Delaware Hunting Season a Little More Confusing for Young Hunters

September 29, 2026/Mari Lou

House Bill 451 was signed into law in 2022 and amended the age in which a person can possess, purchase and sell a firearm in Delaware, while not intended to apply to hunting with a firearm – it imposed a new requirement that an older adult directly supervise hunters between the ages of 16 and 21. A portion of that bill was overturned by a Superior Court judge who determined that Delaware’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms extended to all Delawareans age 18 and older – eliminating the supervision mandate for hunters aged 18 to 20.

Last summer, House Bill 427 which was signed into law which eliminated the supervision requirement for 16- and 17-year olds. The Supreme Court’s decision has left an odd situation. While 16- and 17-year olds hunting with a firearm and meeting certain requirements can do so without direct supervision, adults aged 18 to 20, hunting with some types of firearms – a rimfire or centerfire rifle – cannot!

State lawmakers plan to address the problem when the General Assembly returns in January. For now nothing can be done to address the issue during the current fall hunting seasons.

Additional information from DE Republican Caucus & DNREC:

Eighteen-, 19-, and 20-year-old hunters can hunt without the direct supervision of an older adult when using a shotgun, muzzleloader, handgun, or a rifle using straight-walled handgun ammunition. However, if hunting with a rimfire or centerfire rifle, they must legally be under direct supervision.
 
“This is exactly the type of confusing and unfair patchwork of requirements I was trying to address by sponsoring and advocating for the successful enactment of HB 427 earlier this year,” said State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman (R-Townsend, Smyrna, Clayton), a co-chair of the General Assembly’s bipartisan Delaware Sportsmen’s Caucus (DSC).
 
Fellow DSC co-chair, State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn (R-Georgetown), agreed this circumstance needs to be fixed. “It makes no sense that a 17-year-old can hunt on their own while a 19-year-old needs someone looking over their shoulder to hunt squirrels with a .22,” he said. “These are adults who can vote, sign contracts, and serve in our Armed Forces. Nobody intended this outcome, and I’m confident we can work across the aisle in January to fix it.”
 
Both men said that because the 153rd General Assembly is in recess, nothing can be done immediately to address the problem during the current fall hunting seasons. However, they pledged to introduce legislation in January to give 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds the same hunting freedoms that currently apply to 16- and 17-year-olds. 
 
* Hunters who are 16- and 17-years-old can hunt without direct supervision if they have permission from a parent or guardian, have completed an approved basic hunter education course, and are in possession of a valid hunting license.

DNREC has revised the online version of the 2026-27 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide to clarify the revised regulations resulting from the Supreme Court decision. Direct supervision requirements now in effect for various age groups of hunters along with methods of take when hunting supervised or unsupervised are found in the accompanying chart below.

A chart showing age groups of hunters who must have direct supervision in Delaware

Image courtesy DNREC

 

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