Legalizing Semis For Hunting In Pennsylvania

[Whitefeather]

They aren't more dangerous than any other firearm, whether single shot, bolt, pump, semi, or lever. Irresponsible people will cause hard with any of them. The firearm is just another gun!

Respectfully disagree.  Their are already folks out there taken shots out of their league.  Having semi capability in their hands scares me.  I am a full supporter of owning just about any gun, carrying guns ect.  But putting semis in the hands of inexperienced people to go out in public lands and shoot stuff imho is dangerous.  And to fire off a second round with a bolt action and stay on target takes roughly 1.5-4 seconds.  Enough time for game to go out of sight or myself to take cover!   And I am sure you will come back with a descriptive argument which is ok

[uncle buck]

See there is a time and place for everything... On a pitch dark black night all you need is a single shot rifle.. However over snow with twilight conditions I think in the hands of a responsible and safe hunter the semiautomatic would be OK to use... I see what your saying.. You would have people throwing lead and someone could get hurt... yes they could if it was dark out and you have to call your shots...


On the other extreme...Over snow during twilight conditions...All you need is one shot... You can see the fox out in the field without a light even...

However if my memory serves me correctly???The only person I heard gettng shot predator hunting was when someone shot a partner. Something to the effect the red reflectors on the vehicle lit up and the unsafe hunter pulled the gun up and shot his partner.

[Whitefeather]

Trained soldiers kill hundreds of men with one shot one kill bolt action rifles.  If folks cant hunt successfully with a single shot weapon, IMO they should move on to something else.  We dont need semi auto rifles in Pa public lands. 

I understand your point on predator hunting, and points that others have made that it could be safer because of less hunters.  Problem is, it requires regulation.  And Pa cant afford to regulate what they have currently, let alone more.

Samurai used to hunt with bow and arrow while riding.  Our forefathers used musket.  If you want to kill with semis, join the military!

[DaveyC]

white feather, IMHO, we need to stick together as sportsmen and stop nit picking each other every chance we get. Many many states allow semis and they haven't experienced the higher rate of accidents that many are concerned with. The AR platform has found a HUGE following with predator hunters around the nation. They are light and maneuverable and are chambered in popular varmint calibers. They are the modern sporting rifle. The classic bolt actions that the anti semi people are so fond of are designed after military arms of the day. When compound bows were new on the market, the recurve fans wanted to outlaw these death machines. Now the focus is on cross bows. The same goes for rifles. If people had an open mind, we'd be using semis now. The liberal media hears semi and they think AR or AK, but wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a 700 or Benelli R1 or other semis with hunters in mind. It's a shame that we can't all stick together and gain another freedom that the liberals will have a hard time taking from us.

[Whitefeather]

Dave I agree with you're passion, not necessarily your view.  However, pursue it if you think it s right and dont be discouraged by others.