Ilinois Enacts Reform: Hunting Rifles Allowed to Hold 3 Rounds for Hunting Deer

The Illinois government has passed into law Senate Bill 2756. The bill reforms the limitations on what firearms may be legally used for hunting deer in Illinois. The previous limitations allow centerfire rifles to be used if they were limited to one shot. Bill SB2756 passed the Senate third reading on April 15, 2026. It passed the House at third reading on May 21, 2026. Democratic Governor Pritzker Approved of the bill on July 24, 2026, now known as public act 104-0627.  

Centerfire rifles or handguns used to take deer are required to use either bottleneck cartridges of .30 caliber or more, with a case length of no more than 1.4 inches, or straight walled cartridges of .30 caliber or more. The cartridges must be available in a factory round with manufacturer published ballistics of 500 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle. 

The .300 BLK case is 1.368 inches long. It meets the requirements. The .357 magnum, 10mm magnum, .41 magnum, .44 magnum and larger magnum calibers meet the requirements.  

In addition to the the cartridge case and ballistic limitations, many rifles and handguns are not eligible because of the extreme restrictions on how they may be rendered incapable of holding more than three cartridges in the chamber and magazine combined. If they can use removable magazines, it is very difficult to meet the requirements. From the law:  

If a centerfire handgun or centerfire rifle is capable of holding more than 3 rounds, it shall be fitted with a one-piece plug that is irremovable without dismantling the handgun or rifle or it shall be otherwise altered to render it incapable of holding more than 3 rounds in the magazine and chamber combined without dismantling the handgun or rifle.

This appears to require more than merely placing a block inside a removable magazine. People are ingenious about solving such problems, but some solutions are may cost more than purchasing a firearm which meets the legal requirements. 

The three round limit does not apply to revolvers. A centerfire revolving rifle is still a revolver, the 3 round limit might not apply to a revolving rifle if it meets the cartridge requirements. 

Firearms which use blind magazines could be fitted with a block if they meet the other requirements. It would not be too difficult of use a plug similar to a shot gun plug for firearms which use tubular magazines. It appears most lever action rifles which fire straight walled cartridges which meet the requirements, such as .357 magnum, .41 magnum, 10 mm, .44 magnum, or larger cartridges could be modified to meet the requirements with plugs to the tubular magazines. More powerful cartridges such as the .45-70, .444 Marlin, .405 Winchester, the .38-55  the new .360 Buckhammer, .350 Legend, .400 Legend meet the energy requirements, and appear to be legal if the firearm meets the magazine limitations. 

Limitations on the number of shots held by hunting guns started being enacted with more restrictive game laws in the early 1900′s. The most famous of the early restrictions were from the federal regulation of 1935 which limited migratory bird hunters to a three shot limit per shotgun. Some states put limits on the number of cartridges deer rifles could hold. Currently, according to battlbox.com, California has a ten round limit; Colorado, Florida, and New York, have five round limits for some species. Illinois will now have a three round limit for rifles. 

Silencers/suppressors are not allowed in Illinois.  

Analysis: removal of the single shot limit for centerfire rifles to be used in deer hunting in Illinois is a small, but significant step toward more sensible game regulations in the state. 

©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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