hunting that limit cartridges to a 1.8" maximum case length.
This results in human ingenuity flowing around regulators like a creek around the latest fallen rock.
Indiana has the additional requirement of .35 minimum caliber. Hence the .35 Hoosier and many others. Including the practice of trimming .35 Remington brass to the maximum allowed length and crimping the bullet in place.
In considering the various ways that available calibers and cases can be manipulated to overcome the prevailing slowwittedness it occurred to me that perhaps a solution lies in being as backward as the regulators. Christian Sharps had a great idea.

What if a 45-70 case is trimmed to 1.7", the paper patched boolit is breech seated into the rifling, the charge of black seated and the primed shortened brass seated? Is the 45-70 rifle now legal to shoot an Indiana deer with. Well, the way I read the rules I'd have to say yes. It appears to me that this would be true as well with a .375H&H.

Maybe it's time to take a good hard look at breech seating before investing in a reg compliant wildcat.

[petroid]

That method is legal and has been used but if using that method you may as well be shooting a muzzle loader. Some will trim the brass and seat the bullet to normal oal. It's still legal and quicker to reload. But the 375 wouldn't work unless done in the way you describe

[Good Cheer]

Next step in the train of thought; why not use smokeless?

[rintinglen]

Next step in the train of thought; why not use smokeless?

Because the bullet in the bore would act like an obstruction and the gun might not be strong enough to deal with that.
Were I bone stone set on using my 45/70 Marlin in such a state, I'd load a 1.8 grain long case with a longish boolit seated out to around 2.5 inches.
But I've a perfectly good Marlin 44 Mag that would work just as well.

[CHeatermk3]

Unless your game wardens are a lot more savvy about the fine points of cartridges than any it has been my luck to encounter, your choice of weapon/cartridge will be defined by what is stamped on the barrel rather than what you claim to be using to the warden you meet in the field.