Discussion Topic: Are Shotguns Really Safer During Deer Season?
In 2004, an unfortunate hunting accident prompted Pennsylvania legislators to consider expanding the number of counties in which the use...
In 2004, an unfortunate hunting accident prompted Pennsylvania legislators to consider expanding the number of counties in which the use of rifles would not be permitted for deer hunting. But the results of a state sponsored study stands to change matters. From The Morning Call:
_Although it may be a couple months before details are made public, state Sen. Lisa M. Boscola, D-Northampton, announced the study will state that hunting with shotguns is not inherently safer than hunting with rifles.
Boscola — who last year organized a meeting between Burns and Game Commission officials to address the rifle vs. shotgun issue — said the findings essentially kill any plans to expand existing shotgun-only restrictions. . . .
Some states, including neighboring New Jersey, Ohio and Delaware, don’t allow any rifle use by deer hunters.
But the new study seems to refute conventional wisdom — used as the basis for shotgun-only rules across the nation — which holds that using shotgun slugs, which have a much shorter range than rifle bullets, reduces the odds of an accident.
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What do you think?
