Use of assault rifles to hunt deer is a very minor issue. Really, there
just are not that many of them out there. For those that are, very few
have a capacity of just 6 shots; most have bigger clips. I would bet
that the DNR will require the use of special soft point hunting ammo,
rather than the military, solid, armor piercing type they normally
shoot. Toying with numbers, I might guess there would be less than 100
hunters out with those kinds of guns. They are fairly worthless for
hunting. They make far better guns for hunting.
I have used a shotgun for all my deer hunting in Iowa. It holds five
rounds and is a semiautomatic shotgun, like the assault rifles that are
semiautomatic (shoot once each time the trigger is pulled). With some
of the newer shotgun ammo I can kill deer at 200 yds; although they have
lower velocity and hit the ground sooner than centerfire rifle bullets.
Idoubt that the deer cares which he was hit with. I doubt that a game
warden thinks there is much diffence in approaching me with my 5 very
rapid shots and someone with a very rapid 6 shot assault rifle. Game
wardens generally know how to take care of themselves. Really, the use
of assault weapons on deer is kind of begging the question.
Bill is right to a certain extent about entrenched gov't employees with
political schemes and muscle. I might come out on the side of
scientific deer management with scientifically determined carrying
capacities. But, I realize there are sociopolitical carrying
capacities. I talked to the head of our DNR deer managment (Willie
Suchy?) and he said that Wisconsin just has a greater tolerance for high
deer numbers than do Iowans.
Bill speaks of hunter fantasies with assault weapons. But, we all have
our fantasies. I might think it idiotic to fantasize about the perfect
golf club that might allow me to make holes-in-one. But, we worship our
fantasies. Animal rights people fantasize on how awful it must be for a
deer to die by being shot with an arrow. In fact, most people that hunt
with bow and gun report that deer die more quickly and less stressfully
when shot with an arrow. So, I think, let those very few have their
fantasies with their assault guns hunting. Tolerance folks.
There certainly is some role for the "special interests" of famers and
insurers and nature lovers and hunters. The politicians should be
listening. We do wonder these days if legislatures are totally for sale
to the richer special interests. What is unique is the very successeful
role of the special interest of the NRA. Federal and state legislatures
certainly dance to their tune. I have been waiting for an expose of the
NRA. Although they have several million dues paying members steeped in
the view of the government coming to take their guns, there seems to me
to be more there. My question, do they receive financial support from
gun and ammo manufacturers such as Remington, Winchester, Browning, etc?
So, wolves would solve our problem or maybe mountain lions? As Bill
note, people would be outraged. Some back of the envelope
calculations-- If a wolf or lion kills one deer per week and we want to
reduce the deer herd by 200,000; we need about 4,000 of them in the
state to do the job. Talk about the sociopolitical carrying capacity!
The dove hunting controversy of a few years ago was a classic conflict.
DNR type agencies have always tended to be pro fisherman and hunter.
Why? Because all the money for virtually all game and nongame wildlife
comes from those who buy licenses and pay Pittman-Robinson taxes. Let
those that said we were going to kill the "dove of peace" put up
millions to promoate their interests, and then they would have a
legiitmate voice. I bought over $100 in licenses last year in state and
$550 out of state. I contibute thousands to the economy by my hunting
and fishing.
Lanny Schwartz
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