Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-205 (2026)

Loaded firearms prohibited in vehicles and snowmobiles. Exceptions

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a) No person shall carry or possess in any vehicle or snowmobile any firearm, other than a pistol or revolver, while such firearm contains in the barrel, chamber or magazine any loaded shell or cartridge capable of being discharged or, if such firearm is a muzzleloader, when such muzzleloader has a percussion cap in place or when the powder pan of a flintlock contains powder. As used in this subsection, “muzzleloader” means a rifle or shotgun that is incapable of firing a self-contained cartridge and must be loaded at the muzzle end.

(b) The enforcement officers of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are empowered to enforce this section.

(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to members of the military departments of the government or state while on duty or while traveling to or from assignments, or to enforcement officers, security guards or other persons employed to protect public or private property while in the performance of such duties.

(d) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a class D misdemeanor.

(1953, S. 3289d; 1969, P.A. 752, S. 11; P.A. 76-374; P.A. 10-36, S. 12; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; P.A. 12-80, S. 104; P.A. 23-53, S. 34.)

History: 1969 act prohibited carrying and possession of loaded shotguns and rifles in snowmobiles; P.A. 76-374 included muzzleloaders in prohibition and added provisions specifically applicable to muzzleloaders; P.A. 10-36 divided existing provisions into Subsecs. (a) to (d) and made technical changes, effective July 1, 2010; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Energy and Environmental Protection” in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 12-80 amended Subsec. (d) to replace penalty of a fine of not less than $10 or more than $100 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days or both with a class D misdemeanor; P.A. 23-53 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “shotgun, rifle or muzzleloader of any gauge or caliber” with “firearm, other than a pistol or revolver,” and making conforming changes, effective July 1, 2023.

See Sec. 14-379 for definition of “snowmobile”.

See Sec. 26-6a re constables for fish and game protection.

Cited. 163 C. 184; 195 C. 668; 197 C. 602.

Cited. 35 CS 659.

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Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases, 1972–1985 · leading case: State v. Milum, 500 A.2d 555 (Conn. 1985).

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State v. Milum, 500 A.2d 555 (Conn. 1985). · cites it 2× “After both parties had rested but prior to the submission of the case to the jury, the trial court granted the defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal as to a fourth count which had charged possession of a rifle in a motor vehicle in violation of General Statutes § 53-205.…”

United States v. Bifield, 498 F. Supp. 497 (D. Conn. 1980). · cites it 6× “44 Among the offenses for which the defendants and Blake were arrested was a violation of Conn.Gen.Stat. § 53-205, 45 which provides in pertinent part that [n]o person shall carry or possess in any vehicle or snowmobile any shotgun or rifle or muzzleloader of any gauge or…”

State v. Cari, 303 A.2d 7 (Conn. 1972). · cites it 2× “The defendant claims that the court should also have charged that § 53-205 of the General Statutes which makes it a crime to carry a loaded shotgun in an automobile should have been called to the attention of the jury.”

State v. Scully, 490 A.2d 984 (Conn. 1985). “” In addition, § 53-205 provides in part: “No person shall carry or possess in any vehicle or snowmobile any shotgun or rifle or muzzleloader of any gauge or caliber while such shotgun or rifle or muzzleloader contains in the barrel, chamber or magazine any loaded shell or…”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.