Posted on 09/10/2008 5:53:16 PM PDT by SJackson
WAUSAU (AP) - A change that allows rifles to be used instead of shotguns to hunt deer in more areas of southern Wisconsin this fall has some local officials fearful that safety is being compromised.
"It's a scary thought," said Robert Kwiatkowski, chairman of the town of Eagle in Waukesha County. "A high-powered rifle has a heck of a lot more trajectory than a shotgun slug. Once the projectile leaves the barrel, you don't know where it is going to wind up, especially in an area where you have a lot of development. Our growth has been tremendous the past 10 years."
State wildlife experts say there is no proof rifles cause more hunting accidents than shotguns.
Six years ago, when chronic wasting disease was discovered in deer near Mount Horeb, the state Department of Natural Resources allowed deer hunters to use rifles in some counties to kill more deer and eradicate the disease from the herd. That included western Dane County.
"We have had it for six years," said Alan Crossley, the DNR's chronic wasting disease coordinator. "One of the things that people who don't hunt much don't realize is that in shotgun-only counties, handguns have always been legal for hunting deer. There are a lot of calibers of handguns that are the same calibers as rifles."
The DNR believed hunters would be more successful using rifles than shotguns, Mr. Crossley said.
But by 2006, a state audit found the agency's multimillion-dollar efforts to fight the disease were failing and the number of deer in disease areas had grown.
This fall, parts or all of 10 more counties have the shotgun-only restriction lifted - a change recommended by a citizens group that spent nearly a year studying how the DNR should revise its strategy for dealing with the disease.
The group recommended that the policy be simplified, getting back to more traditional hunting, while still trying to reduce deer populations, including allowing rifles to be used in the chronic wasting disease management zone.
The Natural Resources Board adopted the changes.
"Certainly we are getting calls about it," Mr. Crossley said. "We had concerns that first year in 2002 when we did it."
Beginning this fall, deer can be hunted with rifles for the first time in all of Rock, Walworth, Green, Lafayette and Jefferson counties, southern Dodge County, eastern Dane County, southern Waukesha County and the western half of Racine and Kenosha counties, he said.
That leaves 10 counties and parts of three others that only allow shotguns, handguns or muzzleloaders to hunt deer, he said.
"Shotguns are not inherently safer than rifles," he said. "Accident data from shotgun-only counties versus rifle-only counties don't support the perception that shotguns were safer."
The range of a shotgun slug is about 200 yards, compared with up to three miles for a rifle bullet.
The town's fire discharge ordinance is being reviewed to see if it might come into play to block the change, Mr. Kwiatkowski said.
Oh well if your number is up it is indeed up I’d rather go quickly and without fuss than being run over by a bus.
I know it's off topic, but has Wisconsin banned deer bating? Michigan found one case of wasting disease and banned baiting for the season. It's going to cost farmers and small, rural businessmen a LOT of money and could wind up hurting hunting revenues as well.
“they come from the city”
Is that a polite way of saying “Illinois”?
I think this genius is confusing trajectory with range and terminal velocity. Just another example of someone with no knowledge of firearms making rules for use of firearms.
It’s like an atheist telling people where they can go to church.
Thanks for the ping.
“The range of a shotgun slug is about 200 yards, compared with up to three miles for a rifle bullet.”
The range of a shotgun slug is more like 800-900 yds.
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