By Lacey Biles, NRA-ILA Hunting Policy Liaison
Gone are the days when hunters could simply throw a few shells in their pockets and head to the woods. Before they walk out of their doors, today’s hunters must navigate a web of rules and regulations that would entangle a team of shrewd lawyers. Simple has become complicated. Logical has become illogical. Too often, reason no longer prevails in the rules that govern hunting. As a result, on any given day, even the most conscientious of hunters could unintentionally violate any host of bizarre regulations.
Maybe they have only four permits and two stamps instead of five permits and three stamps. Maybe they exceeded the 25-shot shell limit by having two additional shells in another pocket—remnants of a previous hunt. Maybe they threw their uncased bow in the back of their truck while caught up in the excitement of taking the buck of a lifetime. Maybe the mandatory “Be Safe” stickers, which must be attached to the receiver of a Missouri hunter’s turkey gun and in their line of sight while aiming, came unstuck. (If the “Be Safe” sticker held any bit of logic, then maybe we should have a large “Be Safe” sticker on every steering wheel because driving is vastly more dangerous than hunting.)
Such overbearing regulations are discouraging many hunters from participating at a time when promoting America’s great heritage is paramount. That leads me to ask two questions: Has common sense been eradicated? Or, have the anti-hunting activists influenced legislators and regulators to enact complex laws and regulations that are nothing more than a back-door attempt to end hunting?
