Pennsylvania’s semi-automatic hunting rules split cleanly along one line: rifle or shotgun. Semi-automatic rifles are legal only for small game, woodchucks, and furbearers. Semi-automatic shotguns are legal for nearly every game species in the Commonwealth, including deer, bear, elk, and turkey, with caliber, ammunition, and magazine limits that shift by season. Get the rifle-versus-shotgun distinction wrong and you’re looking at a citation.
Semi-Automatic Rifles: What’s Legal
Semi-automatic rimfire rifles are legal for all small game species except woodchucks. The rifle must be .22 caliber or smaller and fire single-projectile ammunition, so .17 HMR and .22 LR both qualify.1Pennsylvania Code. 58 Pa. Code 141.22 – Small Game Seasons Centerfire rifle cartridges are off-limits for standard small game. Species in this category include squirrels, cottontail rabbits, snowshoe hares, ring-necked pheasants, bobwhite quail, ruffed grouse, and crows.
Woodchucks sit in their own subsection. Semi-automatic rifles of any caliber firing single-projectile ammunition are permitted during woodchuck season, so a centerfire .223 or .243 is legal here even though it wouldn’t be for squirrels or rabbits.1Pennsylvania Code. 58 Pa. Code 141.22 – Small Game Seasons
Furbearer rules open the door further. Semi-automatic rifles firing single-projectile ammunition are legal for coyotes, foxes, raccoons, opossums, skunks, and other furbearers, with no caliber restriction on the rifle itself.2Pennsylvania Code. 58 Pa. Code 141.67 – Furbearer Seasons A semi-auto .223 for coyotes is a legal setup.
One trap: semi-automatic handguns are not authorized for small game or furbearers. The regulations allow manually operated handguns only, even where they permit semi-automatic rifles.2Pennsylvania Code. 58 Pa. Code 141.67 – Furbearer Seasons
Big Game: No Semi-Auto Rifles, Yes to Semi-Auto Shotguns
Semi-automatic rifles are prohibited for deer, bear, and elk anywhere in Pennsylvania. Semi-automatic centerfire shotguns firing single-projectile slugs are legal statewide for all three species during their regular firearms seasons.3Pennsylvania Code. 58 Pa. Code 141.43 – Deer Seasons
Bear follows the same pattern: manually operated centerfire rifles or semi-automatic centerfire shotguns with slugs.4Pennsylvania Code. 58 Pa. Code 141.44 – Bear Seasons For elk, the shotgun must be 12 gauge or larger and fire single-projectile ammunition.5Legal Information Institute. 58 Pa. Code 141.47 – Elk Seasons
Manually operated rifles (bolt, lever, pump, break-action) and muzzleloaders remain available for all big game seasons. The rule to memorize: semi-auto rifle, illegal; semi-auto shotgun with slugs, legal.
Turkey
Semi-automatic centerfire shotguns are legal for turkey in both fall and spring seasons. Ammunition must be multiple-projectile shot no larger than No. 4 lead, and total capacity is capped at three rounds, meaning two in the magazine and one in the chamber.6Pennsylvania Code. 58 Pa. Code 141.45 – Turkey Seasons Spring season specifically prohibits single-projectile ammunition from any centerfire, rimfire, or muzzleloading firearm. Rifles of any action type are off-limits for turkey year-round.
Magazine Capacity and the Plug Rule
The three-round plug does not apply to every semi-auto in the woods. Capacity rules vary by firearm type and season.
- Semi-automatic rifles for small game and furbearers have no magazine capacity restriction. A standard-capacity magazine is legal, no plug required.7Pennsylvania Game Commission. 2025-2026 Hunting and Trapping Digest – General Hunting Regulations
- Semi-automatic shotguns used for small game, furbearers, turkey, and waterfowl are limited to three rounds total, with a one-piece plug that cannot be removed without disassembling the gun or magazine.7Pennsylvania Game Commission. 2025-2026 Hunting and Trapping Digest – General Hunting Regulations
- Semi-automatic shotguns used for deer, bear, and elk have no magazine capacity limit under the big game regulations.7Pennsylvania Game Commission. 2025-2026 Hunting and Trapping Digest – General Hunting Regulations
Hunters sometimes assume the shotgun plug rule extends to their semi-auto .22. It doesn’t.
Special Regulations Areas
If you hunt near Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, different rules apply. The southeastern Special Regulations Area covers Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. The western SRA covers Allegheny County.8Pennsylvania Game Commission. Special Regulations Areas Digest
For deer and bear in most SRA counties, semi-automatic shotguns (.410 or larger) firing slugs are permitted, along with manually operated straight-walled centerfire rifles, muzzleloaders, bows, and crossbows. Buckshot is generally prohibited, except during certain controlled hunts at Ridley Creek and Tyler state parks under a Game Commission permit.8Pennsylvania Game Commission. Special Regulations Areas Digest Philadelphia County is stricter still: only bows and crossbows are legal for deer and bear.
For small game and furbearers in SRAs, plugged semi-automatic shotguns and semi-automatic rimfire rifles (.22 or smaller) are both permitted. Local borough and township ordinances can impose additional discharge restrictions, so check those too.
Transporting Your Firearm
Any firearm in or on a motor-powered vehicle must be unloaded. That covers cars, trucks, ATVs, motorboats with the engine running, and sailboats under sail.9Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 34 – Section 2503 – Loaded Firearms in Vehicles The statute doesn’t define “unloaded,” so the safe practice is to drop the magazine and clear the chamber before you get in.
A valid concealed-carry license allows a loaded pistol or revolver in a vehicle, but not a loaded rifle or shotgun. Motorboat operators may have firearms aboard once the motor is completely shut off and the boat has stopped.9Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 34 – Section 2503 – Loaded Firearms in Vehicles
Penalties for the Wrong Firearm in the Wrong Season
Using an unauthorized firearm or exceeding capacity limits is a summary offense under the Game and Wildlife Code. Fines run from $100 for a fifth-degree summary offense up to $1,500 for a first-degree summary offense, with up to three months of jail time possible at the top end.10Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 34 – Section 925 – Jurisdiction and Penalties
The Game Commission can also revoke your hunting license and deny you a new one following any conviction or acknowledged guilt of a Game Code violation.11Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 34 – Section 2741 – Denial or Revocation of License Certain offenses, including hunting under the influence and shooting in a safety zone, can trigger revocation on a formal accusation alone.
Pending Legislation
As of 2025, bills in both chambers would legalize semi-automatic rifles for deer and bear. Senator Daniel Laughlin’s proposal would cap capacity at three rounds total, matching the shotgun plug standard.12Pennsylvania General Assembly. Senate Co-Sponsorship Memo 47180 A companion proposal from Representative Krupa would allow six rounds total. Neither has been enacted, so semi-automatic rifles remain illegal for deer, bear, and elk until the law changes.