Well, I went off my recollection when I lived up North in years past. Ohio allowed only shotgun for deer gun season, and PA allowed rifles but no semi-auto (unless you were disabled). Quick googles gave these, although whether they are current I didn’t pursue. Any hunter must know his local laws, because they do change! In addition, sometimes there is a difference in what can be used on “public” lands (wildlife game lands or management areas) and “private” lands—seems like I recall that Turkey can be hunted with rifle on private lands in some states, but shotgun only on public lands.
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=34&div=0&chpt=23&sctn=22&subsctn=0
snip: “(title 34)§ 2322. Prohibited devices and methods.
(a) General rule.—Except as otherwise provided in this title or commission regulation, no person shall hunt, kill or take or attempt, aid, abet, assist or conspire to hunt, kill or take any big game, except wild turkey, with any of the following devices or methods:
(1) Any device other than a centerfire or muzzle-loading firearm or bow and arrow.
(2) Any automatic or semiautomatic firearm, except that any semiautomatic firearm modified to permit one shell in the chamber and no more than four shells in a magazine may be used by a person who suffered an amputation or lost the total use of one or both hands. “
http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/hunting-trapping-and-shooting-sports/hunting-trapping-regulations/deer-hunting-regulations
snip: “(allowable hunting equipment, season, legal deer hunting equipment) Shotgun: 10 gauge or smaller shotgun using one ball or one rifled slug per barrel (rifled shotgun barrels are permitted when using shotgun slug ammunition).
Muzzleloading rifle: .38 caliber or larger.
Muzzleloading shotgun: 10 gauge or smaller using one ball per barrel.
Handgun: With 5-inch minimum length barrel, using straight-walled cartridges .357 caliber or larger.
Straight-walled cartridge rifles in the following calibers: New this year! All straight-walled cartridge calibers from a minimum of .357 to a maximum of .50. Shotguns and straight-walled cartridge rifles can be loaded with no more than three shells in the chamber and magazine combined.”
Sorry, the above was in reply to the person saying he hadn’t heard that some states don’t allow semi-auto rifle for deer hunting. I should have quoted the person’s query. I don’t know how to edit a previously submitted post, or I would have done that.