Fellow hunters, the predator hunters in Pennsylvania need your help. The use of a gun mounted light, is no longer permitted while hunting predators. While I applaud their proactive approach towards safety and the many safety concerns of the Game commission, I and many others feel it is a greater risk not allowing gun mounted lights for predator hunting.
Predator hunting as a whole has a greater safety record than all the other sporting groups in Pennsylvania. With the banning of gun mounted lights, predator hunters must try to safely hold their weapon, hold a light on target, properly aim and safely discharge their weapon to dispatch the animal with humane shot placement. Even with a head lamp, this is a difficult task to perform in a safe manner. This would be safer and easier with a gun mounted light, there is a hand held or head lamp for scanning and a gun mounted light for final target recognition, properly alighting target area, which frees both hands to safely hold the weapon to properly discharge the weapon and to humanely dispatch the predator.
Why should deer, small game, duck and turkey hunters care about the laws that affect predator hunters? There are several reasons. First, we must all stand together and have a unified voice to make our point heard. Second, by helping predator hunters eliminate more predators, you would be helping your sport out. With gun mounted lights predator hunters will be able to safely harvest more of the nest robbing predators. This will allow more duck, turkey, pheasant and other game birds to hatch. Then there are the fawns, rabbits and birds that coyotes kill every year. Another issue is the exploding coyote populations and the resulting coyotes which are encroaching into residential and urban areas.
The Pennsylvania Predator Hunters Association is already addressing this issue with the Game Commission, but we cannot do it alone, we need your help. We are asking that you write or call district Senator and the Game Commission, asking them to propose and pass an amendment to HB 881, to allow the use of gun mounted lights for predator hunting.
I thank you and I am positive the other predator hunters of Pennsylvania would thank you for your help. Only together will our voice be loud enough to be heard.

Thank you
Ryan Lehman
Archerobx

Well I saw this and it got me a little PO'ed. So I started looking at the PGC site and legislative sites. Here is what I found the 2007-2008 PGC hand book says

While the the Sec. 2310. Unlawful use of lights while hunting. on the PGC site states (last updated December 19, 1996) So this was the law prior to the H.B. 881

Now the most recent amendment I have found was the copy received by the house as it was last amended on June 19, 2007 reads

So from what I was able to find the final amendments to H.B 881 were signed into law by Gov. Rendell on 7/3/2007. This appears to have given us a much clearer law that allows the use of gun mounted lights. The PGC site is a little slow on updating this info on their site and the hand books came out prior to the passing of this law.

why did it get you PO'd?

at the time this was written it was not legal to use gun mounted light. It is now legal to. I am pretty sure it was approved after the hand book for 2007-2008 was published.

The Pa Predator hunter assoc along with many sportsman and woman got the law changed.
thanks
Ryan

I was PO'ed because I thought the law had just been changed and I would no longer be able to use my gun attatched light for predator hunting as was stated in the original topic. But after a little research I found that that wasn't the case. It was a little confusing.