Rifles in Southern Ontario County

[Doc]

It looks like rifles will be allowed in southern Ontario County this year.The resolution is in Albany being voted on by the Assembly and Senate and then it will move on to signature by the Governor. The whole thing was a bit controversial, and it really looked like it wouldn't make it through the County Legislature. In fact the majority of supervisors from the towns that are actually affected (southern townships) voted against the resolution. But the larger townships north of the proposed rifle zone carried the proposal because they have a weighted vote where the votes of the larger townships carry more weight in the final tally than the smaller ones.

Personally, I went back and forth on the issue because just because I am a hunter doesn't mean that I didn't have some of the same concerns as any other resident. In fact my house sits at the end of a 200 yard state field, and looks like the perfect set-up for a bullet through the wall. However, now that the issue seems to be a done-deal, I'll sure be one of the first with a rifle out there. I've spent enough years pounding my shoulder to pieces with that old 12 guage. I sure wasn't able to spend a whole lot of time target practicing with it. Something like a nice .243 would certainly be a treat.

Doc

[BIGHUNTER2700537]

Why shouldent they be allowed there allowed basicaly everywere. Do you no if chemung is rifle now?

[MuzzyLoader]

Chemung is open for rifle... has been for a few years.

[Doc]

Interesting development in the southern Ontario County Rifle bill. I have unofficially heard that the Canadice Town Supervisor sent a letter to Governor Paterson about the county vote that indicated approval. She explained to him that while the proposal was officially passed, the actual vote was against passing the measure. The actual vote of individual supervisors was 12 to 9 against passing the proposal.

So how did it get registered as an approved proposal? It turns out that Ontario County has a "weighted" that gives some townships a vote that counts more than others. That's based on population and is supposed to make the vote more fair in that it is based on the actual number of people that are in each township. Now here's the problem ...... The people voting against the measure were from the townships south of rts 5 & 20 which is the area that the law would pertain to, while the bigger townships to the north which would not be effected were the ones that voted for it. So it turns out that the larger towns who are not affected were able to force a law regarding local safety on the smaller towns that are actually affected.

Well, this is where the plot thickens .... lol. The Canadice Town Supervisor sent a letter to the Governor laying this whole scenario out. Will it change anything? ..... Don't know. Only time will tell, but the rifle bill is not a done-deal in Ontario County. So I'm still not running right out just yet and buying a shiny new deer rifle.

Doc

[Doc]

It sounds like we can write off having the use of rifles in southern Ontario County this year. As I suspected was happening, the bill never came out of the Senate committee due to their activity on the higher priority budget work. I'm not sure exactly where that leaves the bill as far as its future. I'm not sure whether once they get time to begin with it again, it will pick up where it is now, or whether they will go back to square one with it. The article in the New York Outdoor News wasn't clear on where the bills go from here, but they said that the bills died a "natural death" for this year ...... whatever that means.

Doc