Tim Walz says he kept a shotgun in his car to hunt pheasants after football practices

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has made it a constituent aggregate times to punctual Americans that helium was erstwhile an adjunct precocious schoolhouse shot manager since being selected arsenic Vice President Kamala Harris' moving mate. 

However, during the vice statesmanlike debate Tuesday night, helium fto everyone successful connected the details of different athletics helium engaged successful aft signifier erstwhile helium worked astatine Mankato West High School. 

During a segment connected weapon control policies, Walz claimed that erstwhile helium worked arsenic a shot manager astatine Mankato West, helium kept a shotgun successful his car truthful helium could hunt pheasants aft practice. 

"I’m of an property wherever my shotgun was successful my car truthful I could pheasant hunt aft shot practice," Walz said. 

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Gov. Tim Walz speaks to his supporters astatine Grand Rapids Public Museum connected Sep. 12. (Detroit Free Press/Adam Vander Kooy / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

The connection came erstwhile Walz was asked if helium would enactment an battle weapons prohibition aft antecedently opposing specified a measure. Walz, who was antecedently an NRA ally, said his stance connected weapon power changed aft gathering the parents of Sandy Hook victims and befriending schoolhouse shooters. 

"Yeah, I sat successful that bureau with those Sandy Hook parents. I’ve go friends with schoolhouse shooters. I’ve seen it. Look, the NRA, I was NRA feline for a agelong time. They utilized to thatch weapon safety," Walz said. 

Walz's hobby of hunting pheasants is thing helium has spoken and bragged astir successful the past. In July, Walz bragged that his pheasant-shooting skills were superior to Vance during an interrogation connected "Anderson Cooper 360."

"That’s what JD Vance’s instrumentality is, talking astir guns. I warrant you helium can’t sprout pheasants similar I can," Walz said. 

Walz is besides 1 of the main organizers of his state's Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener. He celebrated the 2023 lawsuit past October, erstwhile helium declared himself a life-long pheasant hunter. 

"As a lifelong huntsman and Pheasants Forever member, the pheasant opener is 1 of my favourite times of year," helium said successful a statement.

Pheasant hunting is 1 of the astir fashionable bird-hunting sports and is peculiarly fashionable successful South Central South Dakota, which borders Walz's authorities of Minnesota and is known arsenic "The Pheasant Capitol of the World."

However, pheasant hunting has besides led to a harsh simplification successful the bird's colonisation successful the U.S. implicit the past 50 years. While pheasants are not considered an endangered species, they are considered at-risk successful galore regions crossed the country.  

The species' colonisation successful New York authorities has declined astir 90% since 1970, according to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. In Minnesota, the colonisation has seen steadier and little drastic decline, however. 

WALZ FORCED TO CORRECT RECORD ON WHETHER HE WAS IN CHINA FOR THE TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTESTS

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Walz's wont of hunting the birds aft shot signifier means helium contributed to this diminution during his tenure arsenic an adjunct manager astatine Mankato West successful the 1990s. 

During Walz's tenure arsenic an adjunct connected the staff, the squad won the authorities title successful 1999. Walz's archetypal occupation aft assemblage was arsenic a teacher successful China, earlier being hired by Mankato West successful 1996, wherever helium was a geography teacher. 

He was besides the archetypal module advisor of Mankato West High School's archetypal gay–straight alliance, and helium worked to signifier summertime acquisition trips to China for precocious schoolhouse students.

Walz's abbreviated tenure arsenic an adjunct shot manager has been a talking constituent for the Harris run since helium was announced arsenic the moving mate for Harris connected Aug. 7. 

Walz, contempt ne'er having coached past the precocious schoolhouse level oregon adjacent arsenic a caput manager successful precocious school, compared his inheritance arsenic a shot manager to that of Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who served arsenic the caput manager astatine 4 antithetic NCAA Power-5 shot programs from 1995 to 2016. Tuberville led Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech and Cincinnati arsenic caput coach, and adjacent won an SEC Championship with Auburn successful 2004. 

"I consciousness similar 1 of my roles successful this present is to beryllium the anti-Tommy Tuberville, to amusement that shot coaches are not the dumbest people," Walz said during a fundraiser lawsuit successful Boston successful aboriginal August.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a run lawsuit connected Aug. 7, 2024 successful Detroit. (Andrew Harnik)

Walz adjacent asserted that his acquisition arsenic an adjunct precocious schoolhouse shot manager meant helium "took shot back" from Republicans, during a run code successful Wisconsin connected Sept. 17. 

However, shot fans did not amusement overmuch favoritism to Walz during the governor's sojourn to the crippled betwixt Michigan and Wisconsin connected Saturday. Several successful attendance booed him, with different instrumentality adjacent yelling "Get retired of here."

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