PA Airgun Hunting

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Mar 4, 2018
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So I've recently confirmed that small game hunting with airguns is legal in Pennsylvania, yes i know they passed that back in 2017-18 but i had been a bit confused at the time. Still am on something and that's why I've come to ask this, I've noticed that some of the wording seems to imply that airgun hunting for small game is legal except in specifically designated areas. Other parts it seems to state that it is legal except for certain designated areas.



So which is it, is it legal state wide with areas where it is prohibited or is it legal only in specifically designated areas of PA? 



I have the adequate equipment, Ruger Impact .22, for small game hunting but i can't seem to find anything that says where it is acceptable to hunt small game with an air rifle. Can anyone give me a clear answer or possibly a link to where i can figure this out? I'd really like to get out for some squirrel and groundhogs, it's been quite some time since i last had wild game and I'd like to get into taking small game with my air rifle.



Also, I've been out of the airgun loop for little bit so i may have missed a post pertaining to this already. Thanks in advance.
 
Google searches have already sent me there several times and it doesn't provide any information as to whether airgun hunting is state wide or just specific areas of the state. Aside from that, I'm not stopping at just airgun hunting as i plan to get into trapping as well for furbearing species, even if fur prices aren't at an all-time high it's still a great way to put some meat on the table occasionally.

Mostly I'm trying to find out just how far id be forced to travel on a given day to go hunting with my air rifle. Whether i can hunt my local area's or if i have to travel to a different county to be able to hunt with my air gun.
 
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Here's a link to the INFO that should answer most of your questions. This INFO explains what special regulation areas are and if you scroll down it explains air rifle requirements for small game. I also read somewhere else in this digest that for woodchucks the MINIMUM air rifle caliber is .22. It was very vague until I saw the other info which I haven't looked for again. That makes perfect sense as woodchucks are tough & .22 is OK for good head shots but I use my .25 or .30 air rifle if I'm hunting specifically for them. 

http://read.nxtbook.com/pgc/huntingtrapping/20202021/special_regulations_areas.html#
 
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It may be possible that what you are reading is true for the state wide regs, but each local township may have its own regs which apply. I think your best coarse of action would be to figure out exactly where you want to hunt, and then contact the local game warden or DNR and ask them.

I have a friend who lives in Lancaster, and I always get so jealous when I visit because you literally have to make an effort not to hit a rabbit with a car, or accidentally step on one. They are everywhere in his neighborhood!

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paulemar, I've read through that twice and couldn't find the specific information pertaining to my question. Which is when i posted here to see if anyone else could make sense of it.

I can't seem to find the part where it states that airgun hunting is legal statewide with exceptions to special regulation areas. Or that you can ONLY hunt in special regulation areas and not statewide. I hate the legal system, they can't ever put in plain old english, always gotta make it confusing.
 
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paulemar, I've read through that twice and couldn't find the specific information pertaining to my question. Which is when i posted here to see if anyone else could make sense of it.

I can't seem to find the part where it states that airgun hunting is legal statewide with exceptions to special regulation areas. Or that you can ONLY hunt in special regulation areas and not statewide. I hate the legal system, they can't ever put in plain old english, always gotta make it confusing.
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Here's my understanding. The PA Game commission regulates all hunting laws statewide. Hunting with an air rifle is legal with the regs. as listed (caliber, quarry requirements) everywhere hunting is allowed. You being in Franklin County, I wouldn't hunt on the Mont Alto Penn State campus, in downtown Chambersburg, or any area where hunting may be specially regulated for whatever reason. Here in Allegheny county in W. PA, an example of a specific special regulations area, you can't use centerfire rifles for hunting. .22's are legal & so are air rifles but certain township or other areas may have local restrictions. Those restrictions are usually for safety reasons. So basically, if the area you wish to hunt with an air rifle is open to hunting, you're good to go within the quarry and caliber restrictions as specified. You still can't hunt big game or turkeys with an airgun. Initially, the only thing I thought was pretty vague about the law was the requirement that groundhogs must be hunted with a .22 air rifle. It wasn't stated clearly that it was a .22 caliber minimum. I hope that you getting official info when you call the game commission explains everything clearly. Let us all know what you find out. 

Paul 
 
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I grew up in Chambersburg, now in Carlisle. PA game commission has always had a reputation for writing their laws in confusing manners that can get you in trouble. There was even a push from county representatives for the Commission to review and rewrite several of their laws because of all the complaints from hunters on how the wardens construed their lame written laws. I have no love for the commission as I have had too many uncomfortable run in’s with wardens where I was treated as guilty of something and they weren’t going to let me go until they found something to write me up on. I have hunted all over the world and never have been treated like that anywhere. I was disappointed that PA set the maximum limit of .22 caliber for all small game instead of .25 as I think .22 is too light for groundhogs and .25 should be minimum for them. Why not make it minimum of .177 and maximum of .25 on small game . Then one gun ( .25 ) would be all one would need even for fur bearers. 
 
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