Posted on 08/07/2026 6:45:08 AM PDT by marktwain
The Illinois government has passed Senate Bill 2756 into law. The bill reforms the limitations on what firearms may be legally used for hunting deer in Illinois. The previous limitations allow centerfire rifles to be used if they are limited to one shot. Bill SB2756 passed the Senate third reading on April 15, 2026. It passed the House at third reading on May 21, 2026. Democratic Governor Pritzker approved the bill on July 24, 2026, now known as Public Act 104-0627.
Beginning January 1, 2027, Illinois deer hunters will no longer be limited to single-shot centerfire rifles. Public Act 104-0627 will allow qualifying centerfire rifles and handguns capable of holding up to three cartridges in the magazine and chamber combined.
Centerfire rifles or handguns used to take deer are required to use either bottleneck cartridges of .30 caliber or more, with a case length of no more than 1.4 inches, or straight-walled cartridges of .30 caliber or more. The cartridges must be available in a factory round with manufacturer-published ballistics of 500 foot pounds or more of energy at the muzzle.
The .300 BLK case is 1.368 inches long. It meets the requirements. There may be other bottleneck cartridges that meet the requirements. The .357 magnum, 10mm magnum, .41 magnum, .44 magnum, and larger magnum calibers meet the requirements.
If a centerfire handgun or centerfire rifle is capable of holding more than 3 rounds, it shall be fitted with a one-piece plug that is irremovable
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
Since it is Illinois, they are probably planning to seize everyone’s guns before the change goes into effect.
Why did Prickster sign this? Votes.
I was thinking too many deer.
It’s because no 1776 colonialist, ever, hunted deer with a flintlock (or percussion cap) to put meat on the family table.
Yeah, that roast backstrap was purchased at the Crown Approved butcher.
This isn’t about deer.
It’s about control....................
That “shall not be abridged” part seems to have them stymied . . .
Far less wounded deer get away.
I remember a Tap’s Tips story about a deer hunter that shot his first deer. He was so proud, and as he began to gut it, he remembered his fishing buddy who asked him to save the deer’s tail for tying jigs.
The guy cut off the deer’s tail, and the deer was just stunned, and got up and ran away. Leaving him standing there with the tail in his hand and no deer.
Tap’s Tips was in Outdoor Life Magazine as a monthly feature for many years.
Leave it to the Great State of Chicago to write a pointless law that makes it as difficult as possible to comply with other than to spend lots of extra money.
Sure I will permanently alter (read Damage) my firearm so that I can go hunting whitetail deer.
First off, if you have to fire more than one round to take a deer you probably should not have taken the shot to begin with.
Second, I have never been hunting with anyone that just starts firing shot after shot at a deer. I have only heard one story from another hunter of someone he hunted with doing so.
This law pretty much eliminates pistol hunters. Unless someone starts manufacturing pistol cylinders with only 3 chambers for revolvers.
This legislation almost doesn’t do anything at all. And it says what the Illinois government thinks of you, a peon to be given occasional worthless indulgences.
Does anyone even make a rifle with a two-round magazine (magazine + chamber = 3 rounds max)?
At best this makes the rare double-barrelled rifle legal, or you could install a non-removable plug in a bolt action rifle. All made in the tight confines of the allowable ammunition.
What Illinois really needs is an open season on Democrats.
I didn’t realize that Illinois even allowed centerfire rifles for deer hunting at all - at least the public land was shotgun slug-only when I was there, though that was decades ago. In many states, people get around the no rifle law using “Contenders”, which are technically pistols (albeit very large ones, usually scoped) that shoot centerfire rifle calibers like 270s, 30-06 etc. I guess IL allowed single-shot rifles as a compromise.
It's not worth researching, but I'm pretty sure the previous law eliminated pistol hunting, except with single shot pistols, like Thompson Contenders.
Now it opens up the field to the infamous three-shot pistol.
The law basically doesn't allow detachable magazines (if you plug one magazine, nothing stops you from using a different one). The only bizarre jump from one to three shots I can think of would be plugging a fixed magazine pistol, like a C96 Broomhandle. Or that weirdo (you know he's out there) who plugs three chambers in a revolver. The government says,"See, our benevolence is easy to follow."
The Thompson Contender has been around for decades.

Bond Arms added the Cyclops to their derringer lines.
Shotguns use a dowel in the tube to restrict the number of rounds one can load. The same could work for a tube-fed rifle.
If a centerfire handgun or centerfire rifle is capable of holding more than 3 rounds, it shall be fitted with a one-piece plug that is irremovable.
“If a centerfire handgun or centerfire rifle is capable of holding more than 3 rounds, it shall be fitted with a one-piece plug that is irremovable without dismantling the handgun or rifle or it shall be otherwise altered to render it incapable of holding more than 3 rounds in the magazine and chamber combined without dismantling the handgun or rifle.”
This allows for a plug to be placed in a tubular magazine, or below the follower in a magazine fixed to the rifle. There are quite a few bolt action rifles where the magazine cannot be removed without some disassembly. Those would be pretty easily altered to hold only two rounds.
Still bad, but not quite as bad as requiring an “irremovable” plug.
This law pretty much eliminates pistol hunters.
It’s not worth researching, but I’m pretty sure the previous law eliminated pistol hunting, except with single shot pistols, like Thompson Contenders.
Now it opens up the field to the infamous three-shot pistol.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.