Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Legality of weapon

Those of you familiar with Alaska laws, do you think a Tracking-Point rifle with the supplied scope is illegal or does the "LASER" have to be a visible LASER?

Thoughts?

It used to say in the regs that the laser had to be projected to be illegal...

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/wildliferegulations/pdfs/regulations_complete.pdf

Now it says this:
• Using a pit, fire, laser sight, electronically-enhanced
night vision, any forward looking infrared device, any
device that has been airborne, controlled remotely and
used to spot or locate game with the use of a camera or
video device, radio communication, cellular or satellite
telephone, artificial salt lick, explosive, expanding gas
arrow, bomb, smoke, deer urine, elk urine, or chemicals
(excluding scent lures), EXCEPT:
-- Scent lures (without deer or elk urine) may be used for
ungulates, and for bears ONLY under a black bear baiting
permit.
-- Rangefinders may be used.
-- Electronic calls may be used for all game animals except
moose.
-- Communications equipment may be used for safety; they
may not be used to aid in taking of game.
-- In the Unit 20D bison hunt, the use of ground-based radio
communications, including cellular or satellite phones, to
locate bison is allowed.

Depending on what other stuff the Tracking Point uses???

The syllabus is not law BTW, here but just a guideline...

I'm trying to envision a laser that does not project.

From the Tracking-point website:

The shooter never again has to worry about whether his gun is properly zeroed. The laser-based barrel reference system of the Precision-Guided Firearm maintains a permanent, factory-set, perfect zero for every shot. It’s unaffected by shock, vibration, or other environmental factors.

From the law:

5 AAC 92.080. Unlawful methods of taking game; exceptions



(7) with the aid of a pit, fire, artificial light, laser sight, electronically enhanced night vision scope, radio communication, cellular or satellite telephone, artificial salt lick, explosive, expanding gas arrow, bomb, smoke, chemical (excluding scent lures), or a conventional steel trap with an inside jaw spread over nine inches, except that

(A) a rangefinders may be used;

(B) a killer style trap with a jaw spread of less than 13 inches may be used;

(C) for the purpose of taking furbearers under a trapping license during an open season November 1 - March 31 in Units 7 and 9 - 26, artificial light may be used; and

(D) a tracking dog handler with one leashed dog may use artificial light to aid in tracking and dispatching a wounded big game animal;


Sounds pretty straightforward to me.... IMO, you cannot use the tracking-point in Alaska.

(nor would I want to. Heck, a scope gets in the way most of the time).

Scopes get in the way for long shots in AK? I"m just stirring the pot. LOL.

IIRC scopes in action style shooting events have proven as fast, if not faster than irons. And in low light conditions scopes win every time...

Why the need for a Tracking Point rifle to begin with? Whatever happened to hunting skill and marksmanship? I'm all for new high-tech stuff, but in some places it just doesn't seem appropriate.

gun laws are [bleep] and I always tell people, know you gun laws or know them before you carry one in,

Disclaimer -- I'm not a lawyer.

NFW the Tracking Point is not a laser-emitter. It's how the damned thing works.

For the record, the OP does not wish to use a Tracking Point rifle, just to inquire about the legality.


I would love to have a Tracking Point. I would sell it and buy something really interesting!

That damn reading comp stuff!

the way I read it, it would be illegal. Just wondering if anyone had heard of anyone testing the law by using a Tracking Point. Guy in town here used one and started a sh tstorm. Just trying to figure how it's all going to play out. He claims it's NOT a LASER sight- just a range finder. I guess he believes it has to paint the animal with a red spot to be a LASER sight. I don't know what they had in mind when they wrote it. This rifle ended up being a handicap not a help on his hunt from what I got out of his story. I guess he had an extra $13K burning a hole in his shorts so he bought it.

well now i'm going to have to google this thing I guess eventually...

I'm not.

Well, I was being a bit facetious, and I wasn't offering that quip as the gist of my quote, just a lower cased note...

But in the few animals I've shot here... 2 black bears, 1 moose, and one caribou (not including small game)... The only time I used a scope was with the moose at 7 power to better count brow tines, then shoot at 80 yards or so. The blackies were less than 70 yards away and were shot with peep sights (Marlin 1895); As was the caribou that was roughly 150 yards away with an AR with stock A2 sights (don't hate, I was new, it was all I had, and it was a clean one shot kill)

Again, not trying to make this a scope thing, just a minor point following the OP's question.

It was designed in this case to hunt with...legal.

This. Surprised they are still in business. They laid off pretty much all their R&D staff 2 years ago

You don't need R&D if you are already perfect!

Friends,
The answer is quite literally in the word. The word LASER is an acronym. Look up the definition of the word laser, and your answer is literally contained right there.

That said, how states choose to enforce and interpret specific technology issues is an entirely different ball of tangled Christmas lights.

And that was my point, the syllabus is not verbatim law. It used to say sights projecting a dot are illegal, but others are legal.