Supreme Court affirms ex-felon's conviction for hunting with 'antique' muzzleloader

Iowa's ban on felons owning or using firearms extends to antique weapons such as muzzleloaders, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled unanimously Friday.

The ruling comes in the case of Adam Rhodes, who was charged in Des Moines County with unlawfully possessing a firearm. Rhodes, who is banned from carrying guns due to a 2004 burglary conviction, argued that the weapon should be characterized as a replica of an antique firearm and thus exempted from the law.

The gun in question, a .50-caliber black powder rifle, is a replica of an early 1800s weapon with an antique firing mechanism, according to one expert who testified for Rhodes. Purchasing such a weapon does not require a federal background check, and Rhodes was able to buy his from a sporting goods store in 2020. He later used it to shoot a deer, although he initially told Iowa Department of Natural Resources agents he'd used a bow and arrow, and in text messages, suggested to his wife that she claim to be the one who fired the rifle.

Friday's decision, written by Justice Thomas Waterman, sets Iowa apart from federal gun laws, which exempt antique weapons such as muzzleloaders from legal definition of firearms.

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Iowa law does exempt antique weapons from the category of "offensive weapons," such as machine guns and hand grenades, that are widely banned. But Waterman writes that Iowa's statute prohibits felons from possessing firearms or offensive weapons, and that "an individual of ordinary intelligence" would understand a black powder muzzleloader rifle is still encompassed in the ordinary definition of "firearm."

"We see no reason to depart from our precedent consistently defining 'firearm' ... for the last forty years," Waterman wrote. "We reiterate that a firearm is any instrument which will or is designed to discharge a projectile by the force of a chemical explosive such as gun powder."

The decision affirms the conviction against Rhodes, who received a suspended sentence and five years' probation.

Attorneys for Rhodes did not respond to messages Friday seeking comment.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Supreme Court rules against ex-felon who possessed muzzleloader