Statewide rifle in WI???

Try goggling this topic and you come up with nothing. WON last issue had one sentence about it passing thats it and then pages on topics not nearly as important from the spring hearings. Why is no one even mentioning this topic? Please let me know any further info you have on this matter. IS IT OFFICIAL or are there other steps that need to take place and will we see this for this years gun hunt? Surprised no one is discussing this and thank you for any info.

I just read in the Kewaskum Statesman paper that none of the townships are outlawing rifles. Farmington is also allowing rifles . They may in the future but not his year. It is on the front page of the Statesman today. I don't think the paper is online though.

You need to call the local townships not the county. It is the local townships that would have passed an ordnance and only they will be able to give you a straight answer.

Did some calling around here in sheboygan county, the only real answer I had gotten was from the sheriffs dept and they said they are unsure of course as to which townships will be allowing rifle. Now they did tell me that most townships do not have constables to enforce this new law and the sheriffs dept was not going to send deputies on a wild goose chase for reports of someone using a rife in areas that may not be permitted unless a major crime is also being committed. This not getting a positive answer is driving me nuts

There was no problem when Wuapaca co. went to rifle, no problem when southern Shawano went to rifle, no problem when tons of land went to rifle ( CWD zone). Now there is a problem??? Maybe we should have just made one county at a time rifle till the whole state was rifle and noone would have been the wiser.

Here is some local knowledge for all you Dane county 76M hunters out there. Did some calling this morning to figure out if any local ordinances would stop the use of rifle hunting. I spoke to Town of Verona, Town of Oregon, and Town of Montrose. All 3 ARE allowing the use of Rifles for deer hunting. Good luck everyone.

Data from the 1998 through 2008 deer seasons showed 42 percent of shooting incidents involved shotguns. DNR Conservation Warden Todd Schaller states that “studies in other states have shown the ballistic nature of shotgun slugs can make them more dangerous than rifles. Slugs have a greater tendency to ricochet, and that can be a safety concern”. The accident data indicate rifles are not inherently more dangerous to use than shotguns. Schaller states, “the key is safety, regardless of what type of weapon or firearm a person is using for hunting,” he said. “Knowing and following the four rules of firearms safety is the key for hunters. If they do that, regardless of the range of the weapon they are using, there is no safety concern.” https://www.facebook.com/WIDNR RIFLES ALLOWED STATEWIDE, WITH RESTRICTIONS Effective Nov. 1, 2013, in time for this year’s 9-day firearm deer season, the use of rifles will be permitted statewide. The Oct. 5-6 youth gun deer hunt will still be restricted to shotgun-only in those portions of the state that were previously shotgun-only. While the DNR is no longer placing restrictions on the use of rifles in certain areas of the state, local municipalities will still be able to restrict the use of rifles within their boundaries. Hunters will need to check with the local municipality where they plan to hunt for any restrictions on the use of rifles.

I just can't believe that social reasons topped the list "why to use shotguns." In my 26 years of hunting, I have never heard anything like that before.

Don't know what 'social reasons' means but it was to point out that it was not due to perceived safety reasons. Tim

What do you mean social reasons? I hunt in 68B and its been shotgun since I can remember hunting at the age of 12 and I just turned 38. That's way before CWD was even talked about.

If one were to go back to just before CWD was found and looked at the map of what was "shotgun only" and what was rifle zones. You would see that it was basically the Southeastern 2/3 of the State. The original reason those areas were "shotgun only" was actually not due to population but rather for social reasons. This is according to a study that was done when it was being discussed as to whether or not to make the "CWD Zone" into rifle use. Tim

As far as the report goes, this may be a bit biased. The whole point (as I understand it) to using shotgun only is that it is because of the condensed amount of homes, people, and agricultrual animals that reside in these areas. If that is true, well then obviously the statistics will be skewed more towards shotguns causing more damage because of richochet because there is more to damage in shotgun only zones. There is nothing really to damage up north when you are hunting acres and acres of woods without a home, animal, or farm nearby. Its like saying mathews bows produce the most records in the archery dept. Well, if 99 out of 100 folks shoot a mathews, then obviously the statistics will be correct...but skewed. As far as injuries are concerned, I read about more self-inflicted wounds to the foot or hand because the barrel wasn't pointed in a safe direction, and that is usually with bird shot and not slugs or bullets.

Ask any warden or look at the Hunting Incident reports the state posts each year, and you will see shotgun slugs account for a disproportionately larger percentage of ricochet and stray bullet reports. They don't shed energy as quickly as a rifle bullet because of their increased mass, and some designs,(Copper Solids),will come apart when hitting a hard object and travel quite some distance. Pennsylvania did a in-depth study to prove rifles were in most cases safer to hunt deer with. http://lbfc.legis.state.pa.us/reports/2007/168.PDF

Most areas up north a 100yd shot is a long shot, the difference between total take with shotgun vs. rifle would be neglagable.

Here's a thought...What about the whole state going shotgun? Iowa does it. Is our lack of deer up north really due to predators, or from hunters taking too many at a time when the deer population didn't need so many tags issued? I think it would be an interesting study.

Thank you fishfillet!!! Once again, we even have to remind ourselves that guns don't kill - people do. Take good safe shots and we all win.