Washington prohibits a specific set of firearms and ammunition for hunting, and the list changes depending on the species you’re after. Across the board, no shotgun larger than 10 gauge and no fully automatic firearm is legal for any game. Rimfire rifles and handguns are banned for big game (except cougar), rifles and handguns are banned for most game birds, and lead shot is banned for waterfowl under federal law. Violating the big game rules carries a mandatory $500 fine before any other assessments. The firearms illegal for hunting in Washington state are listed below by category of game.
Rules That Apply to Every Hunt
Two limits follow you regardless of what you’re hunting. No shotgun larger than 10 gauge may be used on any game animal or game bird.1Washington State Legislature. WAC 220-414-020 – Unlawful Methods for Hunting Firearms And the only lawful methods for taking game birds and game animals are firearms, bows, crossbows, and falconry, with narrow exceptions for air rifles on certain small game.
Washington also designates dozens of firearm restriction areas where centerfire and rimfire rifles are banned during some or all hunting seasons. These zones cover portions of King, Clark, Cowlitz, Island, Pierce, Spokane, Thurston, and many other counties.2Washington State Legislature. WAC 220-413-180 – Hunting Restrictions Inside those areas, shotguns and muzzleloaders are typically your only firearm options. Check your unit before you leave if you’ll be hunting in or near populated parts of western Washington.
Federal law also bars certain people from possessing firearms at all: anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison, people subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders, anyone convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, and several other categories. Hunting is not an exception.
Firearms Illegal for Big Game
Big game carries the most detailed firearm restrictions in the code, and the rules are broken out by firearm type.
Rifles
Fully automatic firearms are banned for all big game. Rimfire rifles are banned for all big game. Any rifle used on big game other than cougar must fire a centerfire cartridge of at least .24 caliber (6mm).1Washington State Legislature. WAC 220-414-020 – Unlawful Methods for Hunting Firearms
Cougar is the one exception. For cougar, a .22 caliber centerfire rifle is legal, where every other big game species requires .24 caliber or larger.3eRegulations. Washington Hunting – Equipment and Hunting Methods This matters if you hold tags for multiple species on the same trip.
Handguns
A handgun used on big game during modern firearm season must fire a centerfire cartridge and have a barrel of at least four inches per the manufacturer’s specification.1Washington State Legislature. WAC 220-414-020 – Unlawful Methods for Hunting Firearms The same caliber floors as rifles apply: .24 for most big game, .22 for cougar. Rimfire handguns are illegal for any big game.3eRegulations. Washington Hunting – Equipment and Hunting Methods You can still carry a modern handgun for personal protection in the field; you just can’t use it to take an animal unless it meets these specs.
Shotguns
Shotgun rules split by species:
- For deer, bear, and cougar: 20 gauge or larger, loaded with slugs or buckshot size #1 or larger (0.30 inches diameter or larger).
- For elk, moose, mountain goat, and bighorn sheep: 10 or 12 gauge only, slugs only. Buckshot is not legal for these species.
Anything smaller than the gauge minimum, or ammunition outside those categories, is illegal for big game.1Washington State Legislature. WAC 220-414-020 – Unlawful Methods for Hunting Firearms
Muzzleloaders
Muzzleloaders have their own caliber floors. For deer, a muzzleloading rifle or shotgun must be at least .40 caliber, and buckshot size #1 or larger can be used in a smoothbore of .60 caliber or larger. For every other big game species, the muzzleloader must be at least .45 caliber.4Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. Washington Big Game Hunting Regulations 2025 A muzzleloading handgun must additionally have a minimum eight-inch barrel, a rifled bore, and capacity for at least 45 grains of black powder or substitute.3eRegulations. Washington Hunting – Equipment and Hunting Methods
During a muzzleloader-only season, carrying a modern firearm in the field is illegal, with one exception: a modern handgun carried for personal protection.
Firearms Illegal for Game Birds and Waterfowl
Rifles and handguns are illegal for most game bird species. The exceptions are forest grouse (dusky, sooty, spruce, and ruffed), which may be taken with a rifle or handgun, and turkey, which has a narrow approved list of its own.1Washington State Legislature. WAC 220-414-020 – Unlawful Methods for Hunting Firearms For turkey, the only legal firearms are shotguns or muzzleloading shotguns firing #4 or smaller shot, and specialized hunting handguns with a minimum 10-inch barrel shooting shotshells of .410 caliber or larger. Rifles are illegal for turkey.
Any shotgun used on game birds is capped at three shells total in the magazine and chamber combined.1Washington State Legislature. WAC 220-414-020 – Unlawful Methods for Hunting Firearms A pump or semi-automatic with higher capacity needs a plug installed to physically block loading more than three. Hunters are commonly cited for this during field checks after forgetting to re-install the plug following clay shooting or other off-season use.
Lead Shot for Waterfowl
Federal law bans lead shot for hunting ducks, geese, swans, coots, and other migratory waterfowl. You must use approved nontoxic shot, including steel, bismuth, and various tungsten alloys, each containing less than one percent residual lead.5eCFR. 50 CFR 20.21 – What Hunting Methods Are Illegal Simply possessing loose lead shot or lead shotshells while waterfowl hunting is a violation on its own, even if you never fire. The three-shell federal cap also applies to migratory bird hunting, with limited exceptions during certain light-goose-only and Canada-goose-only seasons.
Firearms Illegal for Small Game
Small game rules are shorter. The 10-gauge shotgun ceiling applies here too.1Washington State Legislature. WAC 220-414-020 – Unlawful Methods for Hunting Firearms Washington does allow one option many hunters overlook: an air rifle between .22 and .25 caliber is legal for dusky grouse, sooty grouse, spruce grouse, ruffed grouse, snowshoe hare, and cottontail rabbit. For any other species, air rifles are not a legal hunting implement.
What a Violation Costs You
Hunting deer, elk, black bear, or cougar while violating any method rule carries a mandatory $500 fine, before statutory assessments.6Washington State Legislature. RCW 77.15.160 – Infractions Penalties The penalty applies whether the issue was caliber, ammunition type, or firearm category.
Repeat violations escalate fast. Two big game violations within ten years triggers a mandatory suspension of all hunting privileges for two to ten years. Three violations of any recreational hunting or fishing law within ten years can produce the same suspension range covering both hunting and fishing.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 77.15.700 – Grounds for Department Revocation and Suspension If the department finds your conduct showed willful or wanton disregard for wildlife conservation, the suspension becomes permanent.
A Washington suspension doesn’t stop at the state line. Washington participates in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact with 46 other states, and a suspension here can effectively lock you out of hunting in nearly every other compact state.