On Saturday, the Nevada Department of Wildlife Commissioners voted 7-1 to outlaw certain common hunting cartridges and to place additional restrictions on the use of firearms utilizing computer sighting systems. The new rules would ban cartridges that are longer than 3” and/or of a caliber greater than .50—including .416 Barrett, .505 Gibbs, .50 BMG and .450 Nitro Express.
Further, the use of firearms equipped with sighting systems that utilize computer or electronically controlled firing mechanisms—such as the TrackingPoint Smart Rifles—would be outlawed for use in big-game hunting. In a statement provided to guns.com, TrackingPoint said it was “dismayed” by the Commission’s “uninformed decision” banning the “safest, most humane and most ethical rifle in the world” from use in hunting.
The Nevada Firearms Coalition was equally critical, calling the regulations unjustified based on their claimed purpose, and adding, “All these banned cartridges are currently being used in hunting big game around the world.”
The rule changes will require approval by a Nevada Legislature subcommittee before becoming law.
