Approved Methods

With the pressure off for deer season, I might try some hunting that is more challenging than my trusty Browning 30-.06. Maybe I’ll go for a second one during muzzle loader season. Or maybe I’ll give my Marlin Camp .45, or even a handgun, a try during antlerless season.

Permissible hunting methods cover a wide range of weaponry. Crossbows are OK, but only during firearms season, or for people with disabilities. Atlatls, which are basically handles used to chuck spears, are also OK. If you have to use an Atlatl to make your deer hunting challenging enough, either you’ve perfected the art of hunting, or there are way too many deer on your hunting grounds.

One method I won’t be using is a: “Air-powered gun, .40 caliber or larger, charged only from an external high compression power source (external hand pump, air tank, or air compressor).” (from the MDC website under approved methods.)

I’m a gun guy. I kind of love them. I used to subscribe to gun magazines. I’ve been to a lot of gun shows. I’m friends with several gun dealers. Yet, the only large caliber air-powered gun I’ve ever seen is the cattle gun used by the psychopath hit-man played Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men. I was no less surprised to see this as an approved deer hunting method than I would have been to see “Up to four extendable, mechanized arms not to exceed 200 feet in total length” listed as a method after having watched Spiderman 2.

A quick Internet search will turn up so high-powered air guns that are considerably more refined than cattle guns. They look like firearms, and are accurate at long ranges. I suppose that if I were forced into a duel, I would certainly choose one over an Atlatl.