Walz goes pheasant hunting with his own Beretta as the campaign appeals to gun owners

Sleepy Eye, Minnesota — Carrying a Beretta shotgun, Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota On Saturday, the opening day of the state pheasant hunting season, he hiked through tall, straw-like grass for three hours but, despite his efforts, couldn't get a single shot.

“There are good days and there are great days for pheasant hunting,” Walz said at the end of the day.

Scott Rall, a friend of the governor with whom he often hunts, scored the only kill on Saturday. Recovering the bird's carcass was a top priority in the instructions given to the hunting party, but no one could find the carcass in the thick undergrowth, which in some places grew as tall as Walz himself.

Many of the pheasants and animals that emerged from the tall grass and straw flew backwards toward the press. At some point, this prompted Walz to seemingly allude to it Hunting accident in 2006 involving former Vice President Dick Cheney, in which Cheney accidentally shot a fellow hunter in the face.

“Every vice president joke ever made should be made right there. And I was just like that,” Walz said, motioning for him to remove his gun for safety reasons.

“Too far,” Walz said of a bird that was in his line of sight.

Wearing Carhartt hunting chaps and an orange vest commemorating the annual season opener, the governor attended the hunt in his official capacity as governor. Still, campaign engagement ensued and followed a recent campaign announcement that unveiled a new electoral coalition of hunters, anglers and gun owners.

The new coalition will seek to underscore Harris' support for “traditional activities.”

Both Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz I leaned in the fact that they're recent gun owners — while continuing to advocate for laws like universal background checks. In an interview with “60 Minutes,” Harris revealed that she owns a Glock during an event In the case of Oprah Winfrey, the former prosecutor stated: “If someone breaks into my house, they will be shot.”

Walz told CBS News that he bought the Beretta A400 he carried with him when he hunted when he did a lot of trap shooting. He noted that the weapon's function had a “kickoff.”

“So as you get older, your shoulder doesn’t hurt as much,” he said.

During a break to swap out hunting dogs, Walz ate local venison and a diet Mountain Dew. He was referring to Sarge, one of the three black Labradors who led most of the hunt.

“Sarge's here saying I just worked for two damn hours and these guys couldn't even shoot one,” he joked.

Walz, who grew up in rural Nebraska and often visits farms and football games while campaigning, wants 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 to see Harris as someone who “fights hard for people like you.”

Walz previously boasted about being the best shot in Congress when he served in the House of Representatives.

Walz recalled Saturday photo shoots with his fellow Minnesota congresswoman, saying, “I always loved that photo shoot in Congress, but it was kind of dangerous because it was just Second Amendment people who didn't really know how to shoot.” .”

When someone in the hunting group mentioned Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, Walz asked, “Do these guys shoot?”

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 “staggered around trying to load his shotgun.”