HARRISBURG, PA — Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation on November 21 that includes a provision that will allow the use of semi-automatic rifles for limited hunting in the Keystone State.

The legislation also removes the restriction on air-, chemical- or gas-cylinder powered firearms for hunting. The amendment to include semi-automatic weapons came from Sen. Scott Hutchinson. He said, “I’ve heard from numerous sportsmen and women who would like to use the same semi-automatic rifles for hunting that they practice with at the firing range, but Pennsylvania is one of the few states that currently disallows these firearms for hunting of any kind.”

The legislation comes too late for the 2016 deer season, because the Pennsylvania Game Commission has not yet made any changes to the list of lawful arms and ammunitions that may be used.

The commission released a statement saying, “For deer hunters in the current firearms deer season, that means all centerfire rifles, handguns and shotguns to be used must be manually operated. The only exception is that semi-automatic shotguns may be used to hunt deer in five counties—Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery—that are defined as Special Regulations Areas. Semi-automatic rifles generally are not permitted for any type of hunting in any part of the state at this time.”

The commission said things could change, but because of the specific procedures that must be followed, and because the commission does not meet again for a quarterly meeting until January, the earliest the new rule could come into effect would be April 2017.

The National Rifle Association, which supported the legislation, said that 48 states already allow hunting with semi-automatic weapons, Pennsylvania and Delaware being the only exceptions, though some impose limitations.

Most states surrounding Pennsylvania do permit hunting with semi-automatic rifles, but some are among those that have specific limitations. In New York State, for instance, it’s against the rules, in most cases, to hunt with a firearm that can hold more than six rounds of ammunition.

Though the legislation to allow semi-automatic rifles was described as extremely popular and passed the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities, there is still debate about it on website comment pages. Supporters say the 48 states that allow semi-automatic rifles, which need to have the trigger pulled for each bullet, but don’t require reloading after each shot, prove that the weapons can be handled safely in the field.

Opponents say they don’t look forward to being in the field with so many people being able to fire one shot after the other at a moving target.