Legalization Of Semis In PA For Hunting

This Is A Serious Petition!!

It is my belief, along with many other hunters’, that we Pennsylvanians should be allowed to hunt with semi-automatic rifles.

There are many benefits to hunting with semis. One benefit is decreased recoil experienced by the shooter. Adding on that benefit, the decreased recoil results in increased accuracy since the shooter is no longer thinking of recoil. A third benefit is a more rapid follow up shot in the case of multiple game targets, such as coyotes and fox. The AR-15 platform rifle is a very versatile platform for hunting. It is incredibly accurate, and easily modified to suit the game species being pursued. There are many different calibers offered, and pulling two pins in the receiver can quickly change from a small game/varmint caliber to a big game caliber.

There is also the rifles that were designed with hunters in mind, such as Remington 7400, Browning BAR, and Benelli R1. These firearms have a legitimate place in the hunting community. Title 34, section 2308 (2) needs to be changed immediately. There are many states that allow hunting with semis, and PA is one of the few that doesn’t. Washington dropped their semi-auto ban on 2/19/2010 and Maryland dropped their ban on 2/22/2010. Semis are not more powerful than any other rifle out there, and are actually based on short action calibers.

In the states that do allow hunting with semis, they haven’t experienced any heightened hunting accidents because of the so called “spray and pray” method that the media says will happen. I urge you to reconsider this regulation and open a bill that, if passed, legalizes the hunting use of semi-automatic rifles.