Iowa deer hunters fight DNR's proposed rule changes that would ban AR pistols

Iowa gun advocates are fighting rule changes they say would prevent the use of AR pistols for hunting deer.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has proposed several changes to state hunting rules that include restricting the amount of ammo hunters can keep in their guns to six rounds.

Iowa Firearms Coalition calls the proposals government overreach.

"They're trying to remove the AR pistol from hunting, and there's no basis for it," said Derek Drayer, a spokesman the statewide group, which has about 10,000 members.

But state officials say they're not banning hunters from using AR pistols. The new rules are intended to make hunting safer as well as clarify the types of guns that should be used during different seasons, they say.

Another change would bar hunters from using handguns during the late muzzleloader season.

The Iowa Firearms Coalition is calling on members to attend a public hearing Thursday in Des Moines where the rule changes will be discussed.

"Stop them from implementing some flat-out awful changes to the deer hunting rules in Iowa," said the group in an email to members.

The DNR is expected to vote May 16 on the proposals.

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Limiting the amount of ammunition has been so unpopular the state agency plans to withdraw the recommendation when the Iowa Natural Resources Commission meets Thursday.

"We've gotten over 1,000 emails and public comments" on limiting rounds, said Bruce Trautman, the acting Iowa DNR director.

The agency worked with hunting and gun advocacy stakeholders when crafting the rule changes, so Trautman said he's been surprised by the opposition. "They've obviously had a change of heart," he said.

Also unpopular is a proposal to define a handgun as a firearm that can be held with one hand, snagging just about as much public opposition.

Drayer said the changes are an attempt to stop hunters from using AR pistols — a pistol-length version of the AR-15 rifle — that are usually fired with braces that require two hands.

The brace connects at the back of the pistol and attaches to a hunter's forearm, stabilizing the gun and providing improved accuracy and control.

"They're trying to rewrite the language on these guns," Drayer said, adding that it would be a more strict definition than the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosions, which considers an AR pistol a handgun.

Taking the language literally, it could mean hunters should only use one hand when shooting a pistol, the firearms coalition said, possibly affecting the use of more traditional pistols such as a Glock or 1911.

"Does the DNR intend to take a position on whether or not hunters should use only a one-handed or a two-handed hold?" the coalition said in its email.

"We don't see how DNR thinks they are facilitating a humane harvest when they are limiting my technique and reducing a hunter's accuracy."

The proposed rule change is intended to reduce confusion over what the state agency considers a handgun and a long gun such as a rifle, said Chris Ensminger, DNR's wildlife research leader.

It refers only to the way the gun is designed to be used and isn't direction on how hunters should use it, he said.

"How hunters shoot is their business," Ensminger said. "We want people to take the most accurate and ethical shot possible."

Even with a brace, he said the state considers an AR pistol a handgun.

"We feel that’s a handgun, and is consistent with what most gun enthusiasts would say," Ensminger said.

And the proposal to limit the number of rounds was designed to make hunters safer, he said.

"If you’re shooting at a target range and rattle off 100 rounds, it’s safe. The target doesn't move," Ensminger said.

"If you’re shooting at a deer running across a landscape, by the time you get past three, four shots, the deer is a long way from where it started," he said. "It’s easy to fixate on the animal and not the background," where other hunters might be.

Limiting rounds was an issue last year when state lawmakers passed a law that allowed hunting with straight wall cartridges rifles, Ensminger said.

Other states around Iowa limit the amount of ammo that hunting guns can hold, he said. Nebraska, for example, prohibits using firearms capable of holding more than six rounds.

Mike Sporer, who owns JLM Gun Shoppe in Urbandale, said comparisons to other states' hunting laws may not apply.

For example, some states allow the use of higher powered guns than Iowa that shoot bullets farther.

"It doesn't necessarily jive with what we do here in Iowa," he said, adding that the proposed rule limiting rounds makes no sense to him.

And, Sporer said, hunters typically only take a couple shots, even if they're using guns with several times more rounds.

"I don’t think it makes anything safer," he said. "In theory, a hunter could take 8 to 10 shots at a running deer. But I don’t know anybody who hunts that way."

And it could add a lot of expense for hunters if they believe they need to buy a gun with a lower ammo capacity to meet new state regulations. That's good for gun shops like his, but not the sport, Sporer said.

Ensminger said hunters could still use firearms with the capacity for more than six rounds by just limiting the amount of ammo loaded into the gun.

"Why would they introduce something that would be terribly hard to enforce?" Sporker said. "It seems like the DNR is making rules for rules' sake."