Can I Be Cited for Carrying Both a Rifle and a Shotgun?

May 16, 2008

Question: On my last day of turkey hunting this year I had a group of pigs run right by me and I missed a golden opportunity to have easily shot one. Could I have been cited if I’d had both a rifle and a shotgun in my possession for just such an occasion? Unloaded or loaded? What if I’d carried both of them while hunting turkeys but only the shotgun was loaded? What about when I stopped hunting turkeys, could I have unloaded the shotgun and loaded the rifle? What type of trouble would I have gotten in? Can you please help? It would be nice next time to be able to hunt both turkeys and pigs without having to walk to my truck to retrieve the second gun. Thank you. (Mario C.)

Answer:According to Monterey Lt. Paul Gaske, the safest thing for you to do in this situation would be to hunt one species at a time, but there are no laws prohibiting you from hunting turkeys and pigs simultaneously. The legal method of take for turkeys with a firearm is to use only a shotgun with no larger than No. 2 shot. The legal method for taking pigs would be with a center-fire rifle or a handgun of .357 caliber or larger. Technically, this means you could carry both a shotgun for turkeys and a rifle or handgun for pigs at the same time and be legal as long as the proper method of take is used to take each game species.

Also legal, you can also use a shotgun with slugs for pigs, however, it is NOT legal to then hunt turkeys with a shotgun and to have shotgun shells in your possession that contain shot size larger than No. 2. During archery season for turkeys, all of this would be a mute point because you are not allowed to carry any additional firearms, even for hunting another species.

Shhhhhh. It's a mute point.

What about carrying just a shotgun and have a handful of slugs with you?

What about carrying just a shotgun and have a handful of slugs with you?

Also legal, you can also use a shotgun with slugs for pigs, however, it is NOT legal to then hunt turkeys with a shotgun and to have shotgun shells in your possession that contain shot size larger than No.

DOH