Tennessee sets no general limit on how many rounds are legal for hunting in the state. Your rifle can hold as many cartridges as its magazine is built for, and the same is true for shotguns used on deer, bear, elk, turkey, and small game. The one hard cap comes from federal migratory bird rules the state adopts: a shotgun used for ducks, geese, doves, woodcock, and similar species can hold no more than three shells total.
Rifles and Handguns Have No Magazine Cap
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s legal hunting devices chart approves centerfire rifles for deer, bear, elk, furbearers, and crows without attaching any round-count condition. Bolt-action, lever-action, semi-automatic — the action type does not matter, and neither does the magazine size.1Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. General Hunting and Trapping Regulations
Rimfire rifles carry the same story for small game. Load the tube or the magazine to its full capacity and you are within the law. Handguns used for big game also have no round limit.
The Three-Shell Rule for Migratory Birds
If you are hunting migratory game birds, your shotgun cannot hold more than three shells combined in the magazine and chamber. A shotgun built to hold more must be plugged with a one-piece filler that cannot be removed without disassembling the gun.2eCFR. 50 CFR 20.21 – What Hunting Methods Are Illegal? The rule covers ducks, geese, doves, woodcock, and other migratory species.
Two narrow exceptions apply in Tennessee. During a light-goose conservation season for snow geese and Ross’s geese, when all other waterfowl and crane seasons are closed, the plug requirement drops. It also drops during certain early-September Canada goose-only seasons in the Mississippi Flyway.2eCFR. 50 CFR 20.21 – What Hunting Methods Are Illegal? Outside those specific windows, the plug stays in.
Crows are a migratory bird under federal law but are carved out of the three-shell rule. You can hunt them with an unplugged shotgun.
Shotguns for Turkey and Big Game Do Not Need a Plug
Turkey is not a migratory bird, so the three-shell cap does not reach turkey hunting. Load your shotgun to capacity, provided you are using No. 4 shot or smaller. Rifles and handguns of any type are prohibited for turkey.3Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Tennessee Turkey Season Regulations and Information
The same logic applies to shotguns loaded with slugs or solid balls for deer, bear, or elk. No plug, no round count.1Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. General Hunting and Trapping Regulations
Equipment Rules That Matter More Than Round Count
Hunters worried about the number of rounds in a magazine tend to run into a different problem: the type of firearm or ammunition itself. Tennessee prohibits several categories outright.
- Full metal jacket ammunition is prohibited for all hunting, in any rifle or handgun, for any species.1Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. General Hunting and Trapping Regulations
- Fully automatic firearms are prohibited for hunting any wildlife in the state.4Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission Proclamation 08-10 – Manner and Means of Hunting, Taking, and Trapping
- Night vision and thermal scopes cannot be possessed with a firearm or archery equipment between sunset and sunrise, with a narrow exception for shotguns during nighttime coyote and bobcat seasons.1Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. General Hunting and Trapping Regulations
- Any firearm or archery equipment fitted with an artificial light capable of locating wildlife is prohibited, again except for shotguns during nighttime coyote and bobcat seasons.
Carrying ammunition you are not authorized to use on a given hunt is itself a violation. Deer hunting during muzzleloader season with centerfire cartridges in your pack can draw a citation even when the muzzleloader is the only gun you have.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
Violations of Tennessee’s hunting proclamations are Class B misdemeanors.5Justia Law. Tennessee Code 70-4-102 – Illegal Taking, Possession or Destruction of Wildlife That means up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both. Each illegally taken bird or animal is a separate offense, and the counts stack.
A conviction under the state’s wildlife laws also allows the court to revoke your license and suspend your hunting, fishing, or trapping privileges for at least one year. The revoked license must be surrendered to the arresting officer as part of the prosecution record, and hunting during a suspension period can result in mandatory jail time the court cannot suspend.6Justia Law. Tennessee Code 70-2-101 – Taking Wildlife Without License