An Act To Establish a Season for Hunting Deer with Primitive Muzzle-loading Firearms
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0888
Committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Sponsors: ANNIS, SNOWE-MELLO, NASS, CARR, DUNLAP, PINEAU, RICHARDSON, TOBIN, TRAHAN, WOODCOCK
Amends: 12 MRSA §7001, 12 MRSA §7076, 12 MRSA §7161, 12 MRSA §7377, 12 MRSA §7406

Legislative Document 
No. 888 
H.P.665 
House of Representatives, February 20,2003 
An Act To Establish a Season for Hunting Deer with Primitive 
Muzzle-loading Firearms 
Reference to the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative ANNIS of Dover-Foxcroft. 
111~ 
/J1.7l/d£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representative SNOWE-MELLO of Poland, Senator NASS of York and 
Representatives: CARR of Lincoln, DUNLAP of Old Town, PINEAU of Jay, RICHARDSON 
of Greenville, TOBIN of Windham, TOBIN of Dexter, TRAHAN of Waldoboro, Senator: 
WOODCOCK of Franklin. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §7001, sub-§29-B is enacted to read: 
29-B. 
Primitive 
muzzle-loading 
firearm. 
"Pr imi ti ve 
muzzle-loading firearm" means a rifled or smooth bored firearm 
the a single barrel that is: 
A. 
Capable of being loaded only through the muzzle; 
B. 
Ignited 
by 
a 
matchlock, 
wheel 
lock 
or 
flintlock 
mechanism: 
C. 
Capable of firing only a single charge; 
D. 
Charged only with black powder or a black powder replica; 
E. 
Loaded with a round lead baIlor charge of shot; and 
F. 
Eguipped only with open or aperture sights. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §7076, sub-§I, as amended by PL 2001, c. 690, 
Pt. B, §1 and affected by §5, is further amended to read: 
1. 
Residents over 10 years of age. 
A complimentary license 
to hunt, trap or fish, including an archery license under section 
7102-A, 
a 
pheasant 
hunting 
permit 
under 
section 
7106-B, 
a 
muzzle-loading hunting license under section 7107-A, a primitive 
muzzle-loading hunting license under section 7107-B, a migratory 
waterfowl permit under section 7109 and a bear hunting permit 
under section 7110 must be issued to any resident of Maine who is 
years of age or older upon application to the commissioner. 
These complimentary licenses, upon issuance, remain valid for the 
remainder of the life of the license holder, provided the license 
holder continues to satisfy the residency requirements set out in 
section 7001, 
subsection 32 
and provided the license is not 
revoked 
or 
suspended. 
Residents 
who 
apply 
for 
these 
complimentary licenses at any time during the calendar year of 
their 70th birthday must be issued a license upon application, 
regardless of the actual date during that calendar year in which 
they attain age 70. 
A guide license may 
be 
renewed without 
charge for any resident of Maine who is 70 years of age or older 
upon application to the commissioner. 
The application must be 
accompanied by a birth certificate or other certified evidence of 
the applicant's date of birth and residency. 
When the holder of 
a license issued under this subsection no longer satisfies the 
residency requirements set out in section 7001, subsection 32, 
the license is no longer valid and further use of the license for 
purposes of hunting, fishing or trapping constitutes a license 
violation under section 7371, subsection 3. 
Beginning January 
1, 
2006, 
the 
department 
may 
not 
issue 
a 
complimentary license to a resident over 70 years of age. 
A 
complimentary license issued to a resident over 70 years of age 
prior to January 1, 2006 is valid as long as the holder of the 
license satisfies the residency requirements set out in section 
7001, subsection 32. 
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §7076, sub-§4-B, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
690, Pt. B, §2 and affected by §5, is further amended to read: 
4-B. 
Resident 
disabled 
veteran. 
A 
resident 
disabled 
veteran may apply to the commissioner for one or more of the 
following complimentary permits and licenses: a license to hunt 
wi th a firearm, a license to trap, a license to fish, archery 
hunting 
licenses 
as 
provided 
in section 
7102-A, 
a 
pheasant 
hunting 
permit 
as 
provided 
in 
section 
7106-B 
aaeL 
a 
muzzle-loading hunting license as provided in section 7107-A and 
a primitive muzzle-loading hunting license as provided in section 
7107-B. 
The 
commissioner shall issue the permit, 
license or 
licenses 
requested under this subsection if the 
commissioner 
determines the applicant is a resident disabled veteran and is 
not otherwise ineligible to hold that permit or license. 
For the 
purposes of this subsection, "resident disabled veteran" means a 
person who: 
A. 
Is a resident as defined in section 7001, subsection 32; 
B. 
Is a veteran as defined in Title 37-B, section 505, 
subsection 1, paragraph A, subparagraph (5); and 
C. 
Has a service-connected disability evaluated at: 
(1) 
One hundred percent; or 
(2) 
Seventy percent or more as a result of honorable 
mili tary service and who has served in a combat zone 
during any armed conflict in which participants were 
exposed to war risk hazards as defined in 42 United 
States Code, Section 1711 (b). 
Each application must be accompanied by satisfactory evidence 
that the applicant meets the requirements of this subsection. 
A 
permit or license issued under this subsection remains valid for 
the life of the permit or license holder, as long as the permit 
or license holder continues to satisfy the residency requirement 
in section 7001, subsection 32 and the permit or license is not 
revoked or suspended. 
Sec. 4. 12 MRS A §7107-B is enacted to read: 
§7107-B. Primitive muzzle-loading hunting season 
1. 
Eligibility. 
The 
following 
provisions 
govern 
eligibility for hunting with a primitive muzzle-loading firearm. 
A. 
Any person 16 years of age or older at the beginning of 
the special season established under subsection 4 may obtain 
a 
primitive 
muzzle-loading 
hunting 
license 
from 
the 
commissioner 
or 
the 
commissioner's 
authorized 
agent, 
provided that the person possesses a valid license to hunt 
big game with firearms and a valid muzzle-loading hunting 
license under section 7107-A. 
B. 
Any person 10 years of age or older and under 16 years 
of age may obtain a primitive muzzle-loading hunting license 
from 
the 
commissioner 
or 
the 
commissioner's 
authorized 
agent, 
provided that the person possesses 
a valid junior 
hunting license and a valid muzzle-loading hunting license 
under section 7107-A. 
C. 
A person under 10 years of age may not hunt with a 
primitive muzzle-loading firearm. 
2. 
Issuance. 
The commissioner, through the commissioner's 
agent, shall issue a primitive muzzle-loading hunting license to 
eligible persons. 
The issuing agent shall charge a fee of $1 for 
each license issued. 
3. 
Schedule of fees. 
The schedule of fees is as follows: 
A. 
Resident primitive 
muzzle-loading hunting 
license 
B. 
Nonresident 
primitive muzzle-
loading hunting 
license 
C. 
Alien primitive 
muzzle-loading hunting 
license 
4. 
Open 
season. 
There 
is 
a 
special 
primitive 
muzzle-loading open season on deer from the 10th Monday preceding 
Thanksgiving Day to the 9th Monday preceding Thanksgiving Day for 
the purpose of hunting deer only with primitive muzzle-loading 
firearms 
as 
defined in section 
7001, 
subsection 
29-B. 
The 
commissioner may terminate this open season at any time, in any 
area, if, in the commissioner's opinion, an immediate emergency 
action is necessary because of adverse weather conditions or 
severe hunting pressure. 
5. 
Restrictions. 
The following restr ictions apply during 
the 
primitive 
muzzle loading 
open 
season 
as 
established 
in 
subsection 4. 
A. 
Section 7457, subsection 1, paragraph H, as regards the 
commissioner's 
authority 
to 
regulate 
the 
harvest 
of 
anterless 
deer, 
is 
applicable 
during 
the 
primitive 
muzzle-loading hunting season. 
B. 
Deer tags for the primitive muzzle-loading open season 
must be issued for use in the same manner as regular deer 
~ 
C. 
Except as provided in this section, chapters 701 to 721 
relating to deer apply to the taking of deer with primitive 
muzzle-loading firearms. 
Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §7161, sub-§I, ~E, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
690, Pt. B, §4 and affected by §5, is further amended to read: 
E. 
For a resident 70 years of age or older. 
A person who 
holds a valid senior lifetime license under this section 
upon turning 70 years of age may obtain at no cost a hunting 
license, fishing license, trapping license, archery license 
under 
section 
7l02-A, 
a 
pheasant 
hunting 
permit 
under 
section 
7l06-B, 
a 
muzzle-loading 
hunting 
license 
under 
section 7l07-A, 
a primitive muzzle-loading hunting license 
under section 7l07-B, 
a 
migratory waterfowl permit under 
section 7109, a bear hunting permit under section 7110 and 
renew a guide license under section 7311. 
A person who is 
years of age or older may purchase a senior lifetime 
license that entitles the holder to all the privileges 
described in this paragraph for a one-time $8 fee. 
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §7377, sub-§I, as amended by PL 2001, c. 270, 
§l, is further amended to read: 
1. 
Hunting. 
Notwithstanding section 7371 as it applies to 
subchapter ** 2, any resident over 10 years of age and any member 
of the resident's immediate family over 10 years of age, as long 
as 
the hunter's license to hunt is not under 
suspension or 
revocation, 
may hunt without 
a 
license, 
including an archery 
hunting license 
aBsL 
a 
muzzle-loading hunting license 
and 
a 
primitive muzzle-loading hunting license, on any single plot of 
land: 
A. 
To which they are legally entitled to possession; 
B. 
On which they are actually domiciled; 
c. 
Waiea 
That 
is 
used 
exclusively 
for 
agricultural 
purposes; and 
D. 
Waiea That is in excess of 10 acres. 
Sec. 7. 12 MRSA §7406, sub-§9-A, 1[B, as amended by PL 1999, c. 
403, §18, is further amended to read: 
B. 
While in or on a motor vehicle or in or on a trailer or 
other type of vehicle being hauled by a motor vehicle, has 
any firearm with a cartridge or shell in the chamber or in 
an attached magazine, clip or cylinder or a muzzle-loading 
firearm or primitive muzzle-loading firearm charged with 
powder, lead and a primed-ignition device or mechanism. 
SUMMARY 
This bill defines 
"primitive muzzle-loading firearm" 
creates 
a 
special primitive muzzle-loading hunting season 
deer from the 10th Monday preceding Thanksgiving Day to the 
Monday preceding Thanksgiving. 
and 
for 
9th