The airbow was approved for use hunting deer next fall during the firearms season in Maryland by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources earlier this month.
Might that move mean this new weapon could soon be legalized for use in Pennsylvania?
An airbow is a device that looks like a rifle, which shoots an arrow through the use of compressed air. There are a couple of models on the market, but the best known is the Benjamin Pioneer Airbow made by Crosman.
Crosman has been actively pushing for states across the country to allow the use of airbows for hunting various game animals.
Arizona, Missouri, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington all allow hunters to use an airbow for taking big game animals.
Also, the airbow is approved for hunting feral hogs in Georgia, Florida and Texas, while coyotes and other predators may be hunted with the airbow in over 30 states.
State Rep. Marc Gergely of Allegheny County last year introduced House Bill 2081, which would have legalized the airbow for hunting during any firearms season in Pennsylvania.
Currently, it is illegal to use any air-powered device for hunting here.
That bill died at the end of the 2016 legislative session, without any action ever being taken on it. Neither Gergely or any other lawmaker apparently has reintroduced the bill this year.
Travis Lau, the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s spokesman, said he is not aware of any current legislation seeking the legalization of airbows here. He also said he is not aware of any hunters asking the agency to support its legalization.
Still, we’ve seen plenty of other hunting devices make their way into the Pennsylvania hunting world as their use becomes more common elsewhere. The crossbow certainly fits in that category, and the Game Commission currently is proposing to allow the use of semiautomatic rifles here.
Airbow approved for deer hunting in Maryland
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