It’s not surprising that with today’s technology, there’s a new development in the field of hunting. Up until recently, I pictured air rifles as target pieces or gopher guns. That image has now changed. An advertisement that appeared in my Autumn 2019 issue of Sporting Classics magazine caught my immediate attention. The ad read, “Wind of Change” in red letters. Then it went on to say, “Adventure’s calling. Answer it with something completely different.”

Pictured is the new Seneca Dragon Claw 500cc precharged pneumatic (PCP) air rifle that they claim just might become our favorite hunting firearm. It supposedly handles not only conventional metallic projectiles, but also specialized air bolts that turns it into a deadly accurate air-powered crossbow. A bolt is the arrow fired by crossbows. Pictured is hunting TV show celebrity Keith Warren with the air rifle and an apparently dead African cape buffalo – one of the most dangerous animals on earth.

I have a question. Is the Seneca Dragon Claw a rifle or a crossbow? Because of the tremor and neuropathy in my hands and arms, SD Game, Fish, & Parks allows me to archery hunt with a crossbow. If I’m out there with a Seneca and a tagged deer, am I legal or illegal? I think that SDGF&P needs to clarify this soon. Personally, I’d call it a rifle.

The deer rut right around the corner, and nighttime deer movement will be getting into full swing. Along many of our highways, excess water has made it all but impossible to keep road ditch growth in check. Seeing deer in the ditches as we have in the past will be difficult at times, and I urge extreme caution while driving.

Some No Nonsense Talk on Gun Control

As a hunter who enjoys all the shooting sports, I’ll call myself “pro-gun.” I realize that with the recent horrific mass shootings, the gun control advocate outrage is to be expected. However, additional gun control laws are not going to change things. By country, our USA ranks near the top in murders. Remove Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, and Washington D.C., and we’re near the bottom. These four cities have our nation’s toughest gun controls laws. We obviously need to enforce the many laws we already have.

Many of the good people demanding more gun control need to realize that we already have a universal federal background check that goes beyond filling out a form. A phone call is also made to the feds, and they must approve the sale. Perhaps the feds need more information regarding mental health, but this enters a gray area involving privacy. I have no answer to this issue.

The National Rifle Association claims that in our USA, an armed citizen defends himself/herself more than 2 million times a year…..quite often by just pointing a gun. I can personally attest to the presence of a gun as I once saved the young lady with me and myself by pointing a handgun at a creep armed with a crowbar who intended to smash in my car windows if I didn’t give him and his buddies my girlfriend. While nothing justifies mass murders, 2 million averted tragedies are significant.

I don’t believe that I own a so-called ”assault rifle,” but I know my guns, and I’d like to know what an “assault rifle” is. I’d really like to see a definition. I’m guessing that it might be a center-fire semi-automatic rifle with a detachable clip. Other than the oft-mentioned AR-15, this could include the immensely popular Ruger Mini-14, a rifle owned and often carried by countless fellow South Dakotans in or on their hunting vehicles.

We met with some good, highly educated friends not too long ago who were outraged by so-called assault rifles. In the course of our friendly debate, it became apparent that they thought the so-called “assault weapons” were fully automatic. Fully automatic weapons are illegal. If I were caught with one, I’d be locked up for a long time.

I have a Harding County pronghorn antelope tag, and we’ll talk about that next week. In the meantime, we pheasant hunters need to think about getting out our waders…..and maybe even our fishing inner tubes. I have a bad feeling about all the water. See you next week.