Specified semiautomatic firearms: which guns Colorado's SB25-003 covers — and which are exempt

Last verified against primary sources: 2026-07-20 · Updated 2026-07-22

The statutory definition

Two things determine whether a gun is covered: how it feeds (detachable magazine or not) and — for handguns only — how it operates (gas-operated or not). Rifles and shotguns are covered regardless of operating system: the rifle/shotgun prong has no "gas-operated" qualifier at all.

What counts as a "detachable magazine"

So a semiautomatic shotgun or rifle fed only by an under-barrel tubular magazine is outside the definition, as is a firearm with a permanently fixed magazine (see the 15-round exemption below).

Handguns: "gas-operated" is the key phrase

For handguns, the statute defines "gas-operated semiautomatic handgun" by five technical operating-system types: long-stroke piston, short-stroke piston, direct-impingement, hybrid, and blowback-operated systems. Note that the statute expressly lists blowback among the "gas-operated" categories — so a blowback-operated semiautomatic handgun with a detachable magazine is covered.

The exemption that matters for most handgun owners:

Single- and double-action semiautomatic handguns that use recoil to cycle — the operating system of most common carry and duty pistols — are exempt regardless of magazine type.

The full exemption list

Under C.R.S. § 18-12-116(1)(d)(II), "specified semiautomatic firearm" does not include:

• .22-and-under rimfire firearms — designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 or lower caliber rimfire ammunition — unless the firearm has a separate upper and lower receiver. Practical upshot: an ordinary .22 rimfire semiauto like a Ruger 10/22 is exempt, but AR-15-pattern .22 rimfire clones (separate upper/lower) are covered.
• Manually operated firearms — bolt, pump, lever, or slide action.
• Fixed-magazine firearms limited to 15 rounds — a permanently fixed magazine that cannot accept more than fifteen rounds, including semiautomatic firearms converted to that configuration.
• Recoil-operated single/double-action semiautomatic handguns (see above).
• A named list of 35 historic and vintage semiautomatic rifle models, exempted by name "as they exist and are configured on the effective date" — including the Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle, Ruger Mini Thirty, M1 Carbine, Browning BAR (all variants), Remington Models 4, 8, 740, 742, 750, and 7400, Springfield Armory M1A Standard Issue Rifle, and HK SL6/SL7. The full list is in the act itself.
• Permanently inoperable firearms.
• Antique firearms (as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(16)) and curios or relics (as defined in 27 C.F.R. § 478.11).

"Covered" does not mean "banned from possession"

The prohibited acts are manufacturing, distributing, transferring, selling, and purchasing. Possession is not on the list. Owners of specified semiautomatic firearms lawfully acquired before August 1, 2026 face no registration, surrender, or training requirement for those guns.

Ways a covered firearm can still lawfully change hands on or after August 1, 2026 include:

• Sale or transfer to an individual residing in another state, or to a federally licensed dealer (built into subsection (2) itself);
• Sale to a buyer who has completed the firearms safety course pathway;
• Inheritance — a transfer "by operation of law or because of the death of a person" handled by an executor, administrator, or trustee under § 18-12-116(3)(f);
• Transfers to a dealer for storage or disposal, or to a gunsmith for repair or maintenance;
• Law-enforcement, military, and certain educational-program exceptions.

Where the official model list will come from

SB25-003 added C.R.S. § 24-35-122, which requires the Department of Revenue's firearms-dealer-permit division to publish public guidance on which specific firearm models are covered by the ban. Colorado Parks & Wildlife also maintains an official page on the law and the Firearms Safety System. This site does not attempt to reproduce a model-by-model list beyond the exemptions named in the statute itself — for a specific gun, check the DOR guidance and CPW's page, and when in doubt ask a licensed Colorado dealer or attorney.

Rapid-fire devices are a separate — and stricter — rule

SB25-003 also defined "rapid-fire device" (any device, part, kit, tool, accessory, or combination of parts that increases a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire above standard) and added it to Colorado's "dangerous weapon" list in C.R.S. § 18-12-102(1). Unlike specified semiautomatic firearms, simple possession of a rapid-fire device is itself a crime under the dangerous-weapon statute — a separate and broader rule than the purchase/sale scheme described above.