Veterans home residents could hunt antlerless deer sans permit, bill proposes

There is a veterans retreat for the outdoors in northeast Minnesota where residents of the state veterans home in Silver Bay can fish in a man-made lake or hunt from a small building. Each area is designed to help meet any special needs, such as a veteran who uses wheelchairs.

Rep. David Dill

Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) is trying to make the experience even better — and expand it across the state — by sponsoring HF961 that would permit any veterans home resident to hunt and take antlerless deer using a firearm or muzzleloader without a permit. A person could help the veteran, but the assistant must not shoot the deer.

This would need to occur during the respective regular firearms or muzzleloader deer seasons in any part of the state unless the area is closed to antlerless deer hunting or a quota has been placed on the taking of antlerless deer.

The bill was approved Monday by the House Veterans Division and sent to the House Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy Committee. A companion, SF1020, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook), awaits action by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee.

Dill said Department of Natural Resources personnel said this shouldn’t have much of an effect on the antlerless deer population because a limited amount of people would be expected to take advantage of the opportunity.

“I’ve fished that little pond up there with the members from the veterans home up there and I had to reel in the fish. It’s quite an experience taking the veterans out there, in their wheelchairs, many of them,” said Rep. Bob Dettmer (R-Forest Lake), the committee chair. “This bill takes it another step farther.”