opening rifle up south of 5&20?

[msbadger]

Dad in-law said he read this in paper last week or so...that it's been sent to county legislature?.....Geez .....I certainly hope not...we are way too populated here .....ppl taking long shots across property lines with shot guns at moving deer is bad enough....these yahoos with scoped rifles is just too much. Didn't they have enough ppl shot last year during gun season?...What?... are they looking to up those numbers as well...then really have the antis go for a power grab on our hunting rights...I'm just waiting for the back lash on the baby shooting...leave well enough alone...just MO

[msbadger]

Just read that post...I sound a tad jaded [8|].....not against rifles ...I shot my first rifle buck this year at camp....but very few ppl in the area of camp 200+ acre separates us from the nearests residence....barring the ppl right next to the camp.....here at home ...it's just too dangerous...as bad as it is.... this year was even worse...with more ppl   having problems and most ppl don't use scoped shot guns ...and still don't check whats in the back ground....most rifles are scoped and ppl concentrate on the cross hairs not the whole picture...then you have the sky line hunters and in hilly terrain it's a tragety in the making....Oh well I'll step off the soap box...

[nysboss]

I am not completely against rifle hunting, however I do have a problem when it is opened to the wrong areas. I can understand rifle hunting is important to some areas where there are just acres upon acres of open land. Also it allows for older or physically impaired people to hunt. (not that they couldn't use a less powerful weapon). What I don't like about it is, is that it is open to a full county rather than sectioning certain portions of the county as off limits. Madison county for example, where I live it scares me to think that in the little chunk of woods that surrounds my house people could be using rifles. Now if they were say in the hills of caz or well say further south in less populated areas I would be ok with that. I would hate to see the whole state open to such non-sense. It's way too dangerous, and we have already had problems that shouldn't have happened. Let's hope the state regulators become more responsible.  

[JOEL]

ya know a 22 can travel 2 1/2 miles so should we not allow them too?

[msbadger]

OK Joel ...lets get real here just for a minute...We'er not talking about a realitive few( now this is being said in comparison) Ppl hitting the woods from Sept. to the end of Febuary   (6 mos ) to squirrel hunt....We'er talking about thousands of guys hitting the woods for 3weeks... many with "Buck fever" and "brown it's down" sickness...apples to oranges ..just doesn't fly

[beagleman23]

If your talking about Chautauqua County, it's been voted down twice.  I'm not sure if Chautauqua is more populated than Allegany or Cattaragus but people that are not safe with rifles are not any safer with shotguns.  I've read several articles about this subject both stating that lighter weight rifles bullets will deflect quicker to the ground than a heavier shotgun slug but the articles both assumed that rounds would be striking brush or limbs and not shot acrossed wide open spaces.  With the changes in recent New York hunting laws ie: Saturday opener followed by rifles in some Southern Tier Counties, I heard many hunters saying that they would not go because the woods would run red with human blood.  In the 3 years that Allegany,Cattaraugus and Stueben have been open to rifles I'm only aware of 1 fatality which occured last year in the township of Almond, Allegany County.  In that case one friend shot another during a drive because he thought his friend was a deer, not because the bullet over-traveled.

[Joe G.]

Luckily I am in a rifle county (Delaware County) so it really is a non issue to me at this point in time but all that could change over night.  So here is my humble opinion based upon facts.  In the off season you can go out your back door and provided you are 500 feet away from someone else's house (or with permission) you can shoot a rifle to your hearts content.  You can go in the woods or fields and hunt wood chuck with a RIFLE to your hearts content or after deer season hunt coyotes with a RIFLE.  But come November somehow that same rifle becomes "dangerous"?  I don't buy it.  The type of gun isn't the problem it is the person on the trigger that MIGHT be a problem.

[JOEL]

you guys got it at least.no one gun is safer than the next.it the person holding it

[nysboss]

Much agreed with the statement above, however as msbadger points out small game hunter numbers are far less than that of deer hunters. Deer hunting related incidents far outway small game incidents (not including turkey hunting). I honestly don't think I've heard of any, not that they don't happen, but way different situation. But yes, I agree with the point, that the person behind the gun dictates where the bullet will travel.

[JOEL]

actually people get hurt all the time while turkey hunting,unfortunately