Can anyone point me in the direction of any MA laws or info on carrying handguns and rifles (open or concealed) on non-private, town owned land? Example would be if you had a spot to shoot on with berms etc, but had to walk through woods on that property to get there. Obviously handguns can be concealed, but can they be carried open? Do long guns have to be unloaded and locked? Thank you.
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Mass Laws on Town Property
- Thread starter Shawnyc
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Damn @CrackPot that was fast! MGL 269 12D was what I was looking for. Long guns need to be unloaded and locked. Nothing about handguns though. Also there was this:
“This subsection shall not apply to drills, parades, military reenactments or other commemorative ceremonies, color guards or memorial service firing squads, so-called, as permitted by law.“
so if I’m running my own drills am I exempt? Lol
“This subsection shall not apply to drills, parades, military reenactments or other commemorative ceremonies, color guards or memorial service firing squads, so-called, as permitted by law.“
so if I’m running my own drills am I exempt? Lol
CrackPot
NES Member
I just went to MGL and put in "firearm public way". I knew what the law said, it is just not one of the numbers I know off the top of my head. Chap 140 sec 121-131Y I can likely quote without looking up. Hard to be an FFL with the business model of finding non-traditional ways of satisfying customer desires w/o familiarity with chap 140.
D
Deleted member 67409
Your own? Likely no. "Drills" is likely intended to mean Mass National Guard or Mass State Defense Forces (currently inactive) drilling. Or, historically, the town militia. Check if the term's defined in a definitions statute. I didn't and am not going to check for case law.
AHM
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MisterHappy
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You misread it: clause (b) stipulates that the long gun be cased, not locked; the exception to this, is that you are lawfully engaged in hunting (so, if you have to cross a road, or walk down one to reach your car, you don't have to case it, just unload it).
General Law - Part IV, Title I, Chapter 269, Section 12D
malegislature.gov
There is no law against open carry (properly licensed) of a handgun, but it may raise eyebrows. Also, depending upon the location of the spot, gunfire may arouse the neighbors to call Five-O.
And, from the context of the "drills"....I'm pretty sure that a shoot-'n'-move drill is not what is meant.
![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
Good try, though.one-eyed Jack
Manufacturer
Just don't do it. Legal or not, some dingbat will call the cops if they see you OC. "Suitable" will get you. Jack.
I don't believe you need to unload it.the exception to this, is that you are lawfully engaged in hunting (so, if you have to cross a road, or walk down one to reach your car, you don't have to case it, just unload it).
General Law - Part IV, Title I, Chapter 269, Section 12D
" (d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the carrying of a loaded or unloaded rifle or shotgun on a public way by ....... (iv) a person who is lawfully engaged in hunting and is the holder of a valid hunting or sporting license issued pursuant to chapter 131. "
If you're hunting, that section doesn't apply. The firing within xxx feet of a road / across a road / within 500' of a house without permission sections still apply though.
MisterHappy
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Hunting within 150 feet of a road, or within 500' of a building in use (without appropriate permission is what's prohibited. You are considered to be actively hunting if you're carrying a loaded gun.
This is what the EPOs are extremely clear about, in Hunter Ed classes. They will cite/jam you up for having a loaded gun within the above limits. And, for these purposes, Primtive Arms are treated like "real" guns, and must be unloaded as well (no primer, cap, or priming powder).
IANAL, but this is the reality WRT the hunting exemption.
This is what the EPOs are extremely clear about, in Hunter Ed classes. They will cite/jam you up for having a loaded gun within the above limits. And, for these purposes, Primtive Arms are treated like "real" guns, and must be unloaded as well (no primer, cap, or priming powder).
IANAL, but this is the reality WRT the hunting exemption.
HorizontalHunter
NES Member
It is listed under hunting prohibitions in the abstracts page 20. No hunting within 500 feet and No discharge within 150’. Like MH said a loaded firearm is considered evidence of hunting.
In Connecticut that caused me some PIA issues as a cocked crossbow was considered a loaded weapon (regardless of whether an arrow was on the rail) and hunting ended at sunset. It has since change to the same definition Massachusetts uses. An arrow on the rail is considered loaded.
Discharge of any firearm or release of any arrow upon or across any state or • hard-surfaced highway, or within 150
feet of any such highway.
Possession of a loaded firearm, discharge of a firearm, or hunting on the land of another within 500 feet of any dwelling or building in use, unless permitted by the owner or occupant.
Bob
Take a look at MGL C. 131 for all the hunting restrictions. It's all in there.
HorizontalHunter
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2006 Massachusetts Code - Chapter 131 — Section 58. Shooting upon or across highway; hunting near dwelling.
Section 58. A person shall not discharge any firearm or release any arrow upon or across any state or hard surfaced highway, or within one hundred and fifty feet, of any such highway, or possess a loaded firearm or hunt by any means on the land of another within five hundred feet of any dwelling in use, except as authorized by the owner or occupant thereof.
Section 58. A person shall not discharge any firearm or release any arrow upon or across any state or hard surfaced highway, or within one hundred and fifty feet, of any such highway, or possess a loaded firearm or hunt by any means on the land of another within five hundred feet of any dwelling in use, except as authorized by the owner or occupant thereof.
Yes, fine, seen that repeatedly.
However it doesn't answer the question I asked above, which was "Where does it say that you can't hunt within 150' of a road?". Not on someone else's land. Not near a house. Not shoot within 150' of a road, hunt.
MGL does say that the prohibition from carrying within 150' of a road does not apply if you are hunting. The hunting laws say you can't shoot across a road. The hunting laws say you can't shoot within 150' of a road.
Where do the hunting laws say that you cannot carry a loaded weapon within 150' of a road? If you're standing 75' from a road and an EPO comes up to arrest / ticket you, what law / regulation would he cite you for violating?
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MisterHappy
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The relevant page of the Abstracts, is p.20.
Now...I will agree with you, that it does not say, "Don't have a loaded gun within 150' feet of a road," however, if you may not discharge within 150' of a road, you have no reason to have it loaded within 150' of a road, when lawfully engaged in hunting. You may not agree with me, but this is what the EPOs state in the Hunter Ed courses. And to be clear on terminology, we're talking long guns.
And as for the "hunting laws" permitting stuff, it's actually the reverse; you're prohibited by MGLs from carrying an uncased long gun on a public way, unless lawfully engaged in hunting, so the hunting part is actually a work-around for letting a hunter cross the road.
Call the EPOs, if you want, for clarification. I'm not a Lawyer, or EPO, and my opinion is worth what you paid for it.
HorizontalHunter
NES Member
The CMR’s and case law count as well as the MGLs I’m currently on vacation and the Internet is crappy here with the MIFI. Maybe MH can chime in as he does the hunter safety classes.
Bob
321CMR 3.00(g)
(g) No person while hunting shall release an arrow from a bow upon or within 150 feet of any State or hard surfaced highway or within 500 feet of any dwelling in use, except as authorized by the owner or occupant thereof.
Section 3.01 - Hunting, Generally, 321 Mass. Reg. 3.01 | Casetext Search + Citator
Read Section 3.01 - Hunting, Generally, 321 Mass. Reg. 3.01, see flags on bad law, and search Casetext’s comprehensive legal database
casetext.com
HorizontalHunter
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MH beat me to it.
Bob
Bob
Past there being no way to reconcile these two paragraphs, it appears that this is coming down to "because the EPOs say so", which is unlikely to be an acceptable cite on a summons.
So, since there appear to be no laws or regulations saying it, is there any case law saying that you cannot carry (again, carry, not shoot) a loaded long gun within 150' of a road while hunting, or is this simply a case of regulatory interpretation writ large?
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MisterHappy
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I'd say that it's the regulatory interpretation, that has enough gravitas to be sufficient to cite a person. IIRC, EPOs have regaled us with stories of jamming people up with ammo in the shottie near the road. This is why I suggested that you call the EPOs for a clarification. They're not always right - I had one in a HE class wrongly state that the AWB mag capacity applied to pump shotguns (he agreed that he was not correct), but they are The Law In The Woods.
I'm pretty sure that my chain of reasoning, beginning with the bolded "however" is their thought process.
Give John Woodslaw a call, and let us know what they say, and/or cite.
Until then, I'll keep telling the students in HE classes to unload before they cross into the Forbidden Zone
I'm pretty sure that my chain of reasoning, beginning with the bolded "however" is their thought process.
Give John Woodslaw a call, and let us know what they say, and/or cite.
Until then, I'll keep telling the students in HE classes to unload before they cross into the Forbidden Zone
