Club Cancels Hunter Safety Training Courses

After considerable deliberation, the Board of Trustees voted at the April 2004 board meeting to not hold Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) Hunter Safety Training Courses this year. The action came as the result of a decision by the Game Commission not to permit any firing of guns at the courses anytime in the near future. The board feared that since the absence of actual training with firearms and live ammunition renders the Hunter Safety Program totally inadequate as safety training for hunting, certifying anyone as “trained” could conceivably make the club legally liable for hunting accidents far into the future. Hunter Safety Courses will be resumed as soon as the PGC reestablishes live firing of firearms as part of their official program.

The decision by the PGC to ban shooting followed an incident at a course in western Pennsylvania, where a .50 cal. round ball was fired into a frozen plastic milk jug of water as part of a “firepower” demonstration for the trainees. Shortly afterward a spectator, who was the father of one of the trainees, approached an instructor and showed him a flattened lead ball that he alleged had flown back and hit him on the shoulder. There was a gray smudge on his t-shirt and a red mark on his skin. As a result of the minor incident, which is believed to be the first such in several decades of hunter safety training in Pennsylvania, the PGC decided to ban shooting at the courses pending review of safety practices and policies. Sources report that resumption of live firing of firearms is not anticipated before 2006.

The reason given by the PGC for the cessation of live fire training was concern over the PGC’s and clubs’ liability if a more serious shooting accident were to occur. While that may sound plausible, it really makes no sense. All of us know that while we can make a shooting event safer than driving down to the corner store, when you fire projectiles through the air at high velocity, accidents can happen. This will always be the case with freak accidents, as the incident described above illustrated. In that case, it was found that the .50 cal. ball had shattered the ice and completely exited the back of the plastic jug, which was sitting in front of a conventional sand backstop. And yet, somehow the flattened ball had come back to behind the firing line, at low velocity, to strike a bystander. No obvious violations of safety practices were identified, and yet a minor accident happened. That the PGC suddenly discovered after thirty years or more that accidents are always possible, just does not sound like the real reason for the shooting ban.

In discussing the problem of non-shooting “safety” courses, several board members suggested clever ways for the club to incorporate shooting as a separate activity from the “official” PGC sponsored program. But, it always came back to, that we could not make shooting mandatory and withhold certification from someone who had not completed our “unofficial” shooting program. We regretfully decided that since the PGC had created the problem, we would have to wait for them to resolve it themselves, and not place ourselves in a position of added liability to compensate for PGC shortcomings. We are hoping other clubs will join us in placing added pressure on the PGC to resolve the problem more quickly than the reported 2006 target date. Meanwhile, it is recommended that if you are inconvenienced by our decision, you should contact the Pennsylvania Game Commission and let them know your thoughts about Hunter Safety Training that doesn’t include the firing of guns.

HB 2451 Would Ban Pump Rifles, Bolt-Action Shotguns

On March 17, 2004 another so-called “assault weapon” bill was introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. This bill, HB 2451, is so comprehensive in what defines a gun as an “assault weapon” that it would ban not only pump action rifles, but also bolt action shotguns if they have detachable magazines, like the old Marlin Goose Gun or the Mossberg .410 you had as your first shotgun. The list of “assault weapon” features is so long that it very possibly could ban all firearms, but a quick look showed that rifles like the M-1 Garand, M1-A, M-14, or SKS would be banned because they have “handguards.”

The bill is sponsored by representative Frankel, and cosponsored by Reps. Thomas, Bishop, Cohen, Curry, Dwight Evans, Horsey, James, Josephs, Kirkland, Leach, Melio, Pistella, Roebuck, Rooney, Stetler, Sturla, Washington, Waters, Weber, Wheatley, Williams and Youngblood. Most of these people are “usual suspects” in the world of Pennsylvania gun banners, and it is very likely the bill is intended to be a ploy to capitalize on the hoped-for sunset of the federal assault weapon ban. Many people have told me that it will not go anywhere, but I always urge caution. In 1995, Rep. Matt Wright assured me that no gun control was going to go anywhere that year – about one week before he voted for the infamous Act 17 of 1995. Take a few minutes to call or write your state representative – who is up for re-election this year – and tell him or her your want to see HB 2451 die. Tell them you’ll check back with them in October.