Committee considers repeal of southern Minnesota shotgun-only deer zone; bill laid over

Senate File 107, which would repeal Minnesota’s shotgun-only deer hunting zone in the southern part of the state and clarify county authority to regulate the discharge of firearms, was discussed at length in the Senate Environment Committee and laid over for possible inclusion.

The bill’s author, Senator Drazkowski, told the committee the measure “repeals the antiquated” 97B.318 statute enacted in the 1940s and clarifies that counties retain authority under the state’s firearms preemption statute (Minn. Stat. 471.633) to regulate discharge within their jurisdictions.

The proposal drew testimony from Department of Natural Resources Assistant Commissioner Bob Meyer and multiple hunting and county-interest groups, who described safety, management and regulatory reasons to repeal the shotgun zone or to preserve local control. Meyer said the shotgun zone was originally adopted in the 1940s to limit deer harvest in open agricultural landscapes and that modern deer management…