You cannot hunt on Sunday in Maine. Under 12 M.R.S. ยง 11205, hunting any wild animal or wild bird on a Sunday is illegal statewide, on public and private land alike, and a violation is a Class E crime carrying up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.1Maine State Legislature. 12 Maine Revised Statutes 11205 – Hunting on Sunday Two narrow exceptions exist, and a 2024 constitutional challenge failed. Maine remains one of only two states with a near-complete Sunday hunting ban.
What a Violation Costs You
The statute reaches two acts: hunting on a Sunday, and possessing any wild animal or wild bird taken on a Sunday in violation of the law. Every species and every method is covered unless a specific exception applies.
Class E is the lowest tier of criminal offense in Maine, but it is still a criminal conviction, not a civil fine. Maximum exposure is six months of incarceration and $1,000.2Maine.gov. Criminal Justice System A conviction can also trigger hunting license suspension. Because Maine belongs to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, a Maine suspension can be honored by the more than 40 other member states, so a Sunday violation here can cost you hunting privileges across most of the country.
The Two Exceptions
If you are not at a licensed commercial shooting area or tending traps, do not hunt on Sunday in Maine.
Licensed Commercial Shooting Areas
Commercial shooting areas are the only places you can hunt with a firearm on a Sunday in Maine. These state-licensed facilities allow year-round hunting of mallard ducks, pheasant, quail, and Chukar partridge, including Sundays. The operator may also authorize hunting of other wild birds or wild animals during their regular open season if the hunter holds a valid state license for that species.3Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. Commercial Shooting Areas The exception is site-specific. It does not carry over to your own private land or to public land.
Tending Traps
Trapping and hunting are legally distinct in Maine, and the Sunday ban does not prohibit tending a trap line. A licensed trapper may carry a firearm on Sunday for the sole purpose of dispatching trapped animals.4Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. Trapping Regulations – Laws and Rules Actively pursuing game with that firearm crosses back into hunting and violates the ban.
Coyotes, Raccoons, and Migratory Birds Are Not Exempt
Extended and nighttime seasons do not create a Sunday exemption. Legal hours for coyote night hunting (December 16 through August 31) require that hunting cease at midnight each Saturday and not resume until 12:01 AM Monday. Raccoon night hunting follows the same Saturday-midnight-to-Monday-morning blackout. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s hunting hours table leaves Sundays blank for most species.5Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. Legal Hunting Hours – Laws and Rules Migratory game birds follow separate hour schedules partly set by federal frameworks, but Maine’s Sunday ban still applies to hunting conducted within the state.
Did the Right-to-Food Amendment Change This?
No. In 2021 Maine voters added Article I, Section 25 to the state constitution, recognizing a right to grow, raise, harvest, produce, and consume food of one’s own choosing. Several hunters argued this created a constitutional right to hunt for food on Sundays.
In Parker v. Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (2024), the Maine Supreme Judicial Court agreed the amendment creates a limited right to hunt for food, because “harvest” plainly includes hunting for nourishment. But the amendment’s own text limits the right to conduct that “does not commit trespassing, theft, poaching or other abuses.” Poaching is commonly defined as taking game illegally, and Sunday hunting is illegal under existing statute, so the ban falls within the amendment’s built-in exception. The right to hunt does not extend to hunting that violates the law, and the Legislature retains authority to set boundaries like the Sunday prohibition.6Maine Supreme Judicial Court. 2024 ME 22 – Parker v Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Is the Ban About To Change?
Not yet. Bills to loosen the ban have appeared in recent sessions. One proposal that came close would have permitted Sunday hunting north of an east-west line following Routes 9 and 2, and allowed private landowners anywhere in the state to hunt on their own property on Sundays. It did not clear the Legislature.
Repeal supporters point to lost license, gear, and lodging revenue, and note that nearly every other state permits some Sunday hunting. Opponents argue that Sundays give hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, and other users a guaranteed day on shared land without active hunting. The ban has survived decades of repeal attempts. Until that changes, plan any Maine hunting trip around a Monday-through-Saturday week.