When are semi autos legal for small game?

[340M&P]

There is no caliber restriction for woodchucks, so have at it with your 9mm.

[Yoder]

Every other state but ours.

[SgtRecon]

There is no caliber restriction for woodchucks, so have at it with your 9mm.

if its a carbine, go for it, auto pistol, not so much. Now a 357/9mm Ruger Blackhawk convertible would be lots of fun gunning for groundhogs

[USMC3531]

There is no caliber restriction for woodchucks, so have at it with your 9mm.

i think its worded funny. one part says semiauto 22 cal or less. but no caliber restrictions on groundhogs. it COULD be interpreted as if using a semi must be 22 or less.
IDK


anybody else notice airguns are legal now

[SgtRecon]

I have a bad feeling that lots of folks are not going to educate themselves on the regulations and just blindly hear "semi autos legal" through the gun shop gossip and internet chat and be out in the field hunting with prohibited firearms and at game not inclusive in the ruling and the PGC will have their hands full of violators

Im no conspiracy theory guy, but perhaps this is the game commission end game to putting a stop to all the semi auto debate for good ?

[Remington788]

A quick call to the PGC can clear things up.


Northwest Region
Butler, Clarion,
Crawford, Erie, Forest,
Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer,
Venango & Warren counties
P.O. Box 31
Franklin, PA 16323
(814) 432-3187 or (814) 432-3188,
(814)432-3189

Southwest Region
Allegheny, Armstrong,
Beaver, Cambria, Fayette, Greene,
Indiana, Somerset, Washington &
Westmoreland counties
4820 Route 711
Bolivar, PA 15923-2420
(724) 238-9523 or (724) 238-9524,
(724) 238-5639

Northcentral Region
Cameron, Centre, Clearfield,
Clinton, Elk, Lycoming, McKean,
Potter, Tioga & Union counties
1566 South Route 44 Highway,
P.O. Box 5038
Jersey Shore, PA 17740-5038
(570) 398-4744 or (570) 398-4745,
(570) 398-3423
pgc-ncregion@pa.gov

Southeast Region
Berks, Bucks, Chester, Dauphin,
Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon,
Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton,
Philadelphia & Schuylkill counties
253 Snyder Road
Reading, PA 19605-9524
(610) 926-3136 or (610) 926-3137,
(610) 926-1966

[cdi]

A quick call is not likely to clear things up.
I have had different answers to the same question from multiple wco's from the regional office to Harrisburg.
Wco's are not very well trained by their agency.

[CoalcrackerAl]

Yes the wording can be a little confusing. My neighbor is friends with a game warden.I'll have ask just to be sure. And my gun is a carbine. I have a 9 and a 40 and a 45.

[Yellowfin]

Pennsylvania really needs to get with the times or hunting will rot like roadkill here. there are literally thousands of young veterans that have been returning from the sandbox for 20 years and the only exposure they have had to firearms is the AR-15/M16/M4 system and would love to hunt big game with them

It's not just veterans, it's the majority of gun buyers of all ages and walks of life since the 2004 sunset and especially since 2008. Every major gun company now offers at least some iteration of the standard AR, many have .308 AR's and other larger than 5.56 options, so much so that by now we are at a point where gas operated is now the presumptive norm instead of bolt action. Other than small youth rifles like the Crickett, the .22 rifle market is hands down dominated by semi autos to the point that bolt actions are almost an afterthought.

[Gripsafety]

Edited to delete bad information. My apologies to all.