Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 321 CMR - DIVISION OF FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE › Title 321 CMR 2.00 - Miscellaneous Regulations › Section 2.03 - Possession and Use of Shotgun Shells Loaded with Lettered Birdshot

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
In accordance with the authority found in M.G.L. c. 131,
				§§ 5 and 66, rules and regulations relative to the possession of
				shotgun shells loaded with lettered birdshot are hereby adopted.
(1) Definitions:
Birdshot means those sizes of shotgun shot which have a pellet
				diameter equal to or less than 0.160 inches in the American standard.
Buckshot means those sizes of shotgun shot which have a pellet
				diameter equal to or greater than 0.240 inches in the American standard, but
				excluding a single ball or slug.
Coot means the coot or American coot (Fulica americana).
Lettered Birdshot means those sizes of shotgun shot which have
				a pellet diameter not less than 0.170 inches and not greater than 0.230 inches
				in the American standard, and shall include B, BB, BBB, T, TT, F and FF shot,
				so-called.
Non Toxic Shot means steel shot or such other non toxic shot as
				shall be approved by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as an
				acceptable non toxic alternative to lead shot.
Shotgun Shell means a cartridge or round of ammunition
				consisting of primer, case, propellant (powder) and projectile (one or more
				shot, balls, or slugs) designed to be fired from a shotgun.
Shotgun shell loaded with shot means loose shot carried in a
				shot pouch or similar container, or which is carried on the person and could
				readily be so loaded, as well as shot which has been loaded in a shotgun shell
				or in the barrel of a primitive firearm.
Waterfowl means migratory game birds of the family Anatidae
				(ducks, mergansers, geese, and brant).
(2) Persons licensed to hunt in
			 Massachusetts, or persons lawfully hunting without a license, may possess and
			 use birdshot for hunting for those birds and mammals and during those seasons
			 when hunting with a shotgun is otherwise lawful. Persons licensed to hunt in
			 Massachusetts, or persons lawfully hunting without a license, may use and
			 possess for the purposes of hunting waterfowl, coot, or coyote, shotgun shells
			 loaded with birdshot or lettered birdshot during the annual open seasons for
			 waterfowl and coot as provided in
			 321 CMR
			 3.02(2), or the annual open
			 seasons for coyote as provided in
			 321 CMR
			 3.02(3), provided that only
			 non-toxic shot may be used or possessed for the hunting of waterfowl and coot.
			 Nothing in 321 CMR 2.03(2) shall be construed to allow the use of shotgun
			 shells loaded with birdshot, lettered birdshot, buckshot, slugs, or single
			 balls of any size during those seasons or at those times or in those places
			 where hunting by means of a shotgun is otherwise disallowed. (3) Possession and
			 use of shotgun shells loaded with buckshot, slugs, or single balls shall be
			 subject to the provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, § 66, and shall not be
			 possessed or used in any place where birds and mammals may be found, except
			 during the period when deer may be hunted lawfully by means of a shotgun as
			 provided in
			 321 CMR 3.02(4)(b)3 and
			 (b)5. Notwithstanding the foregoing, shotgun
			 shells loaded with buckshot, slugs, or single balls may be possessed on a
			 skeet, trap, or target range between sunrise and sunset, when otherwise lawful.
Regulatory Authority: M.G.L. c. 131, §§ 5 and
				  66.
Last Revised: 8-3-15