If I fire an antique black-powder pistol or muzzleloader in Arizona, am I treated the same as if I fired a modern firearm under criminal law?

Plain-English summary

Federal law has long carved out a category of "antique firearms" from the federal firearms regulatory scheme. 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(16) defines an antique firearm to include any firearm manufactured in or before 1898; certain replicas of those firearms that do not use modern fixed ammunition; and muzzle-loading rifles, shotguns, and pistols designed to use black powder. Section 921(a)(3) excludes antique firearms from the federal definition of "firearm," with the result that federal firearms-trafficking, federal felon-in-possession, and other federal firearm offenses generally do not apply to antiques.

Arizona has no parallel exclusion. Representative Hernandez asked the AG whether someone who fires an antique firearm under circumstances that would be criminal for a modern firearm can be prosecuted in Arizona. AG Horne answered yes.

Arizona's firearm definitions in A.R.S. §§ 13-105(19) and 13-3101(A)(4) cover any "loaded or unloaded handgun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun or other weapon" that will or can readily be converted to expel a projectile. The only express exclusion is for "a firearm in permanently inoperable condition." An operable antique firearm is fully covered. Arizona's specific firearm crimes (§ 13-1211 discharge at a structure, § 13-3107 criminally negligent discharge in city limits, § 13-706 violent and aggravated felony classifications) all use the general firearm definition without an antique carve-out.

The opinion notes that 2013 HB 2234 and 2014 SB 1064 would have created an Arizona antique-firearm exclusion mirroring the federal one, but neither bill was enacted. Without that legislative change, antique firearms are treated like any other operable firearm under Arizona criminal law.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

The federal antique-firearm exception traces back to the Gun Control Act of 1968. Congress did not want to regulate Civil War muskets, dueling pistols, or muzzleloaders the same way it regulated modern handguns and rifles. The compromise was a categorical antique exclusion. Most states followed federal practice and created similar state-law exclusions; Arizona did not.

The opinion is a clean illustration of how federal and state firearms regulation can diverge. Federal law cares about interstate commerce, federally-regulated dealers, federal felon-in-possession rules, and the National Firearms Act regime for restricted weapons. State law cares about general public-safety and disorderly-conduct rules at the local level. The two systems can use the same words ("firearm") to mean different things.

Practical implications for Arizona antique-firearm collectors and black-powder enthusiasts: federal law lets you ship an antique muzzleloader in interstate commerce without dealer involvement, lets a federally-prohibited person possess one without federal liability, and otherwise treats it as a non-firearm. But Arizona will treat the same item as a firearm for state-law purposes. Most importantly, A.R.S. § 13-3107 makes criminally negligent discharge of any firearm in city limits a class 6 felony, and that includes a black-powder pistol fired in your backyard if your backyard is within municipal limits.

Common questions

Q: Can I fire my Civil War musket at the firing range without legal trouble?
A: At a properly designated firing range, intentional discharge of a firearm is generally legal under Arizona law (and federal law). The opinion addresses crime scenarios; lawful range use is fine.

Q: My replica flintlock pistol shoots black powder. Is it a firearm in Arizona?
A: Yes, under this opinion's reading. If it can shoot, it is a firearm. Federal law would not treat it as a firearm, but Arizona law does.

Q: What about a 19th-century revolver that only takes obsolete cartridges no longer manufactured?
A: Federal law (§ 921(a)(16)(B)(ii)) treats some such replicas as antique. Arizona law has no such exclusion; it is a firearm if it can be fired.

Q: I'm a felon. Can I possess an antique firearm in Arizona?
A: Federal felon-in-possession (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)) generally does not reach antique firearms. Arizona's prohibited-possessor statute (A.R.S. § 13-3102) defines firearm using the broad state definition, which has no antique exception. Consult counsel before possessing any firearm if you are a prohibited possessor.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• A.R.S. § 13-105(19) (firearm definition)
• A.R.S. § 13-1211 (discharge at structure)
• A.R.S. § 13-3107 (criminally negligent discharge)
• 18 U.S.C. §§ 921(a)(3), (a)(16) (federal antique firearm definition)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.azag.gov/opinions/i14-009-r14-019
• Original PDF: https://www.azag.gov/sites/default/files/2025-06/I14-009.pdf

Original opinion text

To:

Hon. Lydia Hernandez

Arizona House of Representatives

Questions Presented

You requested an opinion on the following question: Does Arizona law subject a person to criminal prosecution for firing an “antique firearm” as that term is defined under federal law?

Summary Answer

Yes. Arizona criminal statutes do not distinguish between an “antique firearm” as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3) and other types of firearms. Under Arizona law, it is a crime to fire an antique firearm under circumstances in which firing any other type of firearm would be a crime.

Analysis

Arizona statutes do not define or use the term “antique firearm.” Arizona’s criminal code defines a “firearm” as “any loaded or unloaded handgun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun or other weapon” that will expel, is designed to expel, or can readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of expanding gases or an explosive. A.R.S. §§ 13-105(19); 13-3101(A)(4). These statutory definitions specifically exclude “a firearm in permanently inoperable condition,” but they do not exclude an operable antique firearm. Id.

The federal criminal code, however, does define an “antique firearm” and excludes it from the definition of a firearm for purposes of criminal liability under 18 U.S.C. § 922. See 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3) (“The term ‘firearm’ … does not include an antique firearm.”). Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(16), the term “antique firearm” means the following:

(A) any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; or

(B) any replica of any firearm described in subparagraph (A) if such replica--

(i) is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or

(ii) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade; or

(C) any muzzle loading rifle, muzzle loading shotgun, or muzzle loading pistol, which is designed to use black powder, or a black powder substitute, and which cannot use fixed ammunition. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “antique firearm” shall not include any weapon which incorporates a firearm frame or receiver, any firearm which is converted into a muzzle loading weapon, or any muzzle loading weapon which can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by replacing the barrel, bolt, breechblock, or any combination thereof.

Arizona Revised Statutes section 13-1211 makes it a class 2 felony to knowingly discharge a firearm at a residential structure and a class 3 felony to discharge a firearm at a nonresidential structure. Section 13-1211 draws no distinction between antique firearms and other firearms. Similarly, Arizona Revised Statutes section 13-3107 classifies the criminally negligent discharge of firearms within or into the limits of a municipality as a class 6 felony. See A.R.S. § 13-3107(A). Again, the statute draws no distinction between antique firearms and other firearms. Finally, the Legislature defined a “violent or aggravated felony” for sentencing purposes to include “[d]ischarging a firearm at a residential structure if the structure is occupied” without creating any exception for antique firearms. A.R.S. 13-706(F)(2)(g).

Under all of these Arizona laws, the discharge of an antique firearm (as defined under federal law) has the same criminal consequences as the discharge of any other firearm.(1)

Conclusion

Firing an antique firearm subjects a person to criminal prosecution in Arizona to the same extent that firing any other type of firearm subjects that person to criminal prosecution.

Thomas C. Horne

Attorney General

In 2013, Arizona lawmakers introduced HB 2234, which would have (1) amended the definition of a firearm under A.R.S. § 13-105(19) by, among other things, excluding weapons manufactured on or before January 1, 1899, and (2) deleted the definition of a firearm in A.R.S. § 13-3101(4). The amendment of A.R.S. § 13-105(19), had it been enacted into law, would have created a state statutory analog to the federal definition of an antique firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(16)(A).

In 2014, Arizona lawmakers introduced SB 1064, which contained the same two provisions. Like HB 2234, SB 1064 was never enacted.