IL HB2549

Permits deer hunting with rifles in Illinois, adding rifles as a legal firearm option alongside shotguns, handguns, and muzzleloading rifles.

Applies existing ammunition and caliber restrictions for handguns to rifles, requiring bottleneck centerfire cartridges of .30 caliber or larger with case length not exceeding 1.4 inches, or straight-walled centerfire cartridges of .30 caliber or larger, with minimum 500 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle.

Subjects rifle deer hunting to existing permit requirements, hunting hours (1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset), and season dates established for shotgun, handgun, and bow hunting.

Repeals the prohibition on possessing a rifle while in the field during firearm deer season.

Defines "rifle" as any firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder using a fixed metallic cartridge to fire a projectile through a rifled bore by a single trigger function.