Just in time for fall hunting seasons, the legendary Savage Arms company announced the addition of a smallbore semi-auto rifle typically used for small game and recreational shooting, but in Washington State, prospective gun owners will have to wait to take theirs home because under the wording of Initiative 1639, this new entry falls within the definition of a “semiautomatic assault rifle.”
The law took effect July 1. It passed last November by just under 60 percent.
Here’s how the extremist gun control measure defines such self-loading firearms at the bottom of Page 27:
“Semiautomatic assault rifle” means any rifle which utilizes a portion of the energy of a firing cartridge to extract the fired cartridge case and chamber the next round, and which requires a separate pull of the trigger to fire each cartridge.”
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That literally applies to every semiautomatic rifle ever manufactured anywhere in the world. It applies equally to other such popular rimfire rifles as the Ruger 10/22, shown in the photo below.
Starting Sept. 1, grouse and rabbit hunting seasons open in the Evergreen State. But anyone between the ages of 18 and 21 can’t legally purchase this new gem from Savage, because the initiative prohibits anyone in that age group from legally buying or owning a “semiautomatic assault rifle.”
The Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association are challenging provisions of the law in federal court in Tacoma.
This new Savage rifle has a 10-round rotary magazine, 16.5-inch barrel with a suppressor-ready muzzle and target crown. The medium contour barrel features button rifling, and this rifle has a user-adjustable Accu-Trigger. People who voted for I-1639 probably have no idea what any of this means.
But sportsmen and women do. They also know that to legally purchase such a rifle now requires proof of completing an approved safety course, submitting to a so-called “enhanced background check” and a ten-day waiting period. Can’t have a mass shooting of cottontail rabbits, now, can we?
Savage literature says this rifle, dubbed the A22, is an upgraded version of the original platform. It is drilled and tapped and comes with a one-piece Picatinny rail; again terms about which supporters of the initiative might be completely ignorant.
What makes this introduction bittersweet is that this is exactly the kind of firearm with which a father or grandfather could teach a youngster about safety, accuracy, sportsmanship, muzzle control and responsibility; all the things that contribute to making young shooters and hunters into older, mature outdoorsmen and women who would not dream of using a firearm in a crime.
It’s the kind of education one doesn’t get in a classroom or out of a book; a lifetime of experience, that, according to critics of the gun control movement now running rampant in Washington state, one can only enjoy after being treated like a criminal.
Grouse season in Washington runs to the end of the year, and rabbits may be hunted through the winter and into early March. For details, check the hunting regulations on pages 25 and 27.
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