# Georgia HB 491: Game and fish; remove an exception for use of air guns to hunt wildlife

Georgia HB 491, Game and fish; remove an exception for use of air guns to hunt wildlife, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Johnny Chastain (Republican), John Corbett (Republican), Justin Howard (Republican) and 3 others; status signed, last action 2025-07-01 (Effective Date) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB491-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 491
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Game and fish; remove an exception for use of air guns to hunt wildlife
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-02-18
- Last action: 2025-07-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: Johnny Chastain (Republican), John Corbett (Republican), Justin Howard (Republican), Danny Mathis (Republican), Trey Rhodes (Republican), Jason Ridley (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Game, Fish & Parks, Natural Resources and the Environment, General Bill
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 4 (445 yes, 7 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Air-gun hunting allowed with season limits: mixed, low. Georgia hunters can use qualifying air guns for big game only during primitive weapon hunts, primitive weapon seasons, and firearm seasons. Qualifying weapons include air pistols, handguns, and shoulder-held devices of at least 0.30 caliber, or air bows. They use unignited compressed air or gas to…
- Statewide catfish bowfishing with safety rules: mixed, low. You can take any catfish species by bow and arrow throughout Georgia waters with a valid resident or nonresident fishing license. Arrows must have barbs or harpoon-like points. A rope, line, or cord must attach arrows to you or your bow and allow recovery of both arrow and catfish. Poisonous or exp…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Johnny Chastain (Republican), House
- Sponsor: John Corbett (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Justin Howard (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Danny Mathis (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Trey Rhodes (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Jason Ridley (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Drew Echols (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-04-04 | House | Agree to Senate Am as Amended by House | pass | 170 | 0 | 4 |
| 2025-04-04 | Senate | AGREE TO HOUSE AMENDMENT TO SENATE AMENDMENT | pass | 52 | 1 | 2 |
| 2025-04-02 | Senate | PASSAGE AS AMENDED | pass | 52 | 3 |   |
| 2025-03-06 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 171 | 3 | 2 |

## Actions (19)

- 2025-07-01: Effective Date
- 2025-05-14: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2025-05-14: Act 268
- 2025-04-10: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2025-04-04: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub As Amended (House)
- 2025-04-04: Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
- 2025-04-02: Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- 2025-04-02: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2025-04-02: Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senate)
- 2025-03-31: Senate Tabled (Senate)
- 2025-03-21: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2025-03-20: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2025-03-10: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2025-03-06: House Third Readers (House)
- 2025-03-06: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- 2025-02-27: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- 2025-02-20: House Second Readers (House)
- 2025-02-19: House First Readers (House)
- 2025-02-18: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 491/AP* (v10): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/239326)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [HB 491/AP* (v10) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/239326)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB491-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).