Ballistics tests, prompted by accidental shooting of Valley woman, give surprise results.
March 29, 2007|By Christian Berg Of The Morning Call
Forcing Lehigh Valley deer hunters to use shotguns instead of rifles wouldn't boost public safety, according to a state-sponsored study released Wednesday.
The study, done in response to the November 2004 accident in which Casey Burns of North Whitehall was hit in the head by a stray rifle bullet, says shotgun slugs are much more prone to ricochets than rifle bullets. And in some cases, the study says, slugs can travel farther than a bullet.
FOR THE RECORD - (Published Friday, March 30, 2007) A 12-gauge sabot slug fired level 3 feet off the ground can travel 8 percent farther (including ricochets) than a .30-06 rifle bullet fired in the same manner, according to a state-sponsored safety study. An article in Thursday's editions included an incorrect percentage.
Officials said the surprising results contradict conventional wisdom and make it unlikely the Lehigh Valley will be added to existing shotgun-only areas around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Using rifles for deer hunting has been prohibited since 1964 in parts of counties bordering Philadelphia, since 1979 in Allegheny County and since 1991 in all of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
"We were just making people feel better, when in fact we weren't making them safer at all," Mike Schmitt, deputy executive director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, said after reviewing the results, unveiled at a meeting of the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, a joint panel of the Legislature.
Despite the findings, Burns' mother, Allie Dickinson, continues to support the expansion of shotgun-only regulations.
"It can't be safe, and there's no study that can convince me of that," said Dickinson, who launched a campaign to expand shotgun-only restrictions after the accident. "If he would have shot a shotgun that day instead of a rifle, it would not have hit Casey. I truly believe that."
Dickinson, whose daughter survived the shooting, also said that if shotguns are as dangerous -- or even more dangerous -- than rifles, perhaps both types of firearms should be prohibited in residential areas.
"If that's the case, then maybe we need to look into archery-only areas," she said. "Lehigh County has changed a lot over the last 15-20 years, and they have not adjusted the [hunting] laws. That needs to be fixed."
The state House authorized the safety study in March 2005 to inject scientific data into the rifle versus shotgun debate. The project was coordinated by the legislative committee, which hired Mountaintop Technologies of Johnstown, Cambria County, at $41,576.
The study's conclusions are based on ballistics analysis of shots fired by deer rifles, shotguns and muzzleloaders. Ballistics data were calculated for Mountaintop by the Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.
Many people assume shotguns are safer than rifles because they have a much shorter maximum range. That assumption has been used as the basis for shotgun-only hunting regulations in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Some states, including New Jersey, Ohio and Delaware, don't allow any rifle use by deer hunters.
However, the study says none of the states contacted by researchers could provide scientific data to back up their assumptions, indicating this may be the first comprehensive look at the rifle versus shotgun issue. (Continued on next page)
Last edited by Chainsaw; 05/13/15.
