FQ, they approved the .44 mag carbine. Any rifle in pistol caliber can be used in the State of Indiana. Unfortunately, we can only hunt deer with shotguns but can pop a coyote with a AR-15, 7mm bolt rifle, 30-06, etc. Sad but true.
Most of that is not based on anti gun ideology, however. Its just DNR's way of controlling the population of a given species, and it is highly effective. Its based on the idea that the more primitive the weapon the hunter must use the lower the percentage of a kill.... thus it increases the population to require shotgun/primitive weapons. The most effective/controllable tools DNR has at their disposal are:
*limits on number of licenses issued
*limits on types of weapons that can be used
*length of season
Some states even go as far as having multiple seasons within the season. It will start with primitive weapons..... go to rifle season for only about a couple weeks..... go to shotgun..... and go back to primitive weapons at the end of the season.
Other states will go through several years of shotgun only to let the populations recover, and then open things back up to rifle.
Staying on top of what is and is not legal can become very confusing depending on where you live and how much DNR has to micromanage animal populations.