Can You Hunt With Someone Else’s Gun? Loans, State Laws, and NFA Rules

You can go hunting with someone else’s gun under federal law, because 18 U.S.C. § 922 carves out an explicit exception allowing the temporary loan of a firearm for lawful sporting purposes, even across state lines.¹ The federal permission is real, but it is not the whole picture. The borrower has to be legally eligible to possess a firearm, the lender has to know who they are handing the gun to, and the state where the hunt takes place may impose rules that the federal exception does not override. Get any of these wrong and a hunting trip can turn into a federal offense carrying up to 15 years in prison.

Can the Borrower Legally Possess a Firearm

This is the first question, and it has to be answered before anything else. Federal law bars certain people from possessing any firearm or ammunition, whether they own it, borrow it, or pick it up off a table. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), prohibited persons include:

Anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment
Fugitives from justice
Anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance
Anyone who has been adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution
Anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order or convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
Anyone discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions
Former citizens who have renounced U.S. citizenship
Certain non-citizens, including those in the country unlawfully or on nonimmigrant visas

The list applies to borrowed firearms exactly as it applies to purchased ones.¹ A growing number of states also use extreme risk protection orders, sometimes called red flag orders, which temporarily prohibit a person from purchasing or possessing any firearm. Those orders reach every gun in the person’s custody or control, so borrowing a hunting rifle while an ERPO is active violates the order.

What the Lender Is Risking

Lending a firearm carries its own legal weight. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(d), it is a federal crime to transfer a firearm to someone you know or have reasonable cause to believe falls into any prohibited category.¹ “Transfer” here includes loans. Lending your shotgun to a hunting partner you know has a felony conviction is a federal offense, and the penalty for a knowing violation is a fine, up to 15 years in prison, or both.² That is the same maximum sentence the prohibited person faces for possessing the gun. The statute does not require certainty. “Reasonable cause to believe” is enough.

Civil exposure exists too. If a gun owner supplies a firearm to a person the owner knows or reasonably should know is likely to use it in a way that creates an unreasonable risk of physical injury, that is negligent entrustment.³ State tort law fills in the damages. Lending to someone visibly intoxicated, clearly unstable, or with a violent history you know about can produce both criminal and civil consequences.

State Background Check Laws

Federal law may allow a hunting loan without a background check. Roughly 20 states and the District of Columbia go further and require a background check for private firearm transfers, loans included. The list of states with universal background check laws includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

Some of these states exempt temporary loans for hunting or sporting purposes; some do not. A few exempt only loans between immediate family. Others allow short-term loans without a check but impose time limits or require the lender to be physically present. The details vary state to state, and depending on the jurisdiction, a mistake can be a misdemeanor or a felony. Before borrowing in one of these states, call the state fish and wildlife agency or ask a local firearms dealer. Not knowing the rule is not a defense.

Age Rules for Younger Hunters

Federal law sets two age thresholds depending on the type of firearm. Anyone under 18 is generally prohibited from possessing a handgun, but the statute makes a specific exception for hunting: a juvenile may temporarily possess a handgun for hunting if the minor has prior written consent from a parent or guardian who is not themselves prohibited from possessing a firearm.¹ The written consent must be on the minor’s person whenever they have the handgun.

For rifles and shotguns, federal law sets no minimum age for possession. It only prohibits licensed dealers from selling long guns to anyone under 18.¹ Borrowing a rifle from a family friend is a different transaction than buying one from a store. Many states impose their own minimum ages for possessing long guns, and most require minors to be accompanied by a licensed adult while hunting. Check the regulations in the state where the hunt happens.

Taking a Borrowed Gun Across State Lines

If the hunt is in another state, 18 U.S.C. § 926A provides a safe-harbor rule for transporting the firearm through jurisdictions that might otherwise prohibit possession. Three conditions apply:

You can legally possess the firearm at both your starting point and your destination.
The firearm is unloaded during transport.
Neither the firearm nor the ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment. If the vehicle has a trunk, the gun goes there. If it does not, the firearm must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.

The protection applies only during continuous travel.⁴ An overnight hotel stop is generally accepted, but extended stays in a restrictive state can take you outside the safe harbor. Driving through a strict state on the way to hunting land? Keep the gun locked and out of reach for the whole drive through that jurisdiction.

Suppressors and Other NFA Items Work Differently

Suppressors have become popular for hunting, and the temptation to borrow one is understandable. It generally will not work. Suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns are regulated under the National Firearms Act, which is a separate legal regime from ordinary firearm loans. Under 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d), it is unlawful to possess an NFA firearm that is not registered to you in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.⁵

The practical result is that you cannot take someone else’s suppressor into the field alone. If the registered owner is physically present and maintains control, most practitioners read the law to allow another person to use the item under direct supervision, but the statute does not define that term and the ATF has not published clear guidance on how close the owner has to be. The cleanest paths are to register your own suppressor through the ATF’s Form 4 process or to hunt alongside the person who owns the one you want to use.

What to Carry in the Field

No federal law requires a permission slip when hunting with a borrowed firearm. A brief written note from the owner still smooths any encounter with a game warden. Include the owner’s name and contact information, the make, model, and serial number of the firearm, and the dates of the loan. That is usually enough to resolve questions on the spot instead of at a sheriff’s office.

Carry the rest of your usual paperwork too: a valid hunting license and any tags required for the species and area. Out-of-state hunters should confirm their hunter education certificate is recognized in the host state. Most states honor certificates that meet International Hunter Education Association standards, but a handful impose additional requirements or refuse online-only courses from other states. A five-minute call to the host state’s wildlife agency before the trip can prevent a citation.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 924 – Penalties
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 7903 – Definitions
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 5861 – Prohibited Acts