Clay County residents share their thoughts to a potential change to the county’s firearm ruling for deer hunters

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) — Clay County Commissioners have outlined three options on how deer hunters may use firearms. And for several residents in the county, they would like to see it changed, while others want it to stay the same.

“I don’t believe most of these people know how to really hunt. I mean there are some guys that can hunt, but there are guys up there that I talk to that I walked up to them, and they’ve said they’ve taken shots at sounds. They’ve taken shots at running deer with a shotgun with 250-300 yards, and just because you give a hunter a rifle instead of a shotgun doesn’t mean you can turn them into an ethical hunter,” said Jerald Butenhoff, Barnesville.

Since 1942, much of Minnesota’s southern and western areas have established a shotgun-only zone. The intent was to limit deer harvests and promote herd growth. But since then, Minnesota’s deer population has grown.

“We have a strong deer population that not only impacts plenty of car accidents, but we do have a little bit of crop lost here and there. This isn’t just about hunting issue, it’s a public safety and economic issue,” said Nick Olsgaard, Moorhead.

One other concern that was brought up was the concern that out-of-state hunters, like North Dakotans, would use the new ruling to their advantage.

“Currently, by Minnesota DNR guidelines, there is no lottery system for out-of-state hunters, there’s no restrictions of any sort. And you give them the option for a rifle, they’re going to come in waves,” said Hunter Olson, Hawley

The Clay County Commission did not make a decision as they have yet to read through all the online comments and discuss with one another. But they plan to decide in two weeks.