Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Whole State of Wisconsin to go Rifle

After consulting with a member of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress's Big Game Committee, I've been informed that not only has my resolution to take my county to rifle legal, the whole state will be rifle legal for the 2013 season. This takes place after many years of hearings and testimony before various committees. I would like to thank a Big Game Committee member(Al P) for really pushing this in Wisconsin along with others who worked on this with me. This all started in the 2010-2011 Spring meetings. Good Job Fellas..........

Well done, well done indeed!!!

Took NY several years to "see the light" and make their rural western counties "rifle-legal". Never could get into hunting deer with slug guns, myself.

When a buddy moved to Dane Co. Wisconsin many years ago, never occured to him to check the hunting regs. Poor sumbitch spent years hunting deer in WI, without his rifles lugged out there from PA.

Rifle legal should go across easy they can't get any ballistic forensics off Buckshot.

Forensics? They still having problems with Montagnards shooting Cheeseheads in deer seasons out there?

Chainsaw --

I commend you, A WHOLE LOT!!

Seriously I think I would HAVE TO MOVE from a State, and NOT MOVE to a State that didn't allow rifle hunting.

Yes, I have a bow, shotguns, & mzls but it AIN'T the same.

Congrats.

and crossbows are legal this year


i was at the parker bow factory last week and they just sent 4 factory reps out to drum up orders at all the achery shops

cool

Many bucks grew big in the shotgun only areas. Now the hunters can reach out and touch em like AT & T.

gee, would would almost think that common sense is returning to the upper Midwest... but then there is Minnesota which will blow that theory all to hell..

and Iowa is still shot gun only I believe...

This study was the catalyst that got the ball rolling along with the game warden fraternity here in Cheeseville that also thought rifle hunting statewide would make enforcement a non issue. Use what you want Rifle, Shotgun, Muzzleloader or Handgun and hunt safely with whatever you choose.

Here is a summary,
What is sure to set off a firestorm of disagreements, a recent Pennsylvania state-sponsored study shows that today, with the advancement of technology, deer hunting with shotguns is no safer than with rifles.

In 2004 Casey Burns was hit by a rifle bullet that came from a deer hunter�s rifle. She was approximately 1/2 mile away. She has since recovered from the injuries. As a result, a campaign was waged to eliminate deer hunting with rifles in that area of Pennsylvania � the Lehigh Valley area. Following what many other states have done and what Pennsylvania does in several of its counties, officials believed shotguns were safer and banned their use.

This prompted the state to find out if that claim was backed by science. They began contacting other states that prohibit the use of rifles, also claiming shotguns to be safer but nobody had any evidence to prove the claim. The state mounted a study to find out. They hired Mountaintop Technologies of Johnstown.

The study�s conclusions are based on ballistics analysis of shots fired by deer rifles, shotguns and muzzleloaders. Ballistics data were calculated for Mountaintop by the Army�s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.

Here�s how the study went.

�Technology has changed for the shotgun and muzzleloader, and the difference between them and a [deer] rifle is decreasing from what it was years ago,� Mountaintop consultant Todd Bacastow said.

The study examined ballistics data on three popular deer-hunting guns: a .30-06 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .50-caliber muzzleloader. The rifle had the greatest maximum range at 2.64 miles, followed by the shotgun at 1.97 miles and the muzzleloader, which generally uses heavier and slower bullets, at 1.74 miles.

However, Bacastow noted that to achieve maximum range, shots must be fired at a 35-degree angle, which is highly unlikely in a hunting situation. He noted that a bullet fired at a 35-degree angle toward a deer 100 yards away would fly 210 feet above the animal�s back.

Most shots fired by hunters are relatively flat, and even a slight aiming error usually results in a shot less than 5 degrees above the horizon. When shots are fired at an elevation of 5 degrees, the total distances traveled, including ricochets, are 1.66 miles for a rifle bullet and 1.3 miles for a shotgun slug.

When shots are fired holding the guns level 3 feet off the ground, the shotgun slug will travel 0.99 of a mile, 16 percent farther than the rifle bullet will travel under the same circumstances.

The reason, Bacastow said, is that slugs tend to hold together better and lose less energy during ricochets than rifle bullets. Therefore, slugs often can travel farther than rifle bullets in common hunting scenarios.

For those now thinking that states will change their minds and begin allowing deer hunting with rifles, don�t get too excited. Being that some people always see a glass of water as either half full or half empty, some are already saying that if this study is true, then all guns should be banned in places where officials thought shotguns were safer. Others are simply saying the study isn�t accurate.

The real issue here of course is public safety. It should be noted that it would appear that many of the states presumed knowledge that shotguns were safer, has actually not been the case at all. States believing they were making people safer, now have to begin looking at this issue differently.

But before everyone begins yelling and screaming to ban all guns, this entire issue should tell us all something. It should remind us that passing so-called public safety laws for the sake of passing a law that makes us all think we are safer, is irresponsible. Officials need to gather data, facts and scientific evidence in order to make sound decisions involving public safety.

We should look at the rate of accidents from the so-called �stray� bullets. Together with information about what public safety factors are at risk by outlawing guns to hunt deer, it needs to be determined which scenario is best for the publics� safety. We might find that more people are injured and killed from deer-auto accidents and Lyme disease than from �stray� bullets.

One thing is for sure. The results of this study will sure set off a reaction from not only those anti-gun and anti-hunting people but also from ballistics experts, including those at the local coffee shop.

Tom Remington

Do you think the AT&T approach will now cut down on the number of fully matured bucks in WI?

99% of Idaho is rifle legal with the exception of a few 'short range' weapon areas. Short range is defined essentially as anything other than a rifle - bows, ML's, handguns, or shotguns. These areas are all close to populations or businesses with lots of traffic. A couple are along major rivers or islands with lots of boat traffic.

Good news, indeed Chainsaw! Thank you!

Any news on getting rid of the silly-assed back tags?

WN

Whelen Nut-

Happy Father's Day.
Best. Dad. Ever.

In my personal experience I have passed up some real dandys that were out of slug range. I would like to get a state or federal grant to study your question.

I was present at a meeting when a PGC official went over that study on shotguns vs rifles and explained the findings. Many in the audience refused to believe it, prefering to stick to their "anecdotal" and accepted theories on shotguns somehow being the safer choice.

The critical element in that study, as noted, is that most lead core rifle bullets tend to partially disintegrate upon impact, shedding energy and losing the ability to continue on very far as a ricochet. But there are exceptions to that, as well.

Some years ago near where I live, a woman was hit in the back with a 270 bullet fired by a woodchuck hunter about 800 yards distant. According to the investigation, he'd fired at a varmint on a hill top in a cut hayfield. The bullet grazed the top of the hill and continued on another 500 yards or so, before striking the woman seated in the stands at a nearby ball field. IIRC, it was pretty dry at the time, so the bullet hit hard earth, when he missed the 'chuck?

I had hunted 'chucks in those same fields years earlier, but always used a 22 Hornet and made damn sure I had a good "back stop" on any shots taken, to avoid ricochets and errant bullets. We quit those fields when too many houses began popping up in that area, long before the ball fields were built over the hill.

That battle over people demanding shotgun areas still rages in the Lehigh Valley, BTW. Many are still pressuring PGC to expand shotgun only areas. That study was used to counter those efforts, but I don't believe PGC ever changed anything in existing Special Regs areas, as far as requiring slugs or buckshot?

The primary problem in the outcome of that accidental shooting case where the young lady sitting in a car was hit with the stray bullet, is that the landowner's attorney had no knowledge of the state law that exempts land owners from such damages, when they allow public access for recreational use (including hunting).

So the court allowed the plaintiff to seek damages from the landowner, since the attorney never raised that statutory issue in the trial.

IIRC, the hunter that fired the bullet had little in the way of any means to pay a settlement, so they went after the landowner and his insurance company?

Since then, that law protecting landowners who allow public access, has been further strengthened to protect them against such law suits.

Slainte'

Actually there has been little or no movement on that issue since your license is now the back tag. There was some movement when you had to carry both a license and wear "your number" as well, but according to my sources TPTB have "bigger" issues they are addressing at this time and there are other fish to fry.

In many areas of Wisconsin finding a clear shot 100yds away can be rather difficult. I've shot over 50 deer with guns and only 2 of them were over 100yds. One about 125yds and one (crop damage) at a hair over 400yds. Throw those two out and I would say my average shot is all of about 40yds. With a rifle I've had to shoot 2 or 3 deer twice, with a shotgun slug it's a rare thing to not have to shoot them at least twice.

While I think this is long over due I'm a little upset as I finally got everything I needed to hunt in shotgun zone without a shotgun, a Savage 10ML shooting smokeless powder and a Remington XP100R in 308, just because I hate using a shotgun that much. And my shotgun was an Ithica M87 with a free floated fully rifled barrel.