Lyon County resident Dana Bartz, in front, read notes on his concerns about how to protect residents’ safety, during a public hearing on rifle hunting Tuesday evening.

MARSHALL — Area residents spoke out Tuesday on whether Lyon County should allow rifles to be used for deer hunting. While some Lyon County residents voiced concerns over safety, or how rifle hunting would impact the deer population, many of the comments at a public hearing were in support of the change.

“I hunt deer here, and I’m in favor of being able to use rifles here,” said Lyon County resident Joe Zeug.

Lyon County Commissioners said they weren’t going to make a decision on the issue Tuesday. But they would consider public comments from the hearing.

“For us, it’s a listening (session). We want to hear from you folks, your feelings on it,” said Commissioner Gary Crowley.

Commissioners had called for the hearing after a new state law was passed, getting rid of shotgun-only deer hunting zones in Minnesota. Under the new law, rifle hunting would be allowed across the state starting in the 2026 deer season. But individual counties in shotgun zones can decide whether to opt out of rifle hunting, Crowley explained.

“They’re giving the option for counties to not go along with it,” Crowley said at the start of the hearing. “So if a county says no, we’re not going along with it, then it will be strictly shotgun.”

Some of the area residents speaking at the hearing said they were concerned that hunters using high-powered rifles could pose a safety risk to people and property.

“I’m not against the use of high-powered rifles, but as a rural resident of Lyon County, I should receive reasonable consideration for my safety on my property,” said Lynd Township resident Dana Bartz. Bartz suggested that the use of .308 caliber bullets be limited to a certain distance away from residences or cities.

Later in the meeting, commissioners said that they would only be able to decide on whether to opt out of rifle hunting. They would not be able to place limits on factors like ammunition caliber.

“I think it’s important to recognize that the creation of the shotgun zone for part of Minnesota was never done as a safety measure. It was done as a means to reduce the deer harvest, because the effectiveness of a shotgun is less than that of a centerfire rifle,” said western Lyon County resident Tim Meyer. “The other thing to recognize is all the states that border Minnesota . . . allow rifle hunting, and the injury rates from hunting are no different in those states that allow centerfire rifles than they are in Minnesota.”

Meyer encouraged commissioners to go along with the new rifle law.

“There are rifles being used in our county right now,” said Lyon County resident Craig Kesteloot. “If you go coyote hunting, you’re allowed to use a rifle. Muzzle-loader rifles have some of the same distance ranges as another type of rifle might, and they’re far less safe to handle than a rim or centerfire rifle would be.”

Brent Kesteloot said it was a misconception that rifles “shoot for miles on end, or hundreds of yards on end.”

“Most of us who have grown up in this area are familiar with a typical 80-acre piece of property that’s a half mile deep. Well, that’s 880 yards, and a .308 (bullet) drops 18 feet in that distance. So you would have to be extremely reckless and be pointed at an extreme angle to ever reach anybody at that distance with that bullet,” he said.

“I don’t have any personal concerns about going to a rifle season,” said Lyon County resident and firearm safety instructor Ron Prorok. “We teach our students to be safe whether they’re using a crossbow, whether they’re using a shotgun, whether they’re using a centerfire rifle or a muzzle loader. It’s the principles of what you’re using and how you’re using it. You’ve got to be safe with the tools you have.”

Matt Evans said allowing rifle hunting was one more option that might encourage younger generations of hunters. “We don’t want anything to deter young people from going into the outdoors,” Evans said.

A couple of speakers, including Bob Rialson, said they were concerned that rifle hunting would make it too easy for hunters to harvest deer.

“The one concern that was brought up a little bit that I really am concerned about is depopulation of deer,” Rialson said.

Commissioners also played a voicemail message from Minnesota Rep. Chris Swedzinski, who was not able to attend the hearing.

“I think this has been a long time coming. States around the country have moved in this direction. South Dakota, right across the border, is a rifle area,” Swedzinski said in his message. “And they do not have any increase in accidents compared to what we would have with (shotgun) slugs.”

Comimssioners said after Jan. 1, the Minnesota DNR would start talking to counties about whether they will opt out of rifle hunting.

If Lyon County decides to opt out, “According to statute, there’s a process that we have to go through where we would do public meetings again and all of that,” said Commissioner Rick Anderson.

Crowley thanked area residents for their feedback.

“I know we all as commissioners, we’ve all gotten a lot of comments – phone calls, in-person comments, plus emails from folks that can’t be here this evening,” Crowley said. “It’s kind of a wide variety, and everybody’s got their idea,” he said.