New Pennsylvania Law Allows Hunters to Use Semi-Automatic Firearms

On Monday, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed a bill permitting the use of semi-automatic rifles and handguns for hunting. The new law will not be available for hunters in the upcoming gun deer season beginning November 28, 2016.

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Current state law only allows hunters to use single-shot firearms, requiring hunters who miss on their first shot to manually move an additional cartridge into the chamber to hit their target. Using a semi-automatic rifles gives hunters a much greater ability to fire a timely and accurate follow-up shot, which can be the difference between wounding or quickly taking a game animal.

“I am pleased that this measure is now law in Pennsylvania,” said Senator Scott Hutchinson, the co-sponsor of the initiative. “I’ve heard from numerous sportsmen and women who would like to use the same semi-automatic rifles for hunting that they practice with at the firing range, but Pennsylvania is one of the few states that [had disallowed] these firearms for hunting of any kind.”

The legislation gives the state Game Commission authority to regulate the use of semi-auto guns for hunting and the board of game commissioners is expected to adopt regulations in 2017, including the calibers, seasons and the type of game that can be hunted.

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The Senate bill was approved Oct. 26 with a vote of 40-7 followed by a 160-25 House vote on HB 263 the following day. With Governor Wolf’s signature, Pennsylvania has become the 49th state to permit hunting with semi-automatic rifles.

Please take a moment to thank your state Representative, your state Senator and Governor Wolf for their support of this initiative.

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