Legality of concealed carry why hunting in MD

[Biggie313]

I hunt whitetail on the eastern shore. We camp on private property and am friends with the owners. We have written permission to carry "weapons". So I figured I am covered there, but what about carry a handgun on our leased public land? the 2 properties are neighboring, and we walk from one to the other. Since I am "hunting" can i carry my handgun concealed then too? it is not a legal caliber to hunt deer with BTW.

 

[Abacab]

Unless it's private property you own or you have permission from the owners the answer is no - I think. Even if it's leased public land, it's still owned by the public.

 

[JSW]

if you have a written lease than I think you would be covered, since your the renter for the time period under the lease.



note: I am not a lawyer but I have stayed at a holiday Inn express before.

 

[Markp]

I hunt whitetail on the eastern shore. We camp on private property and am friends with the owners. We have written permission to carry "weapons". So I figured I am covered there, but what about carry a handgun on our leased public land? the 2 properties are neighboring, and we walk from one to the other. Since I am "hunting" can i carry my handgun concealed then too? it is not a legal caliber to hunt deer with BTW.

Ooops, Yes, I think you can... but it has to be unloaded. Not sure how useful the unloaded handgun will be though. You can't load it or fire it according to this.

(a) Prohibited.-

(1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a person may not:
(i) wear, carry, or transport a handgun, whether concealed or open, on or about the person;

(b) Exceptions.- This section does not prohibit:

(4) the wearing, carrying, or transporting by a person of a handgun used in connection with an organized military activity, a target shoot, formal or informal target practice, sport shooting event, hunting, a Department of Natural Resources-sponsored firearms and hunter safety class, trapping, or a dog obedience training class or show, while the person is engaged in, on the way to, or returning from that activity if each handgun is unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster;

 

[Ab_Normal]

(4) the wearing, carrying, or transporting by a person of a handgun used in connection with an organized military activity, a target shoot, formal or informal target practice, sport shooting event, hunting, a Department of Natural Resources-sponsored firearms and hunter safety class, trapping, or a dog obedience training class or show, while the person is engaged in, on the way to, or returning from that activity if each handgun is unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster;

What effin' good is a gun that has to stay unloaded?

 

[ThatIsAFact]

anti-carry law one thing, hunting rules another

Ooops, Yes, I think you can... but it has to be unloaded.

As I have pointed out in past threads in this forum, the first in 2007 here, the anti-carry provisions of Section 4-203, read absolutely literally, do indeed prohibit carrying a handgun openly or concealed except when unloaded and in an enclosed case or enclosed holster -- even when you are at the range, and the same reading would apply to hunting. But, as I argued in those previously threads, 4-203 has not been interpreted or applied to that extreme, since it was clearly not the intent of the legislature to prohibit bona fide target shooting at appropriate locales, for example. The legislature was trying to govern how the handgun is transported to and from the permitted activity, not to prohibit the listed activities -- they were just sloppy in their wording. (I am not a lawyer -- but many of the people who wrote this statute were lawyers.)

4-203 also contains some general exceptions to its anti-carry provisions, including "on real estate that the person owns or leases or where the person resides or within the confines of a business establishment that the person owns or leases." For a person who falls within this exception, the unloaded/enclosed ambiguity is not even a theoretical concern. Those who hold Maryland-issued carry permits are also exempt from the 4-203 restrictions.

However, I would study the Natural Resources article of the Maryland statutes, and all of the associated regulations issued by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, before I embarked on the course of action that you are contemplating. I am not very familiar with those rules. But it is theoretically possible that carrying, for example, a 9 mm handgun while hunting on public land would constitute an infraction of the pertinent hunting regulations even for the holder of a carry permit.

ThatIsAFact

 

[Biggie313]

The land is public, but we have an exclusive lease which we pay for. Therefore we should fall into the clause that is our lease and you can carry on your leased property, loaded or not. I know you could not use it for hunting, but you should be allowed to carry since we are on our lease?

 

[Jim Sr]

Handgun Regulations (Hunting)

Modern and muzzleloading handguns may be used to hunt forest game (handgun hunting for turkey only during the fall season), upland game (except dove and woodcock), coyote, fisher, fox, nutria, opossum, raccoon, skunk, and woodchuck.

Modern handguns may be used to hunt deer only in those counties where the use of a breech-loading rifle for deer hunting is permitted with the exception that modern handguns may be used to hunt deer throughout Frederick County. Any modern handgun used for deer and bear hunting must have a barrel length of 6 inches or more and use ammunition which produces a muzzle energy of 700 foot-pounds or more.

Muzzleloading handguns (both single shot and revolvers) may be used to hunt deer in all counties. Muzzleloading handguns used for deer and bear hunting must be at least .40 caliber in size with a barrel length of at least 6 inches and use not less than 40 grains of black powder (or a black powder equivalent) and propel one all-lead, lead alloy or copper soft-nosed or expanding bullet or ball at a single discharge.

Contact the Maryland State Police for information about handgun purchase, possession, transport and use in non-hunting activities.

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/huntersguide/pdfs/2009_2010_MDHuntGuide.pdf
Page 18, 19.

 

[Biggie313]

my barrel is only 3". I know I can not hunt with it. But i think I can carry it while hunting because

"(4) the wearing, carrying, or transporting by a person of a handgun used in connection with an organized military activity, a target shoot, formal or informal target practice, sport shooting event, hunting,"

 

[ThatIsAFact]

your argument is internally contradictory

my barrel is only 3". I know I can not hunt with it. But i think I can carry it while hunting because "(4) the wearing, carrying, or transporting by a person of a handgun used in connection with an organized military activity, a target shoot, formal or informal target practice, sport shooting event, hunting,"

Let's say that you are hunting on the leased land and the game warden finds out that you have a stub-nosed .38 in your parka pocket. It appears that you want to argue that you are not violating the hunting rules because you are not hunting with that gun, but at the same time you want to argue that you are not violating 4-203 because there is an exception in 4-203 for carrying a handgun "used in connection with . . . hunting." I don't think that works very well.

That's why the exception for land that you have leased should be of more interest to you. But your name better be on that lease.

Even if you qualify for the lease exemption, however, that is just an exemption from a 4-203 violation, not from any possible hunting-rule violations. I don't know whether there is anything in the hunting regulations that presumes that if you are hunting and are carrying the "wrong" weapon then you are committing an infraction, but if there is, it won't do you any good at all to talk about 4-203. It is apples and oranges.

I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but my advice would be to study the hunting regulations about handguns carefully no matter what your purpose is in carrying the gun.

ThatIsAFact

 

[Markp]

The barrel length is only an issue for Deer and Bear from what is posted above... is there any restriction on what you can use on other "game" like Nutria which are essentially fair game year round.

Mark

 

[hard_core_emt]

I always pack something open on my side while bowhunting.Way to many bears to stumble on in the dark. Last year while at a bear check-in station set up by the MD DNR. My holster was still on my side empty. Officer made a joke about me tracking my bear with the Gun up to my nose scared shitless. Never asked what it was or where i had it. I was on private land. He never said a word about me doin anything illeagal. But its not illeagal to carry an empty holster either ????

 

[Maryland Hunter]

I always pack something open on my side while bowhunting.Way to many bears to stumble on in the dark. Last year while at a bear check-in station set up by the MD DNR. My holster was still on my side empty. Officer made a joke about me tracking my bear with the Gun up to my nose scared shitless. Never asked what it was or where i had it. I was on private land. He never said a word about me doin anything illeagal. But its not illeagal to carry an empty holster either ????

You're not supposed to carry any gun while bowhunting deer, it's in the regs, I don't know about bear. Sounds like the warden was local and had some common sense about bear hunting.

MH

 

[Nick29]

I can't remember if I saw it in the book somewhere or they said it in my hunter's ed. class, but I've always thought you could only carry a handgun that was legal for what you're hunting. ie: you can't carry a sidearm during bow season, turkey season, or in a shotgun county.