Help fix CT handgun hunting

[jarv442]

CT now has a hand gun hunt but I think what went on the books is not what was originally intended please read on.
How did the bill introduced as:

sSB 207: AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE HUNTING OF DEER BY PISTOL OR REVOLVER

Change to:

PA 10-99—sSB 207: AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE HUNTING OF DEER BY REVOLVER AND ESTABLISHING CERTAIN CREDITS TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES
________________________________???????????_______ _________________________(notice "pistol" is missing in the second act)

The answer is here,in amendment A, they were led to believe a revolver and a pistol are the same thing!!!!!!!!!!!

Amendment A:
"*Senate Amendment “A” eliminates pistol from the types of handgun hunting permitted, however, the definition of revolver is the same as the definition of pistol. "
Chapter 529 of the State police statute 29-27(A) is where they take the text of their definition of a revolver from, but the statutes the definition pertain to are all talking about "legal concealed carry", transference of ownership and shipping of firearms and in the context of those statutes they are the same thing from a legal standpoint, but by no means are they the same by definition.
A):
CT CHAPTER 529* DIVISION OF STATE POLICE statute 29-27 : "Pistol" and "revolver" defined. The term "pistol" and the term "revolver", as used in sections 29-28 to 29-38, inclusive, mean any firearm having a barrel less than twelve inches in length."
From: http://search.cga.state.ct.us/dtsearch_pub_statutes.html

But I don't think the legislature wanted to exclude pistols,as the DEP clearly does:
{Semi-automatic pistols and single shot pistols (i.e. TC Contender or Encore) are NOT permitted.}.( from: http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?Q=466902&A=3847)
Below is part of the Bill to authorize Handgun hunting in CT in its original proposed form (1)and the form in which was passed(2).
I am including all the links that these Quotes were copied from at the end of this.
1):
General AssemblyFile No. 616
February Session, 2010Substitute Senate Bill No. 207
Senate, April 22, 2010
The Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding reported through SEN. DAILY of the 33rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE HUNTING OF DEER BY PISTOL OR REVOLVER.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) The commissioner shall issue, upon payment of a five-dollar fee, to the owner of ten or more acres of private land or a resident of this state, who has the consent of the owner of ten or more acres of private land, a private land pistol or revolver permit that allows the use of a pistol or revolver, as defined in section 29-27 of the general statutes, to hunt deer from November first to December thirty-first, inclusive, pursuant to the bag limit established for a private land deer permit under subsection (a) of section 26-86a of the general statutes. Any person authorized to hunt deer by pistol or revolver pursuant to this section shall use a cartridge of .357 caliber or larger for such purpose.

2):
Substitute Senate Bill No. 207
Public Act No. 10-99
AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE HUNTING OF DEER BY REVOLVER AND ESTABLISHING CERTAIN CREDITS TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) The commissioner shall issue, upon payment of a five-dollar fee, to the owner of ten or more acres of private land or a resident of this state, who has the consent of the owner of ten or more acres of private land, a private land revolver permit that allows the use of a revolver, as defined in section 29-27 of the general statutes, to hunt deer from November first to December thirty-first, inclusive, pursuant to the bag limit established for a private land deer permit under subsection (a) of section 26-86a of the general statutes. Any person authorized to hunt deer by revolver pursuant to this section shall use a cartridge of . 357 caliber or larger for such purpose. Approved June 2, 2010
(notice the absence of the word pistol).
Single shot "hunting" pistols ie T/C Contender or Encore and others like them are designed for single shot kills , which is what we as ethical hunters strive for. Why would they want to limit this new hunting opportunity only to revolvers, which by the way have 5 or 6 cartridge's in the cylinder when they only allow 3 rounds in a shotgun while upland or waterfowl hunting. With only a single shot to take your game the shot you place is going to be made much more carefully then if you had 4 or 5 more in the "ready". I can understand not wanting a semi automatic pistol but the single shot pistols should have been included for use while hunting.

I am sorry for such a long rant but I am hoping when I send this out it will get the attention of someone who will understand the difference between what was proposed and what ultimately went into the rule books, and possibly getting it back as originally proposed. The deer heard in the state is out of control with more and more towns hiring or considering paid sharpshooters to thin the heard it makes more economic sense for hunters paying ,in permit and license fees, for the privilege of taking a deer. Not letting hunters use a tool made for this exact purpose seems counter-productive.
(Don't get me started on why they limit barrel length to 12" eliminating all 14" hunter barrels made for hunting).

Please feel free to forward this to as many people that may be able to help as you can and make corrections if needed.
I will be posting this on multiple websites(with the same title) to get as much exposure as possible.
ftp://ftp.cga.ct.gov/2010/cbs/s/SB-0207.htm

ftp://ftp.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/s/pdf/2010SB-00116-R01-SB.pdf

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/BA/2010SB-00207-R010616-BA.htm

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/SUM/2010SUM00099-R03SB-00207-SUM.htm

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/BA/2010SB-00207-R000244-BA.htm

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/BA/2010SB-00207-R02-BA.htm

http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?Q=466902&A=3847
Off my soapbox for now.
Thank you for your patience.
Don

[jarv442]

I have been contacted by a few people in the "know" on this subject and I will pass on what I have gotten so far here.

Initiation and passage of a new handgun hunting opportunity must be simple with few questions asked by legislators – most of whom don’t understand what we do or are trying to accomplish. For that reason the key is KISS. Removal of the pistol provision was on the request of certain parties and without their support nothing would have passed because of probable significant debate concerning shootings with semi-autos in the cities.

In the original proposal was this: "the handgun shall be limited to revolvers and single shot pistols with a minimum barrel length of 5.75 inches and not exceeding 12 inches and chambered for and using straight-wall handgun ammunition in .357 magnum to .50 caliber. (2) Full metal jacket bullets may not be used to harvest deer." also "A muzzleloader opportunity was originally in the draft but removed due to probable misunderstandings." We all know there is a lot of give and take to get anything done in any legislature.

In CT the Dept of Public safety gets involved in everything we try to get passed.

This bill was far from what we wanted. Now that we have the Law, changes may be made. Corrections may be made to the law in the upcoming Legislative Session Jan-June 2011 or not depending on circumstances. We have to contact our legislators and educate them so they understand and only then do we have a chance to get this changed for the better.Some of the things they need to know are that brake action and bolt action hand guns are inherently accurate. They were designed for hunting accuracy. On the brake action pistols you only get one shot to take game and that shot is made much more carefully. Also they should be made aware that the law allows .243 and up, in a rifle, on private land of 10+ acres already (with landowner permission) then why should it matter if the round was fired from an 18" or larger barrel or a 12" or smaller barrel.

If we get enough people emailing them they have to listen. Here is a link to find your State of Connecticut Districts for Representative, Senator and Congressperson http://www.cga.ct.gov/maps/townlist.asp. Please contact them and make them aware of the changes that should be made any why they make sense.

Thanks for your help.
D.J.