Conn. Gen. Stat. § 26-86a

Current with legislation from the 2024 Regular and Special Sessions.

Section 26-86a - Game management. Deer hunting; permitted weapons, locations, bag limits. Consent forms; permits, selection process

(a) The commissioner shall establish by regulation adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 standards for deer management, and methods, regulated areas, bag limits, seasons and permit eligibility for hunting deer with bow and arrow, muzzleloader and shotgun, except that no such hunting shall be permitted on Sunday by any means other than with bow and arrow on private property pursuant to section 26-73. No person shall hunt, pursue, wound or kill deer with a firearm without first obtaining a deer permit from the commissioner in addition to the license required by section 26-27. Application for such permit shall be made on forms furnished by the commissioner and containing such information as he may require. Such permit shall be of a design prescribed by the commissioner, shall contain such information and conditions as the commissioner may require, and may be revoked for violation of any provision of this chapter or regulations adopted pursuant thereto. As used in this section, "muzzleloader" means a rifle or shotgun of at least forty-five caliber, incapable of firing a self-contained cartridge, which uses powder, a projectile, including, but not limited to, a standard round ball, mini-balls, maxi-balls and Sabot bullets, and wadding loaded separately at the muzzle end, and "rifle" means a long gun the projectile of which is six millimeters or larger in diameter. The fee for a firearms permit shall be nineteen dollars for residents of the state and sixty-eight dollars for nonresidents, except that any nonresident who is an active full-time member of the armed forces, as defined in section 27-103, may purchase a firearms permit for the same fee as is charged a resident of the state. The commissioner shall issue, without fee, a private land deer permit to the owner of ten or more acres of private land and the husband or wife, parent, grandparent, sibling and any lineal descendant of such owner, provided no such owner, husband or wife, parent, grandparent, sibling or lineal descendant shall be issued more than one such permit per season. Such permit shall allow the use of a rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader or bow and arrow on such land from November first to December thirty-first, inclusive. Deer may be so hunted at such times and in such areas of such state-owned land as are designated by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection and on privately owned land with the signed consent of the landowner, on forms furnished by the department, and such signed consent shall be carried by any person when so hunting on private land. The owner of ten acres or more of private land may allow the use of a rifle to hunt deer on such land during the shotgun season. The commissioner shall determine, by regulation, the number of consent forms issued for any regulated area established by said commissioner. The commissioner shall provide for a fair and equitable random method for the selection of successful applicants who may obtain shotgun and muzzleloader permits for hunting deer on state lands. Any person whose name appears on more than one application for a shotgun permit or more than one application for a muzzleloader permit shall be disqualified from the selection process for such permit. No person shall hunt, pursue, wound or kill deer with a bow and arrow without first obtaining a bow and arrow permit pursuant to section 26-86c. "Bow and arrow", as used in this section and in section 26-86c, means a bow with a draw weight of not less than forty pounds. The arrowhead shall have two or more blades and may not be less than seven-eighths of an inch at the widest point. No person shall carry firearms of any kind while hunting with a bow and arrow under this section and section 26-86c.

(b) Any person who takes a deer without a permit shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars or more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not less than thirty days or more than six months or shall be both fined and imprisoned, for the first offense, and for each subsequent offense shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year or shall be both fined and imprisoned.

(1959, P.A. 227, S. 1, 2; 1961, P.A. 337; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 276; P.A. 74-151, S. 3, 7; P.A. 77-86; P.A. 78-135, S. 1; P.A. 79-491, S. 1, 2; P.A. 83-440; P.A. 85-20; P.A. 87-180, S. 2; P.A. 88-98, S. 3, 6; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3, S. 9, 21; P.A. 93-408, S. 2; P.A. 95-352, S. 2; P.A. 97-250, S. 5; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1, S. 98; P.A. 03-276, S. 2; 03-278, S. 88; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 458; P.A. 10-3, S. 48; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; P.A. 15-204, S. 2.)

Amended by P.A. 15-0204, S. 2 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2015 Regular Session, eff. 10/1/2015.

Amended by P.A. 10-0003, S. 48 of the February 2010 Regular Session, eff. 4/14/2010.

Amended by P.A. 09-0003, S. 458 of the June 2009 Sp. Sess., eff. 10/1/2009.

See Sec. 26-66(22) re the wearing of fluorescent orange clothing.