Hundreds urge Stearns County not to reimpose shotgun-only deer rules; board to decide April 21

Stearns County commissioners heard more than two hours of public testimony on April 7 as landowners, hunters and residents urged the board not to adopt a county ordinance restricting deer hunting to shotguns and similar weapons.

County Administrator Mike Williams opened the hearing by explaining that 2025 state legislation eliminated the statewide shotgun zone and authorized counties to adopt local ordinances restoring shotgun-only limits. Williams said the board would take no action at the April 7 meeting and was scheduled to vote on the matter at its April 21 meeting; he also noted deadlines for DNR filings linked to hunting regulations.

The bulk of speakers, many of them long-time local hunters and instructors, argued the county should not enact a shotgun-only ordinance. They gave three recurring reasons: rifles are more accurate and thereby more humane and safer in many hunting contexts; the state has restored the choice to use rifles and the county should defer to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; and a local ordinance would generate enforcement confusion across county lines. “This is about responsibility and choice,” said Carter Soi, a young hunter who described formal firearms training and said restricting tools would not make unsafe hunters safer. Several speakers described how rifles produce clearer blood trails and reduce wound loss compared with slugs, while others said modern rifled shotguns and rifle cartridges change the historical differences between weapon types.

A smaller cohort of speakers urged caution. Some recounted local anecdotes of bullets striking houses or close-calls and stressed Stearns County’s relatively dense settlement patterns in places, arguing those differences should be considered. One speaker, Joe Matt, questioned the county’s authority to adopt an ordinance aimed at managing deer harvests and cited Minnesota statutes governing DNR authority (Minn. Stat. ch. 97A and 97B), urging the board to defer to state agencies.

The hearing included a mix of technical points and personal testimony: youth hunters described recoil and fit issues with slug shotguns that they said discourage new hunters; safety instructors and landowners described how voluntary landowner restrictions could address specific parcel-level concerns; and several speakers noted that dozens of other counties have already chosen to accept the state change rather than reimpose local shotgun-only rules.

Chair Notch closed the hearing after the last public speaker and reminded the public the board will take up the issue at its April 21 meeting at the county administration building. No vote was taken April 7.

What’s next: The board will consider the ordinance at its April 21 meeting. If the county enacts a shotgun-only ordinance, local officials said that step could require additional enforcement decisions and would intersect with DNR rulemaking and state-level processes for listing methods in the hunting regulations.