Senate Bill Would Allow Use of Airguns During Hunting Seasons Using Guns in Wisconsin

Tuesday, November 7th, 2023 -- 9:01 AM

(Paul Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Hunters would have another option to take white-tailed deer and other wild game in Wisconsin if a new bill becomes law.

According to Paul Smith with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Senate Bill 586 would allow the use of airguns in any hunting season now open to firearms. The proposal defines an airgun as "a weapon originally manufactured to expel one or more metal projectiles by the expansion of compressed air."

Current state rules allow airguns for hunting small game such as gray squirrels and cottontail rabbits. The major impact of the bill would be to expand the use of airguns to include big game hunting in Wisconsin, including deer, black bear and elk.

The bill was introduced Monday in the Legislature and assigned to the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Sporting Heritage. If the measure becomes law, Wisconsin would join 28 other states that allow airguns for big game hunting, said Mitch King, president of the Airgun Sporting Association, a trade group promoting expanded use of airguns across the nation.

Airguns have been used for hundreds of years for big game hunting, including by explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their Corps of Discovery from 1804-06 across what is now the western U.S.

Modern airguns are available in a wide range of calibers and designs. Among the most common is a class called pre-charged pneumatic, or PCP. The guns are filled with air similar to the process used to fill a SCUBA tank and are designed to keep constant the energy used for each shot.

The design allows multiple shots, sometimes dozens, before needing a recharge. King said benefits of airguns include their quiet, clean operation and lack of recoil.

Most models, however, are designed for hunting big game at ranges of less than 100 yards; centerfire rifles have much longer effective ranges. In the Midwest, states that allow airguns for deer hunting include Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

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