Need help. Legal Handgun barrel length in your State.

[Redhawk1]

I need anyone that can post what there States legal barrel length is for handgun hunting in there State. If no hunting with handguns is allowed please post that also.

Thanks

Delaware has no handgun hunting.

[KYsquirrelsniper]

Kentucky doesn't have a barrel length requirement.

The only real requirement is that for use on deer, the pistol must be a centerfire. So, technically you could use a 25 auto or a 38 snubby if you wanted to :roll:

[Van/TX]

Arkansas and Texas have a 4" minimum length....Van

[macbullet]

.

[Gregory]

Illinois

4" min barrel length.

[bigbore442001]

In Massachusetts:

There is no minimum barrel length, but they cannot be used for deer or turkeys. You can hunt small game and black bear in the early part of the season with handguns.

There is a section on calibers pertaining to night hunting. After sunset, one cannot use a rifle greater than 22 lr or a handgun greater than 38 caliber for raccoon and opossum.

During the black bear season, one is limited to a revolver of 357 magnum or larger.

I'd like to add that you need to have a license to carry as well.

I also hunt Connecticut and they are similar in that  you can use a handgun for small game except on state lands leased for pheasant. Also, you cannot use a rifle or handgun larger than 22 lr after sunset. Again, you need a permit to carry as well.

[RCL]

From the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website.......


 
Handgun*- any centerfire pistol or revolver. Barrel length maximum is 16 inches
 
 
* - It is illegal to hunt with:
a fully automatic firearm;
an autoloading firearm that holds more than 6 shells (except an autoloading pistol with a barrel length under 8 inches);
any firearm equipped with a silencer.


http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/guide/legalimp.html

[Graybeard]

Alabama 4". No scopes for turkey hunting.

[ftw]

Georgia: No barrel restrictions .22 Caliber or larger,centerfire only with expanding bullet.

[crawfish]

NC 6 inches

[rickyp]

in MD it is a min of 6 "
no special handgun season but you can use a handgun to hunt in western MD and parts of the eastern shore ( same counties as rifles) but you can use a M/l handgun in every county

[CJ]

PA,
No restriction on bbl length, but
Small game  Manually operated less than .23
Fall turkey Manually operated.
Deer Manually operated centerfire.
Also,only allowed in RIFLE legal areas.

[New Hampshire]

New Hampshire:  No bbl length limitations.  However, if using a handgun in shotgun only areas you are limited to the following calibers; .357 Mag, 41 Mag, 10mm, 44 Mag, .45 colt and .480 Ruger.  Outside of that, in rifle territory, anything can be used.  No handguns for Turkey (or rifles for that matter.)
Brian M.

[leverfan]

Washington requires 4" or longer barrel, and a .243" or larger centerfire cartridge.  We used to have a minimum energy requirement, but a poorly done rewrite of the game laws ended it.

[LMM]

INDIANA

Deer Hunting

Minimum of 4"

Muzzleloading handguns must have a barrel at least 12 inches long, measured from the base of the breech plug excluding tangs and other projections to the end of the barrel including the muzzle crown.

All other no restrictions on barrel length.

[cattleskinner]

In Ohio, you can use a handgun only during the firearms season, and the minimum barrel length is 5".  No limitations on sights, but it does have to be chambered for a straightwalled cartridge .357 caliber or larger.

~~~Cattleskinner

[SaguaroKid]

Iowa, for deer 4" min. also .357 min.

[palgeno]

I'm told that for southeastern Wisconsin, minimum is 6 inches from the firing pin----so the cylinder counts as barrel length in revolvers----don't know about the rest of the state---too many layers of bureauocracy at work here---no wonder the state (barely) went for Kerry!!!   pg

[redawg]

Nebraska for Antelope and Deer:
-No minimum barrel length.   (Got the email on that one today.)
-Cartridge must deliver 400 ft-lbs @ 50 yds.  
-Semi-automatic weapons capable of holding more than six rounds are  not legal :roll: .  (Rules out my Glock 10mm )
-During firearm seasons for deer, you are not allowed to hunt other animals with anything other than a .22 rimfire or smaller, or a shotgun, unless you have an unfilled deer permit.  Ex: If you want to go coyote hunting during deer season, you can't use any type of centerfire weapon, unless you have an unfilled deer permit with you.
-Handguns are not allowed for Elk or Bighorn Sheep.  Odds of drawing a permit for either isn't very good anyway.
That's all I could find.

[myronman3]

I'm told that for southeastern Wisconsin, minimum is 6 inches from the firing pin----so the cylinder counts as barrel length in revolvers----don't know about the rest of the state---too many layers of bureauocracy at work here---no wonder the state (barely) went for Kerry!!!   pg

i have never heard of that one.  dnr regs say 5 inches from the muzzle to the firing pin, with the action closed.   this is a statewide regulation.

[Van/TX]

"In Ohio, you can use a handgun only during the firearms season" I should hope so   ....Van

[Dave in WV]

West Virginia - 4". For deer,bear, or boar a straight wall case of at least .357 magnum or a bottle neck case of at least 6mm.

[cattleskinner]

Everyone's a comedian!!!  :roll:    :roll:

~~~Cattleskinner

[RadioTech]

Handguns: Centerfire handguns, minimum barrel length is four (4) inches, chambered for .24 caliber or larger and 100 grain or heavier soft-nosed bullet having an overall cartridge case length of 1 1/4 inches or longer are legal.

[Special Ed]

For "shotgun zone" Michigan:
A conventional (smokeless powder) handgun must be .35 caliber or larger and loaded with straight-walled cartridges and may be single- or multiple-shot but cannot exceed a maximum capacity of nine rounds in the barrel and magazine combined.

[baitwaister]

Idaho has no barrel length law.  Can only hunt during general fire arm season and must be larger than a .22. No muzzleloader handgunning

[palgeno]

Myronman---that barrel length info came from a  longtime hunter in this area where only shotguns or handguns are allowed---supposedly the 6 inch length was mandated to eliminate  hunting with 1911's!!!! I'd better go to the local DNR office and find out---although I have found that I don't always get the same answers from the various personell there. :eek: pg

[myronman3]

well kiddies, i was wrong.  it is 5 1/2 inches, with the action closed.  

while it is possible that a local ordinance is written somewhere, i would have to see it in print before i believed it.  

the 5 1/2 inches pretty much rules out the 1911; unless you have a longslide.

[Sixgun]

A little more info on Idaho.  

You can use any handgun for small game hunting.
You can use any centerfire handgun for big game except,
   You can use a rimfire for couger.
You cannot use a rimfire to finish off big game.
You can shoot mountain grouse with any weapon.
You cannot hunt turkey with anything but a shotgun.
You can carry any handgun on any hunt.  Idaho does not restrict your right to self protection.

Sixgun
Conservation Officer, Idaho Dept of Fish & Game

[bigbore442001]

I remember reading about a black powder handgun hunt for mountain lion in Idaho. This was in the Black Powder Hunter magazine.

I wonder if that has changed or it is still oK.