Saturday, February 23, 2008
Hook and Bullet Club - New rules for deer hunting?
by Nick Wognum, Ely Echo General Manager
Deer hunting may not come to mind unless you're opening a pack of Polish for dinner, but now's the time to pay attention to what the DNR is proposing. And, there is news locally involving the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association.
Deer Season Simplification
Following the new DNR line of "simpler is better," the rules for deer hunting are about to undergo some changes. A committee was formed of hunters from around the state and some recommendations were made.
They are:
License Consolidation
1. Eliminate the all-season deer and multi-zone buck licenses and allow people to purchase three stand-alone licenses (archery, firearm, muzzleloader).
2. Each license would come with one tag and bag limits would vary by permit area.
Zone Consolidation
1. Consolidate the number of zones from 6 to 2. The 2 new zones would be structured around the traditional 'A' season opener while still preserving the 3B season.
2. The 'A' season would have a standard opening date and varying closing dates based on permit area number (e.g., 100 series is 16 days). There would be one firearm license that would be valid for the 'A' season. A separate license would be valid for the 'B' (traditional 3B) season only.
3. Eliminate Zone 4 and place it into the 9 day season structure.
License Validation
1. Eliminate the license validation that was instituted during the 2006 Legislative session.
Regulations Book
1. Publish an abbreviated regulations book in the Hmong language.
2. Organize a small group of people to review the regulations book before it is published.
Deer Registration
1. Provide more flexibility with deer registration options.
Caliber Restrictions
1. Change cartridge regulation to centerfire .22 or larger diameter.
So what does all of that mean for our area?
First and foremost, no more all season license, instead you can buy any combination of archery, firearms and muzzleloader licenses.
You can still only shoot one buck but your options are better and this may actually save you some license fees. Instead of paying for three licenses and using two, you can just buy two. That's a good deal.
Zone consolidation doesn't affect us here and license validation was a ridiculous rule nobody followed anyway. As for the regulations book, good luck. Barring a complete rewrite and elimination of ads, it's still a long read.
The last two are very interesting. More flexibility in deer registration could lead to phone registration. That's right, no more loading up your deer and driving to town to register it. Pick up your cell, phone in the info to an automated system, get your number and start cutting.
Minnesota is actually in front of the pack when it comes to registration with the electronic license system. Other states still use a mail-in registration system that can take months to process. Adding a phone registration seems to make sense and should be beneficial.
The caliber change is one where guys have to read the fine print: Centerfire .22 or larger. No, you will not be able to use your .22 rimfire. This is for .223 and up but centerfire only.
Public input meetings will be held around the state, including from 6-9 p.m. on March 6 at the Aurora Community Center.
Interested individuals who cannot attend the meeting are urged to e-mail comments to wildlife@dnr.state.mn.us.