Contact: Kent Keene, Lower Midwestern States Coordinator
Members of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (Commission) are scheduled to meet on January 12 and 13 for their first meeting of 2021. Ahead of this meeting, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation submitted a formal letter of support for a proposed amendment to Nebraska’s shot size requirements for turkey hunters, removing the lower shot size limit that is currently in place. This is one of many proposed changes the Commission will be considering at their meeting.
Currently, Nebraska’s turkey hunters are permitted to utilize shotshells that are loaded with shot sized between #2 and #7.5. However, recent technological advances in shotshells, including the development and utilization of tungsten super shot (TSS), have led to the creation of ethical and effective turkey shotshells that are loaded with shot as small as #9.
Removing the lower limit on the size of shot that may be used for turkey hunting will provide opportunities for youth and smaller-framed hunters to use shotguns chambered as small as .410-bore, which produce less recoil than many shotguns traditionally used by turkey hunters (e.g., 20-guage and 12-guage). As stated in the letter, opportunities such as this that make hunting more accessible are critical to the success of hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) efforts designed to encourage more hunter participation.
More information on this proposed regulatory change, as well as all the proposals that the Commission will consider during their January meeting, can be found here.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
