---
type: "Bill"
title: "Muzzleloader firearms; definition."
description: "Incorporates the Virginia criminal law definition of a muzzleloader into the current statutory definitions of muzzleloading pistol, muzzleloading rifle, and muzzleloading shotgun located in Title 29.1 (Game, Inland Fisheries and Boating)."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2017"
identifier: "SB 953"
citation: "Virginia SB 953 (2017)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Game", "Inland Fisheries and Boating", "Weapons"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Frank M. Ruff, Jr."]
version_count: 3
action_count: 18
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2016-12-31"
last_action: "2017-02-23"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b43dd62e-c30e-4b6f-9c24-3657147bf8b8"
source_url: "http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+sum+SB953"
source_hash: "6cf545c4eed788f4c92cd69b431662d5b9ae23697db60131c8bfc55d258d428b"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia SB 953 (2017) — Muzzleloader firearms; definition.

Incorporates the Virginia criminal law definition of a muzzleloader into the current statutory definitions of muzzleloading pistol, muzzleloading rifle, and muzzleloading shotgun located in Title 29.1 (Game, Inland Fisheries and Boating).

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0161)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+CHAP0161)
2. **Senate: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB953ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+SB953ER)
3. **Senate: Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17102126D** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+SB953)

## Votes

- Passed House with amendment BLOCK VOTE — **95–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources — **22–0** (pass) · legislature
- Read third time and passed Senate — **40–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources — **15–0** (pass) · legislature
- House amendment agreed to by Senate — **40–0** (pass) · legislature
- Rereferred from Courts of Justice — **14–0** (pass) · legislature
- Constitutional reading dispensed — **39–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Frank M. Ruff, Jr. — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2016-12-31** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17102126D `introduction`
- **2016-12-31** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2017-01-18** Rereferred to Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2017-01-31** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2017-02-03** Placed on Calendar
- **2017-02-03** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2017-02-03** Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-09** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2017-02-10** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2017-02-10** Amendment by Delegate Marshall, D.W. agreed to `amendment-passage`
- **2017-02-10** Engrossed by House as amended
- **2017-02-10** Passed House with amendment BLOCK VOTE (95-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2017-02-16** Enrolled
- **2017-02-16** Signed by Speaker
- **2017-02-17** Signed by President
- **2017-02-17** Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on 2/17/17
- **2017-02-17** Governor's Action Deadline Midnight, February 24, 2017
- **2017-02-23** Approved by Governor-Chapter 161 (effective 7/1/17) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/b43dd62e-c30e-4b6f-9c24-3657147bf8b8`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).