Firearms deer hunters in Cottonwood County will not be able to use high-powered rifles to take deer in 2026.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Cottonwood County Commissioners approved an ordinance that would limit firearms used for deer hunting in the county to legal shotguns with single-slug shotgun shells, legal muzzle-loading long guns or legal handguns.
The ordinance passed on a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Tom Appel voting against.
The move means that high-powered rifles will not be permitted for hunting deer in the county, at least in 2026.
Cottonwood joined Rock, Nobles, Faribault and Brown counties in adopting the shotgun-only ordinance. The Jackson and Watonwan county boards also were voting Tuesday, with each reportedly leaning toward adopting a shotgun-only ordinance.
More from Tuesday’s meeting appears in the April 8 print and e-editions of the Citizen.
