State Hunting Laws
Is your cartridge legal for deer in your state? Caliber minimums, straight-wall requirements, energy floors, nontoxic mandates — checked against the official regulation, with the citation and verification date on every rule.
Legality Checker
Pick a state, species, and weapon — add a cartridge for a full check.
Browse by State
Alabama
Alabama Division of Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries
Alaska
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Arizona
Arizona Game & Fish Department
Arkansas
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
California
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Colorado
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Connecticut
Connecticut DEEP Wildlife Division
Delaware
Delaware DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife
Florida
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Georgia
Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division
Hawaii
Hawaii DLNR Division of Forestry & Wildlife
Idaho
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Illinois
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Indiana
Indiana DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife
Iowa
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Kansas
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
Kentucky
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
Louisiana
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Maine
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Maryland
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Massachusetts
MassWildlife
Michigan
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Mississippi
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Missouri
Missouri Department of Conservation
Montana
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Nebraska
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Nevada
Nevada Department of Wildlife
New Hampshire
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
New Jersey
New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife
New Mexico
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
New York
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
North Carolina
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
North Dakota
North Dakota Game and Fish Department
Ohio
Ohio Department of Natural Resources — Division of Wildlife
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
Oregon
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Game Commission
Rhode Island
Rhode Island DEM Division of Fish and Wildlife
South Carolina
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
South Dakota
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks
Tennessee
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Texas
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Utah
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Vermont
Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
Virginia
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Washington
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
West Virginia
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Wyoming
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Deer Rifle Rules at a Glance
Statewide rules for deer with a rifle. Zones and county ordinances can differ.
| State | Rifle for Deer | Min Caliber | Straight-Wall Only | Semi-Auto Ban (Big Game) | Nontoxic Statewide | Rifle Capacity Cap | Suppressor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Alaska | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Arizona | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Arkansas | Yes | .22 | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| California | Yes | None | No | No | Yes | — | Restricted |
| Colorado | Yes | .24 | No | No | No | 6 rounds | Legal |
| Connecticut | Yes | .243 | No | No | No | — | Restricted |
| Delaware | Straight-wall only | .357 | Yes | No | No | 3 rounds | Restricted |
| Florida | Yes | None | No | No | No | 5 rounds | Legal |
| Georgia | Yes | .22 | No | No | No | — | Restricted |
| Hawaii | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Restricted |
| Idaho | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Illinois | Yes | .30 | No | No | No | Single-shot | Restricted |
| Indiana | Yes | .219 | No | No | No | 10 rounds | Legal |
| Iowa | Yes | .35 | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Kansas | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Kentucky | Yes | None | No | No | No | 10 rounds | Legal |
| Louisiana | Yes | .22 | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Maine | Yes | None | No | No | No | 5 rounds | Legal |
| Maryland | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Massachusetts | No | n/a | No | No | — | Restricted | |
| Michigan | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Minnesota | Yes | .22 | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Mississippi | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Missouri | Yes | None | No | No | No | 11 rounds | Legal |
| Montana | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Nebraska | Yes | .22 | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Nevada | Yes | .22 | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| New Hampshire | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| New Jersey | No | n/a | No | No | 3 rounds | Restricted | |
| New Mexico | Yes | .22 | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| New York | Yes | None | No | No | No | 6 rounds | Restricted |
| North Carolina | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| North Dakota | Yes | .22 | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Ohio | Straight-wall only | .357 | Yes | No | No | 3 rounds | Legal |
| Oklahoma | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Oregon | Yes | .22 | No | No | No | 5 rounds | Legal |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | None | No | Yes | No | — | Legal |
| Rhode Island | No | n/a | No | No | — | Restricted | |
| South Carolina | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| South Dakota | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Tennessee | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Texas | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Utah | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal* |
| Vermont | Yes | None | No | No | No | 6 rounds | Legal |
| Virginia | Yes | .23 | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Washington | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| West Virginia | Yes | None | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Wisconsin | Yes | .22 | No | No | No | — | Legal |
| Wyoming | Yes | .22 | No | No | No | — | Legal |
* from a rule marked needs review: not yet checked in the regulation text.
How We Verify
Every rule in this tool carries a citation to a state statute, administrative code, official agency regulation digest, or federal regulation (50 CFR) — plus the date we last verified it. Rules we could not yet pin to a primary source are labeled needs review and never produce a green "legal" answer on their own. State pages without verified data say so explicitly rather than guessing.
Hunting regulations change every season — several states rewrote their deer-rifle rules for 2025–26 alone. Rules older than 14 months are automatically flagged for re-verification. The controlling document is always the current official regulation, not this page.