Court Ruling and a New Law Combine for Peculiar Effect on Young Adult Hunter Supervision Requirements

September 29, 2026

State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman and State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn Pledge Corrective Measure in the Upcoming General Assembly

A Delaware Supreme Court ruling earlier this month on a four-year-old state law, combined with recently enacted legislation, has created an odd situation in which some young adults will require a greater degree of supervision than teenagers.

The seeds of this dysfunction began with the enactment of a 2022 state law (House Bill 451) changing the age at which a person could possess, purchase, and sell a firearm in Delaware. Although the law was not intended to apply to hunting with a firearm, it inadvertently imposed a new requirement that an older adult directly supervise hunters between the ages of 16 and 21.

Last year, a Superior Court judge overturned a portion of the law, ruling that Delaware’s constitutional right to possess and use firearms applied to all Delawareans age 18 or older. That decision eliminated the supervision mandate for hunters ages 18 to 20.

A new law enacted earlier this summer (House Bill 427) eliminated the supervision requirement on 16- and 17-year-olds.

However, the Delaware Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Superior Court’s determination that people between the ages of 18 and 21 enjoyed the same constitutional firearm rights as other adults has created an irrational situation. While 16- and 17-year-olds hunting with a firearm and meeting certain requirements* can do so without direct supervision, adults ages 18 through 20, hunting with some types of firearms cannot.

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.