Under federal law, a person with a felony conviction cannot legally shoot a gun. The question of whether felons can shoot guns comes down to possession: firing a firearm requires holding it, and 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison from possessing a firearm or ammunition, even for a moment.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Picking up a friend’s pistol at a shooting range, taking a turn with a rifle on a hunting trip, or loading a single round of ammunition all fall within that prohibition. Violations carry up to 15 years in federal prison.
Why Shooting Counts as Possession
Federal courts recognize two forms of possession, and both apply here. Actual possession is the obvious one: your hands are on the gun. That’s what happens the instant you pick up a firearm to shoot it, whether the gun is yours, rented at a range, or handed to you by someone else. There is no exception for brief handling, supervised use, or shooting on private property.
Constructive possession is broader. It means having the power and intention to control a firearm without physically holding it. The Supreme Court in Henderson v. United States described the test as “whether the felon will have the ability to use or direct the use of his firearms.”2Justia Law. Henderson v. United States, 575 U.S. 622 (2015) A gun sitting in a car you drive, or in an unlocked cabinet in a home you share, can be enough. So the reach of the ban is wider than the moment you pull a trigger.
The ammunition piece matters too. A round in your pocket is a federal offense on its own, no firearm required.
Which Convictions Trigger the Ban
The trigger isn’t the word “felony” on your record. What matters is whether the statute you were convicted under allowed a sentence of more than one year in prison, regardless of the sentence you actually served. Probation, a suspended sentence, thirty days in county jail — none of that changes the analysis if the maximum exposure was over a year.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
Two categories of qualifying-sounding convictions are carved out. Federal and state offenses tied to antitrust, unfair trade practices, and similar business regulations don’t count. Neither do state offenses that the state itself classifies as misdemeanors and punishes by two years or less.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 921 – Definitions That second carve-out is worth checking: some states label crimes as misdemeanors while allowing 18-month or two-year maximums, and those convictions don’t trigger the federal firearm ban.
How old the conviction is makes no difference. A felony from decades ago carries the same weight as one from last year unless the record has been pardoned, expunged, or set aside, or civil rights have been formally restored.
Shooting Someone Else’s Gun
The most common misconception is that borrowing a gun for a few minutes is safer than owning one. It isn’t. Handing a felon a loaded rifle at a range, letting them fire a few rounds, and taking it back is a completed federal offense at the moment of the handoff. The transfer itself is a separate issue for the person providing the firearm.
Living with someone who legally owns firearms is a related trap. Sharing a home with a spouse, parent, or roommate who owns guns doesn’t automatically violate the law, but the line between “their gun in the house” and constructive possession is thin. In Henderson, the Supreme Court drew the distinction between having property nearby and having the power to use or direct its use.2Justia Law. Henderson v. United States, 575 U.S. 622 (2015) If someone in your household owns guns, storing them in a locked safe or container you cannot open, with the owner holding the only key or combination, makes constructive possession much harder to prove. It’s not a guarantee against prosecution, but it’s the practical baseline.
Weapons That Are Not “Firearms” Under Federal Law
Federal law defines a “firearm” as a weapon that expels a projectile by the action of an explosive, along with the frame or receiver of such a weapon, silencers, and destructive devices.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 921 – Definitions Weapons that don’t use an explosive charge fall outside that definition, and the federal ban doesn’t reach them.
Bows, Crossbows, and Air Guns
Bows, crossbows, and air-powered rifles are not firearms under federal law because they don’t rely on an explosive to launch a projectile. A federal court has confirmed that felons may hunt with bows in accordance with state hunting rules, as long as they aren’t under probation or supervised release conditions that forbid dangerous weapons.4U.S. Courts. If I Am Convicted of a Federal Crime, Am I Permitted to Hunt? The same reasoning covers crossbows and air rifles at the federal level. State and local rules sometimes regulate these separately, so confirm your state’s law before buying one.
Antique Firearms and Black Powder
Federal law exempts “antique firearms” from the definition of firearm. That includes any weapon manufactured in or before 1898 with matchlock, flintlock, or percussion cap ignition, plus replicas of pre-1898 firearms if they aren’t designed to use modern rimfire or centerfire ammunition.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Most Frequently Asked Firearms Questions and Answers
Muzzleloading rifles, shotguns, and pistols that use black powder and cannot fire fixed ammunition also qualify. The exemption has limits. If the weapon uses the frame or receiver of a modern firearm, was converted into a muzzleloader from a modern gun, or can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by swapping a barrel or bolt, it isn’t an antique. The ATF has classified specific models such as the Thompson Center Encore and Contender as firearms rather than antiques because their frames accept barrels built for conventional ammunition.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Most Frequently Asked Firearms Questions and Answers
A black powder weapon can be lawful to possess under federal law and still be treated as a regulated firearm by state or local law. The ATF specifically recommends contacting your state attorney general’s office before acquiring one.
State Law Sits on Top
Every state has its own prohibitions, and states can only be stricter than federal law, never more permissive. Some impose lifetime bans for all felony convictions. Others allow rights to return automatically after a set period following completion of the sentence. A few distinguish between violent and nonviolent felonies. When state and federal rules diverge, the stricter one controls. Relying on state permission without accounting for the federal prohibition leads directly to federal prosecution.
Getting Firearm Rights Back
Restoration is possible but narrow. The available routes depend on whether the underlying conviction was state or federal.
Pardons
A presidential pardon can lift the federal firearm disability from a federal conviction. A governor’s pardon can do the same for a state conviction. The pardon must not expressly restrict firearm possession. Pardons are discretionary and uncommon.
Expungement or Set-Aside
Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20), a conviction that has been expunged or set aside is not a conviction for purposes of the federal gun ban, unless the expungement order itself says the person still cannot possess firearms.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 921 – Definitions Whether expungement is available depends heavily on the state and the offense.
Civil Rights Restoration
The same statute treats a conviction as erased for firearm purposes if the person’s civil rights have been restored, again unless the restoration order excludes firearms.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 921 – Definitions Federal courts have read this to require restoration of the three core civil rights: voting, holding public office, and serving on a jury. Some states restore all three automatically after sentence completion; others require a petition; some restore voting but not jury service, which can leave the federal disability in place.
The Closed Federal Application
Section 925(c) of Title 18 lets someone apply to the ATF for relief from a federal firearm disability. Since October 1992, Congress has attached a rider to every ATF appropriations bill that bars the agency from spending money to process those applications.6Federal Register. Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority For someone with a federal conviction and no realistic shot at a presidential pardon, there is essentially no administrative path.
What a Violation Costs
A knowing violation of § 922(g) carries up to 15 years in federal prison under 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(8), a ceiling raised from 10 years by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 924 – Penalties Fines can reach $250,000.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3571 – Sentence of Fine
To convict, the government has to prove you knowingly possessed the firearm and knew you belonged to a prohibited category. The Supreme Court set that second requirement in Rehaif v. United States in 2019.9Supreme Court of the United States. Rehaif v. United States, 588 U.S. 225 (2019) Most people know they have a felony conviction, so the defense rarely wins, but it’s an element the government has to establish.
A federal charge doesn’t preclude state charges for the same conduct. Both systems can prosecute independently.
The short version for anyone weighing the risk: firing a gun, even once, even under supervision, even a firearm that belongs to someone else, is the same offense as owning one. Until the underlying conviction has been formally cleared or civil rights restored in a way that meets the federal test, the ban applies.