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Panel considers repeal of southern shotgun-only deer zone with limited county carve-outs
Summary
Representative Swazinski's bill to eliminate the shotgun-only zone in southern Minnesota prompted testimony from the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and the DNR; the committee adopted the author's amendment and laid the bill over as amended.
Representative Swazinski presented House File 623, which would repeal the statute creating a shotgun-only zone in the southern portion of Minnesota and allow rifle use for deer across the state where firearm hunting is otherwise permitted, subject to limited county carve-outs.
Swazinski said technological changes in firearms and hunter preferences have reduced the original rationale for the shotgun zone and that the change could encourage youth and women hunters who prefer lower-recoil rifle-caliber pistols. "A lot of folks are already using the particular calibers that would be impacted," the author said.
Eric Simonson, representing the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, testified the association of more than 11,000 members supports the change. He said modern shotguns are as accurate as rifles in many contexts, that overall deer numbers have grown in the region where the shotgun zone applies, and that local governments retain authority to restrict firearm discharge within their jurisdictions through ordinances.
Bob Meyer, assistant commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, told the committee the original shotgun zone was adopted when shotguns were far less accurate and that safety remains a matter of individual practice and enforcement. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Grechke, assistant director for DNR enforcement, reported no statistical difference in hunting accidents between shotgun and rifle use in recent years and gave counts of hunting-related accidents in 2022–24.
The author offered an author's amendment (DE1) creating a limited carve-out that preserves shotgun-only rules for Olmsted and Dodge counties unless those counties opt out later; Swazinski and DNR witnesses explained the carve-out limits complexity and enforcement burdens that would result from a broader patchwork of local rules. Representative Hansen asked whether the department should include a sunset or revisit provision; Meyer said the department would monitor populations through existing surveys and handle needed changes through rulemaking.
The committee adopted the DE1 amendment and laid House File 623 over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill.
