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PA Semi auto

Born in Pa. in the early 1940's, I hunted there since maybe age 12. Never ever was there Sunday hunting. Grew up planning the week and the time off around Sunday as a travel time in addition to church. Liked it. Still like it.

As for the semiautomatics...took a guy hog hunting that used one. A simple shot at 130 yards turned into a machine-gun like attack and miss proposition with me getting hit with the cases. A joke in my book. Glad they are banned as they foster idiotic behavior by all too many.

Wish they would ban them from public rifle ranges. They are a source of constant irritation to other shooters.

A slob hunter will always be a slob. With your attitude it will be easy to take your sniper rifle.
 
A slob hunter will always be a slob. With your attitude it will be easy to take your sniper rifle.

Agreed, everyone has some story about someone who was being stupid with a gun - its not news, there are and will always be stupid people that doesn't mean you blanket the whole.
 
HUMmmm kind of getting of topic I see....
Does any one really know if it passed....I heard semi-auto for small game and varmints only...but don't know for sure ?..

As far a shooting or hunting goes I think you should be allowed to shoot what ever you want..If you want to take the old Grand out or AR or SR and shoot ya a deer or bear I say have at it..dont shoot your eye out. I want to use my AR for night coyote hunting I think it will be fun and very handy moving from spot to spot and setting up quick plus around here at night who knows what you might encounter...Bob cats, Mountain lion, Black bear. Pac of coyotes... pot growers,Trust me that five round clip will drop and a 30 rounder will go in..loaded with heavy's...Hand loads...super accurate and hard hitters...

If you don't like what others our shooting, you might be part of the problem..Go shoot somewhere else..I do agree that someone taking a semi-auto to the range just to see how fast they can run rounds threw it is a nuisance and very Disrespectful to others...There are some As* Holes out there with no respect for others..When I want to do something like that I go out in the wood or somewhere there are no people around..Actually I shoot my AR from a bench with a 5 round clip and a brass catcher.

I am from PA and I don't understand the straw hat and black clothes thing..I don't get it..I am in kind of in a remote area surrounded by Game Lands..I am 4 miles from a Game Lands Shooting range...And just over the hill from a Major sporting clays range...yep every Sunday pop pop . pop pop all day long...

But WV has always been a semi state you can shoot. REM 6,7 Grand's FN Fal's...SKS's what ever you want...I have never heard any problem ever! Years ago I seen what a 760 Game master could do in the hands a good shooter..I will never forget it ..we were into long hours well into night gutting and dragging deer out..lol....
 
HIGHLIGHTS FROM MONDAY's COMMISSIONERS MEETING

SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES OK’D FOR SMALL GAME, FURBEARERS

Hunters heading afield in the 2017-18 seasons will be able to carry semiautomatic rifles for hunting small game and furbearers, but not for big game, based on regulatory changes approved today by the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners.

The commissioners in January preliminarily approved a proposal that would have allowed semiautomatic rifles to be used in any season where manually operated centerfire rifles now can be used.

The board today amended that measure, giving final approval to hunting small game and furbearers with semiautomatic rifles beginning in the 2017-18 seasons. It made no changes to the list of lawful sporting arms for hunting big game.

Commissioners said a clear majority of Pennsylvania hunters voiced opposition to hunting big game with semiautomatic rifles at this time, and the board’s vote reflects that opinion.

Between the Board of Commissioners’ preliminary vote and the vote today, Game Commission staff conducted a scientific survey from a random sample of 4,000 of the state’s hunters, more than 2,000 of whom responded. The findings of that survey were presented to the commissioners at the board’s meeting on Monday.

The findings of the survey show clear support for hunting furbearers (55 percent support or strongly support), woodchucks (51 percent support or strongly support) and small game (42 percent support or strongly support, and 12 percent neither support nor oppose) with semiautomatic rifles.

For big game, while 28 percent of survey respondents expressed support or strong support for semiautomatic rifles, 64 percent of respondents said they opposed or strongly opposed semiautomatic rifles for big-game hunting, with 52 percent saying they were strongly opposed.

The results bolstered the expressed opposition to hunting big game with semiautomatic rifles that appeared to a lesser extent in the written comments the Game Commission received in recent months.

“We listened to our hunters,” President Commissioner Brian H. Hoover said.

With the changes, semiautomatic rifles in .22 caliber or less that propel single-projectile ammunition and semiautomatic shotguns 10 gauge or smaller propelling ammunition not larger than No. 4 lead – also No. 2 steel or No. 4 composition or alloy – will be legal firearms for small-game seasons in the 2017-18 license year, which begins July 1.

Semiautomatic firearms that propel single-projectile ammunition also will be legal sporting arms for woodchucks and furbearers, and there is no caliber restriction for woodchucks or furbearers.

The measure also approves the use of air guns for hunting small game and furbearers.

Air-guns will be legal for small game in calibers from .177 to .22 that propel single-projectile pellets or bullets.

For woodchucks and furbearers, air-guns must be at least .22 caliber and propel a single-projectile pellet or bullet. BB ammunition is not authorized for small game, furbearers or woodchucks.

Pennsylvania historically prohibited the use of semiautomatic rifles for hunting, but a law that took effect in November enables the Game Commission to regulate semiautomatic rifles and air guns for hunting.

With today’s vote, Pennsylvania becomes the last state in the nation to approve semiautomatic rifles for hunting uses.

Following their vote, the commissioners said if growing support for hunting big game with semiautomatic rifles emerges at some point in the future, they will give consideration to further regulatory changes.

Fact-finding by Pennsylvania Game Commission staff revealed no higher incidence of hunting accidents in any state where semiautomatics are permitted, and many firearms experts have said they believe semiautomatics are safer in that they allow for continuous focus on the target and often require the shooter to absorb less recoil.

The survey on hunting with semiautomatic rifles also showed greater support among younger age groups for semiautomatic rifle hunting, including the use of semiautomatic rifles to hunt big game.

But no such provision will be adopted for the 2017-18 license year.



PHEASANT PERMIT NEEDED IN 2017-18

Adult and senior hunters in Pennsylvania who pursue pheasants will need to purchase a pheasant permit in addition to a general hunting license in the 2017-18 license year.

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave final approval to creating a pheasant permit that would be required for all adult and senior hunters who pursue or harvest pheasants.

The permit would cost $25 for adults and seniors, including senior lifetime license holders. Junior hunters would not need a permit to hunt pheasants.

While Pennsylvania once was home to a robust wild pheasant population, in recent decades, pheasant hunting has relied entirely upon the stocking of farm-raised birds.

The Game Commission annually has raised and released about 200,000 pheasants for release on state game lands and other properties where public hunting is permitted. While the program has been popular with hunters, it has been costing the agency about $4.7 million a year. And without a permit, there’s no funding mechanism in place to help sustain it.

Meanwhile, fees for general hunting and furtaker licenses haven’t been adjusted for inflation since 1998, leaving the Game Commission in recent years to make difficult financial decisions, including budget reductions to the pheasant program.

In December, the agency announced it would close two of its four pheasant farms – a move that is expected to reduce annual program costs by about $1.7 million. Additionally, Game Commission staff have projected a pheasant permit would generate about $1.5 million a year in new revenue.

By making the program more self-sufficient, creation of a pheasant permit helps to ensure the future of pheasant hunting in Pennsylvania, the commissioners said.
 
HUMmmm kind of getting of topic I see....
Does any one really know if it passed....I heard semi-auto for small game and varmints only...but don't know for sure ?..


I am from PA and I don't understand the straw hat and black clothes thing..I don't get it..I am in kind of in a remote area surrounded by Game Lands..I am 4 miles from a Game Lands Shooting range...

How about if I add horse and buggies to that? If that doesn't ring a bell, how about someone with the same clothing standing in a county courthouse treasurer's office with a fistful of C notes buying OTC antlerless licenses?
 
How about if I add horse and buggies to that? If that doesn't ring a bell, how about someone with the same clothing standing in a county courthouse treasurer's office with a fistful of C notes buying OTC antlerless licenses?

Got it..I never knew that..Not around here.
 
So all the survey proved was that 50% of those surveyed don't care enough to respond to said survey. Someone is blowing smoke up someone's buttock....

After a regressive past commissioner raised a public stink about "heritage" and unsubstantiated claims, the comms used a flawed survey to back out of the original unanimous vote to approve for big game. That survey didn't include the five shot magazine limit.

From a Times Leader article, 1/31/17:

Board members said the agency received quite a bit of public comment on the matter, and most of the objections were from senior hunters, while there was virtually unanimous support for allowing semi-automatic rifles for varmints and small game.

“There have been concerns about safety issues with semi-automatic weapons for big game,” said commissioner Timothy Layton. “We found no correlation between the way a weapon is loaded and hunting accidents.”
 
And I guess in PA there is no such thing as a 25 caliber or larger air-gun???...still stuck in minutia in PA. You can hunt with an airgun, but it has to be a 177 or 22 and only 22 on woodchucks, and no bb's and make sure you attach an orange flag to it, don your orange hat, genuflect, and in no way can you use a self-loading airgun...cause lord knows the rules don't address that...

Creeping along from the 1800's into the bureaucracy state....welcome to PA. I am wondering why I am moving back.
 
And I guess in PA there is no such thing as a 25 caliber or larger air-gun???...still stuck in minutia in PA. You can hunt with an airgun, but it has to be a 177 or 22 and only 22 on woodchucks, and no bb's and make sure you attach an orange flag to it, don your orange hat, genuflect, and in no way can you use a self-loading airgun...cause lord knows the rules don't address that...

Creeping along from the 1800's into the bureaucracy state....welcome to PA. I am wondering why I am moving back.
Like anything else in politics, it's not the general public. It's a small, loud, vocal minority of other hunters who are the greatest impediment to changing PA UNLESS it's in their favor. Witness the semi-auto vote reversal.
 
And I guess in PA there is no such thing as a 25 caliber or larger air-gun???...still stuck in minutia in PA. You can hunt with an airgun, but it has to be a 177 or 22 and only 22 on woodchucks, and no bb's and make sure you attach an orange flag to it, don your orange hat, genuflect, and in no way can you use a self-loading airgun...cause lord knows the rules don't address that...

Creeping along from the 1800's into the bureaucracy state....welcome to PA. I am wondering why I am moving back.
"For woodchucks and furbearers, air-guns must be at least 22 caliber". You can most certainly use the 25 caliber pellets. The only type of hunting BB's is good for is insect hunting:rolleyes:
 
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Pittsburgh Tribune detailed the survey and reasons for the rejection. It is senior hunters who overwhelmingly rejected semi-automatic rifles for big game hunting. To me that is GOOD!

First off who is hunting? Today mostly it's seniors as our younger people don't hunt much, may only shoot to be "bad" with semi's and are not in the woods hunting in a responsible manner. They did not respond to the survey. Those that do the hunting did. Their voice was heard.

It is absolutely disgusting to be at the rifle range surrounded by the kind of human debris that oh so often blast and blast their military-style rifles, often showering those around with ejected cases . I would like to ban them from all public ranges unless they come with brass catchers and remove the magazines.

Then there is the issue of caliber. Surely the older semiautomatics, like the 740 Remington, make decent big game rifles. That would be in the minority if the laws were changed. Thousands of 223/5.56 military clones would now be taking to the woods. That caliber is unfit for big game hunting unless appropriate bullet selection is considered and shots are carefully placed. The masses with those rifles just do not seem to me to have a clue about either of those issues.

I am happy the Pennsylvania Game Commission considered and surveyed the actual people hunting before making that decision.
 
I'm an old school guy, I don't like policy that comes out of the minority just because they manage to put together a bigger soapbox. The harder the push to jamb stuff down our throats- the more we are going to push back. I did contact the PAGC and urged them to shoot down AR's for hunting.
 
It just makes no sense to me. If you don't like it don't use it!
Anti gun people say (there is no need for private people to have guns) we stand behind the second amendment and say it's not about need it's about rights. If you don't want to exercise your right fine but don't take my right away.
Anti AR people say (There is no need to use a gun like that for hunting) YOUR USING THE SAME ARGUMENT AS ANTI GUN PEOPLE.

Because a few people might not do things the right way we should prevent that by banning anyone from using them........ Sounds like ever anti gun lobbyist to me.
 
Like other things this seems to have hit a point of 1 side or the other and no good can come of that. time to close it down.
 

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