is pa the only state where you can't go hunting with a semi auto rifle?

[billj139]

I have a Browning Buckmark pistol that is very accurate. I would like to use it for squirrels. Would installing a heavy recoil spring that would not allow it to eject be OK? It would require disassembly to reconvert to semiauto. Isn't this the same as replacing parts on the SKS that are welded. New parts could be installed on the SKS to making it semiauto again.

[knight0334]

I have a Browning Buckmark pistol that is very accurate. I would like to use it for squirrels. Would installing a heavy recoil spring that would not allow it to eject be OK? It would require disassembly to reconvert to semiauto. Isn't this the same as replacing parts on the SKS that are welded. New parts could be installed on the SKS to making it semiauto again.

I doubt it.

Would you risk having it cycle the one time a possom cop went to inspect it? Just on face value of it being a semi-auto firearm could result in a fine, whether or not it was disabled. I know for sure the PAGC officer that owns the adjoining land to our farm would cite you for just thinking of using it. (he's a known hardass).

[XD40coyote]

In MD you can use semi autos, but the mag cap is 8 I think, however you can use a 10-20-30-40 round mag if you want, but cannot load more than 8 in it. There are some guys at MDshooters who have taken deer with EBR's, and I know of one of my customers who uses an AR with a suppressor to hunt deer with. Yes that too is legal, there is nothing in the law/regs booklet saying anything about them.

The mag cap does not apply to handguns, just rifles. Not sure on shotguns, but if you are hunting fox or coyote with a shotgun it must be plugged so only 3 rounds can be loaded. We can hunt with semi auto handguns for furbearers and small game in all counties. Semi auto rifles can also be used to hunt same game animals in all counties, but deer are a different story. Rifles and modern handguns can only be used for deer in certain counties.

I haven't heard of any problems concerning MD hunters with semi autos, and we do have our share of yahoos here. The only stuff I hear bitching about are the idiots on public lands, the same idiocy I hear about that occurs in PA. Also the occassional stray bullet from idiots who can't figure out what "backstop" means. Then there are the dolts climbing treestands with loaded rifles or shotguns then slip and fall and the gun ND's, and the shoot-at-rustling-bushes crowd. Don't forget all the poachers jacklighting deer at night from the road. Oh wait, this happens in EVERY state, right?

I see no LOGICAL reason for why PA doesn't allow semi auto rifles or handguns, esp for small game, furbearers, and varminting.

[dogngun]

There is NO logical reason - it's just the way it is.
A lot of good points made here, but other than personal opinions, there has been no real reasongiven for semi's being illegal for hunting.

mark

[FrankJL]

Feel free to flame me but I'm in favor of the semi auto ban.

The first day of rifle deer season sounds like a damn war zone before the sun even comes up. Are they hunting with NVGs?? I could only picture these clowns with semi autos...god help us.

[truecrimson]

Feel free to flame me but I'm in favor of the semi auto ban.

The first day of rifle deer season sounds like a damn war zone before the sun even comes up. Are they hunting with NVGs?? I could only picture these clowns with semi autos...god help us.

That's a clown problem, not a rifle problem.

[XD40coyote]

Feel free to flame me but I'm in favor of the semi auto ban.

The first day of rifle deer season sounds like a damn war zone before the sun even comes up. Are they hunting with NVGs?? I could only picture these clowns with semi autos...god help us.

How many "accidents" occur with these suppossed numnuts and their shooting? Not many I assume, since I only hear of a few each season. Overall hunting is the safest sport, with most hunting accidents actually being falls from tree stands. And keep in mind that MD has some public lands that are full of dingaling hunters on opening day of rifle/shotgun, and even lots of hunters during muzzleloader.

So did anyone get killed this year in PA from stray hunter rifle bullets, or idiots making stupid shots?

Or is your concern more focused on shooting at the deer with spray n pray ( or spray n PREY LOL)? There are already numnuts that take stupid shots and hit deer in the gut, butt, blow a front leg off, etc. Maybe the semi auto will allow them to shoot the deer quicker a 2nd and 3rd time and hit something vital so they can take the deer home? Of course the problem is them being bad shots and they need to remedy that problem, like maybe not shooting at a running deer? I saw both hams of a deer ruined by some idiot shooting it dbl through the meat and the wounds started to fester and stink. The guy who killed the deer was a lil pissed.


On a related note, someone made a bad shot on a fox and I am guessing slug gun, blew off 1 front leg and grazed the other front leg. Gimped fox was doing well healing on the stump only to step in a trap with the remaining front paw. Lots of Fudd activity every year. Also I caught a fox that someone seems to have made a long shot at with a broadhead. Would have been a dead fox had there been more velocity, but the broadhead only went in a little then must have fallen off. Fox had a big festering wound on one side of the chest and I was pissed at the pelt being ruined. Not the first time I have seen this either. If you hate foxes, either kill them with a well placed proper shot, or learn to trap them or to hunt them specifically. Plus I hate hearing about guys shooting them with a .22 or birdshot and letting them lay to rot when the pelt is nice.

[Buckmark.35]

Feel free to flame me but I'm in favor of the semi auto ban.

The first day of rifle deer season sounds like a damn war zone before the sun even comes up. Are they hunting with NVGs?? I could only picture these clowns with semi autos...god help us.

I'm with ya bro. Not necessarily because of what others might do, but I'm all for the regulation myself.

What logical reasons are there to allow semi-autos? Just because you COULD use them doesn't mean you're ENTITLED to use them. Nobody's rights are being infringed since hunting is a privledge. I don't see any reason to pander to those unwilling to front the money for a hunting rifle. I know there are some who can't afford to buy both. I am certainly in that group. However, I CHOOSE to own my hunting rifle and to go without an AR (which I would really like to have one someday). If people really wanted to hunt that bad, they would sell their AR and buy a legal hunting firearm.

If people aren't willing to make that commitment, I'm ok with them not being in the woods. That'll keep out the "I just want another way to use my AR" crowd. If people were that passionate about wildlife, conservation, and hunting, they would get a legal rifle.

I liken this to using aluminum bats in Major League Baseball. Just because the technology exists, doesn't mean you're entitled to use it.

[Kaos]

I'm with ya bro. Not necessarily because of what others might do, but I'm all for the regulation myself.

What logical reasons are there to allow semi-autos? Just because you COULD use them doesn't mean you're ENTITLED to use them. Nobody's rights are being infringed since hunting is a privledge. I don't see any reason to pander to those unwilling to front the money for a hunting rifle. I know there are some who can't afford to buy both. I am certainly in that group. However, I CHOOSE to own my hunting rifle and to go without an AR (which I would really like to have one someday). If people really wanted to hunt that bad, they would sell their AR and buy a legal hunting firearm.

If people aren't willing to make that commitment, I'm ok with them not being in the woods. That'll keep out the "I just want another way to use my AR" crowd. If people were that passionate about wildlife, conservation, and hunting, they would get a legal rifle.

I liken this to using aluminum bats in Major League Baseball. Just because the technology exists, doesn't mean you're entitled to use it.

Again...opinions.

I wont buy another gun to see "if" I like hunting or not, nor should I have to. It's a people problem, not a gun problem.

[Buckmark.35]

Again...opinions.

I wont buy another gun to see "if" I like hunting or not, nor should I have to. It's a people problem, not a gun problem.

Certainly what I said is opinion. I don't believe I've seen a fact in this thread.

If you won't buy another gun to see if you like it or not, that's your decision. It's your opinion that you shouldn't have to. That's the entitlement I'm talking about. Just because you have an semi-auto rifle doesn't mean you're entitled to use it for deer.

I certainly agree that you can't take away someone's right to do something just because others might abuse it. The thing of it is.. hunting isn't a right. It's a privilege.