Sleepy Eye, Minnesota — Carrying a Beretta hunting rifle, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz walked through tall, straw-like grass for three hours Saturday for the opening day of the state’s pheasant hunting season, but failed to fire a single shot despite his efforts.
“There are good days and good days of pheasant hunting,” Walz said at the end of the day.
Scott Rall, a friend of the governor with whom he often hunts, committed the single murder Saturday. Recovery of the birds’ bodies was a top priority in the instructions given to the hunting party, but no one was able to find the carcass in the thick brush that in some places grew as tall as Walz himself.
Many pheasants and animals emerging from the tall grass and straw were flying backwards towards the wine press. At one point, this prompted Walz to apparently allude to the hunting accident in 2006 involving former Vice President Dick Cheney, in which Cheney accidentally shot another hunter in the face.
“All the vice president’s jokes were about to be made here. And I was just like that,” Walz said, motioning to remove his gun for safety.
“Too far,” Walz said of a bird that was in his line of sight.
The governor wore Carhartt hunting chaps and an orange vest commemorating the opening of the annual season, participating in the hunt in his official capacity as governor. Yet it was followed by a campaign pledge and followed a recent campaign announcement revealing a new voting coalition of hunters, fishermen and gun owners.
CBS News
The new coalition will seek to highlight Harris’ support for “traditional activities.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz looked into their recent gun ownership – while continuing to advocate for legislation like universal background checks. In an interview with “60 Minutes,” Harris revealed that she owns a Glock and during an event with Oprah Winfrey, the former prosecutor said, “If someone breaks into my house, they get shot.” »
Walz told CBS News that the Beretta A400 he carried on the hunt was one he purchased when he shot a lot of traps. He noted that the weapon’s feature had a “kick-off.”
“So when you get older, your shoulder doesn’t hurt as much,” he said.
On a break to replace the hounds, Walz had some locally sourced venison and a Diet Mountain Dew. He referred to Sarge, one of three black Labradors who led the majority of the hunt.
“Sarge is here and says I worked for two fucking hours and these guys couldn’t even get one out,” he joked.
Walz, who grew up in rural Nebraska and frequents farms and football games on the campaign trail, is seeking to appeal to male and rural voters. A CBS News poll conducted in August shows a gender gap among likely voters approaching 2020 levels.
In the poll, 45% of likely male voters said they would choose Harris, compared to 54% who said they would support former President Donald Trump.
In the poll, women were also more likely than men to view Harris as someone who “fights a lot for people like you.”
Walz once boasted that he was the best shooter in Congress when he served in the House.
Recalling on Saturday his previous shoots with his Minnesota congressional delegation, Walz said: “I loved that congressional shoot, but it was kind of dangerous because they were all Second Amendment guys who didn’t really know “how to shoot.
When someone in the hunting party mentioned Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, Walz asked, “Are these guys shooting?”
Trump doesn’t hunt. CBS News has reached out to Vance’s team.
In a statement, the Trump campaign called Saturday’s hunt “staged,” and Trump campaign co-chair Chris LaCivita said Walz “made a mistake trying to load his shotgun.”
