Is another shotgun-only area about to be opened up for centerfire rifle hunters? It just might be if a new bill makes it through the state’s Environmental and Natural Resources Policy Committee.

In a move late last week, Sen. Jeff Howe (R) and others in the Minnesota State Senate drafted a bill that would end shotgun-only deer hunting zones in the Gopher State. The bill would eliminate all of the excessive verbiage in the state’s gun-deer hunting regulations and replace those zones with this simple regulation:

“During the regular firearms deer season, all legal firearms may be used statewide.”

Authors of the legislation say the decades-old law of shotguns-only doesn’t make sense not only because of the lacking statistics, but also because centerfires are allowed for other purposes such as predator hunting and target shooting.

Minnesota is currently about 50/50 when it comes to being able to hunt with a shotgun or a centerfire rifle:

The move would mimic what Minnesota’s neighbors to the east did seven years ago. In 2013, Wisconsin’s DNR did away with its last remnants of shotgun-only deer hunting zones. Centerfire rifles have now been allowed throughout the Badger State for seven deer seasons, and there has not been an increase in firearms-related incidents. Wisconsin reported four nonfatal firearms injuries in 2019. Three of these were self-inflicted. Two hunters accidentally shot themselves in the foot, and one shot himself in the hand.

Several scientific studies have shown that shotguns and rifles are extremely safe for deer hunting.

“Rifles are just as safe as shotguns. Facts, ballistic data and state-injury statistics prove it,” writes ballistics expert Jeff Johnston. “Most of the accidents in hunting are attributed to tree stand falls and failure to identify the target. It doesn’t matter how “safe” your firearm is if you fall out of a tree or mistake your target.”

For more in the Minnesota proposal, click here.