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Md. Code, Natural Resources § 10-602

This is the official text of Md. Code, Natural Resources § 10-602, part of Maryland’s Code, Natural Resources — governs parks, wildlife, and natural resource management.

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§10–602.

Official statutory text

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, “nighttime” means the time the Secretary of Interior of the United States adopts by rule or regulation.

(b) A person may not hunt wild waterfowl in the State at nighttime in any manner whether from the shore or otherwise. A person may not possess at nighttime any gun or light used for hunting wild waterfowl in or near the vicinity of feeding and resting grounds. Any gun or light found in possession shall be prima facie evidence of intention of a violation of this section, and the light shall be confiscated and turned over to the Secretary.

(c) (1) A person may not shoot a wild waterfowl resting on land or water.

(2) A person who wounds and cripples a wild waterfowl may shoot the waterfowl.

(d) A person may not hunt wild waterfowl from a position located more than 10 feet in the air.

(e) (1) The only firearm that a person may use to hunt wild waterfowl is a shotgun fired from the shoulder.

(2) A shotgun used to hunt wild waterfowl may not be larger than a 10 gauge or loaded with shot not approved by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

(3) While hunting or attempting to hunt wild waterfowl, a person may not possess shotgun shells that are loaded with shot not approved by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

(f) (1) Subject to federal rule or regulation, the prohibition of this subsection does not apply to an automatic loading or hand-operated repeating shotgun with a magazine that is cut off or that is plugged with a one-piece filler incapable of removal through the loading end that reduces the capacity of the gun to hold no more than three shells at any one time in the magazine and chamber combined.

(2) A person may not hunt a wild waterfowl with an automatic loading or hand-operated repeating shotgun capable of holding more than three shells.

(3) A person may not possess a rifle or pistol while hunting wild waterfowl.

(g) (1) A person may hunt wild waterfowl with any bow and arrow.

(2) A person may not hunt wild waterfowl with a crossbow.

(h) (1) A person may hunt wild waterfowl with the aid of a dog or with an artificial decoy.

(2) A person may not hunt wild waterfowl using a live decoy.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.