In last year’s legislative session, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law ending the shotgun-only zone for deer hunting in the southern and west-central counties of the state.
The action leaves each county currently in the shotgun-only zone with the decision of whether to pass an ordinance to maintain the ban on rifle hunting.
Le Sueur County can either do nothing and allow the rifle hunting ban to lift, or it can pass an ordinance to uphold the current law.
Passing an ordinance will require conducting a public hearing, which Le Sueur County has set for Thursday, March 19, at 6:30 p.m. in the Justice Center.
If the commissioner permits rifle hunting, the new rules will go into effect with the next deer hunting season.
Many assume the state’s shotgun zone was established for safety reasons. It covers the much more open farmland regions of southern and western Minnesota, in contrast to the densely forested northern region, where rifles are allowed.
According to the Minnesota DNR, however, the real reason behind the shotgun zone’s creation was more about wildlife management than hunter safety.
Established in 1942, the shotgun zone was designed as a tool to manage deer populations in areas where numbers were historically low. In the mid-20th century, parts...
To see more on this story pick up the March 12, 2026 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.