Minnesota does not have a magazine capacity limit. State law places no cap on how many rounds a magazine can hold, whether the firearm is a handgun, rifle, or shotgun. You can buy, own, carry, and use standard or extended magazines that are legal to sell, with no state-imposed round count. A few boundaries matter, though: a bill introduced in 2026 would impose a 10-round cap, waterfowl hunting has its own shell limit, and certain rate-of-fire devices are banned regardless of magazine size.
What the Current Rule Covers
No Minnesota statute restricts magazine capacity for civilian firearms. A 17-round pistol magazine and a 30-round rifle magazine are treated the same as a 10-round magazine under state criminal law. You can purchase them from any licensed retailer, keep them at home, and use them at the range or in a firearm you are otherwise legally permitted to carry.
Minnesota is in the majority here. Congress imposed a nationwide 10-round cap through the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, but that provision expired in 2004 and has not been replaced. There is no current federal magazine capacity limit.
The Pending Bill: SF 3714
The Minnesota legislature is actively considering a magazine capacity ban. Senate File 3714, introduced in March 2026, would make it illegal to manufacture, import, transfer, own, or possess any magazine holding more than 10 rounds.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. SF 3714 – 94th Legislature 2025-2026 The bill carves out permanently altered magazines that cannot accept more than 10 rounds, .22 caliber tube-fed devices, and tubular magazines in lever-action firearms.
If it passes, a violation would be a felony carrying up to five years in prison and a $25,000 fine. Current owners would have until July 1, 2027, to surrender, permanently modify, or remove affected magazines from the state. Anyone who inherits a large-capacity magazine would have 120 days to do the same.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. SF 3714 – 94th Legislature 2025-2026
SF 3714 remains at the introduction stage and has not been voted on by either chamber. Until a bill is signed into law, the current rule stands: no capacity limit.
The Hunting Exception
The one place existing Minnesota law caps how many rounds your firearm can hold is in the field. For migratory waterfowl, both federal and state rules require a shotgun to hold no more than three shells total: one in the chamber and two in the magazine. The gun must be fitted with a one-piece plug that cannot be removed without disassembling the firearm.2eCFR. 50 CFR Part 20 – Migratory Bird Hunting Conservation officers check for compliance, and violations can result in citations, fines, and equipment seizure.
This applies only during the act of hunting migratory birds. The same shotgun with an unplugged magazine is legal at a range or in your home. Minnesota does not impose a specific magazine capacity rule for big game rifle hunting, but hunters must still follow the DNR’s other rules on lawful methods of take.
Cities and Counties Cannot Add Their Own Limit
Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, and other local governments cannot pass their own magazine capacity ban. Minnesota Statute 471.633 gives the state legislature exclusive authority to regulate firearms, ammunition, and their components, and any conflicting local ordinance is void.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 471.633 – Firearms
Local governments keep two narrow powers: they can regulate the discharge of firearms (where you can shoot, not what you can own), and they can adopt rules identical to state law. A magazine that is legal in rural Otter Tail County is equally legal in downtown Minneapolis.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 471.633 – Firearms
What Is Restricted: Rate-of-Fire Devices
Magazine size is unrestricted, but Minnesota draws a hard line at devices that make a firearm function like a machine gun. Minnesota Statute 609.67 makes it illegal to own, possess, or operate a machine gun, a trigger activator, a machine gun conversion kit, or a short-barreled shotgun.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 609.67 – Machine Guns and Short-Barreled Shotguns
The statute defines a trigger activator as any device that increases the rate of fire to match a machine gun by speeding up how fast the trigger can be pulled; that enables multiple shots per trigger pull or harnesses recoil energy so the trigger resets and keeps firing without additional input; or that fires on both the pull and release of the trigger. That covers bump stocks and binary triggers. Possessing a machine gun, trigger activator, or conversion kit carries up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $35,000, or both.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 609.67 – Machine Guns and Short-Barreled Shotguns
One caveat on the trigger activator piece: in May 2026, the Minnesota Court of Appeals declined to reinstate the trigger activator ban after a lower court blocked its enforcement. The legal status of that provision is in flux. Anyone who owns or is considering purchasing such a device should follow the case closely or consult a firearms attorney before relying on either the statute or the court order.
Traveling Out of State With Your Magazines
Minnesota’s permissive stance does not follow you across state lines. Among Minnesota’s immediate neighbors, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota impose no magazine restrictions. Illinois limits magazines to 15 rounds for handguns and 10 rounds for long guns, with limited grandfathering for pre-ban magazines. Colorado, a common destination for Minnesota travelers, caps magazines at 15 rounds.
If you are driving through a state with stricter laws, the federal Firearms Owners’ Protection Act may help. Under 18 U.S.C. 926A, you can transport a firearm through a restrictive state if you could legally possess it at both your origin and your destination, the gun is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate trunk, the firearm or ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove box or center console.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms The protection covers passing through, not stopping and staying. If your destination state bans the magazine, safe passage does not protect you once you arrive.
For air travel, TSA requires firearms to be unloaded, locked in a hard-sided case, and transported in checked baggage only. You must declare the firearm and ammunition at the ticket counter. A magazine inserted in a firearm counts as loaded even if the chamber is empty, so remove magazines before packing.6Transportation Security Administration. Transporting Firearms and Ammunition The legal problem is not screening; it starts when you land in a state that bans the magazine you packed.