Handgun Hunting Rules Confusing

The manner in which the state's Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police prefer you to carry a handgun when using it to hunt could get you pinched by a local cop if you do it on the street. EnCon officers, the enforcement arm of the Department of Energy and Environmental Conservation, would rather see a hunter carrying a handgun openly in the field rather than be surprised by a firearm that is concealed, says EnCon Captain Raul Camejo.

Outside of the woods, however, many law enforcement officials frown on open carry of a handgun, even though it is technically legal with a state-issued permit. Local police have arrested people for carrying handguns openly, often charging them with disorderly conduct.

Generally, the charges are dismissed in court. Police contend that open carry can scare the wits out of people unaccustomed to guns, thus warranting charges. Even many gun rights advocates who support open carry admit that flaunting a firearm can be a bad idea, especailly in an age of terrorism and drive-by shootings.

The open versus concealed question is one of many that engender confusion about legal handgun hunting in Connecticut. 

One common misunderstanding among gun owners and hunters is that it is always legal to carry a pistol, or any other firearm,  on state-owned lands, as long as it uses ammunition with a cartridge case no longer than than of .22 caliber rimfire long rifle.

Not so, says Camejo.

"If you are not hunting you are prohibited from carrying a pistol or firearm in a state park or forest. So if you are hiking in a state forest, you would not be allowed to carry a firearm," he says.

As far as gun rights are concerned, this ban is one that should be lifted, particulary since our woods are no longer totally benign, given that coyote-wolf hybrids are out there hunting.

Even the rules regarding rifles require close study and the only place you can be sure of as gospel is the DEEP's Hunting & Trapping Guide. The .22 long rifle maximum does not apply to private land. Except, that is, during the deer hunting season, when larger caliber requires permit and consent form. And you cannot carry any firearm while bow hunting for deer, not even to dispatch a wounded animal or to ward off coyotes.

These are but a few examples of why hunters should not just peruse the rules regarding firearms but study and know them. Like the old saying goes, ignorance of the law is no excuse, even if the law is far more complicated than it was when you could just grab your gun and go out for an uncomplicated day in the field.

Wear blaze orange

A few years back, I was hunting with permission on private land when two young women on horses cantered through the woods ahead of me. Without permission of the landowner, I might add. Both had on tan riding breeches and dark-colored jackets. I told them hunters were abroad and if they were going to ride in the woods -- permission, or no -- they ought to wear a blaze orange vest or hat as a safety precaution. The law mandates it for hunters, I explained, but others who venture afield in season ought to wear orange as well. I was answered by an anti-hunting diatribe by the two young trespassers.

Whatever one's feelings about hunting, hunters have a right to be afield when legal to do so. People who share the woods with them should do themselves and hunters a favor by donning a bit of blaze orange to help keep everyone safe.