Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is out here trying to convince us he’s an avid hunter and responsible gun owner, but judging by his performance over the weekend, maybe he needs a little more practice.
While on a pheasant hunt with reporters in rural Minnesota, Walz seemed to struggle with a basic task: loading his shotgun. Yep, the same guy who portrays himself as a gun-toting outdoorsman couldn’t quite figure out how to load shells into his A400 Beretta. “It never fits quite right,” Walz muttered as he fumbled with the weapon, according to a video posted by CBS News reporter Shawna Mizelle.
Now, this is the same governor who likes to brag about keeping a shotgun in his car so he can go pheasant hunting after work. But if you’re having trouble loading a gun in front of cameras, how often are you really out there hunting, Tim? Walz claims he bought the Beretta when he was “shooting a lot of trap,” but based on what we saw, it’s fair to wonder just how much trap shooting this guy has done lately.
The timing of this hunting trip is interesting, coming right after the Harris-Walz campaign announced their new “hunters, gun owners, and anglers coalition.” Apparently, the goal is to show that Harris—who’s spent her political career pushing for stricter gun control—supports “traditional activities.” Walz, for his part, has always tried to walk that tightrope of being a gun owner who supports “common sense” gun control, but watching him struggle with his shotgun doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in his “avid hunter” persona.
Omg
Tim Walz doesnt even know how to load his own gun – he lied about being a hunter too! pic.twitter.com/sJkEq4UzKs
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) October 12, 2024
As for the actual hunt, it lasted around three hours, according to Mizelle, but here’s the kicker: the only person who made a kill wasn’t Walz—it was Scott Rall, a regular hunting companion of the governor. And even that was a bit of a mess, as the hunting party never recovered the bird’s carcass. So much for that “top priority” of retrieving the day’s bounty.
Walz tried to brush it off with some folksy charm, saying, “There’s good days and there’s great days pheasant hunting.” Translation: No birds in the bag, but hey, at least we didn’t shoot each other.
MSNBC implies that Tim Walz going pheasant hunting is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make up ground with male voters.
Sorry Tim, men aren’t voting for a gun grabber. pic.twitter.com/Asvq38ObkM
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 12, 2024
Speaking of shooting each other, Walz also took the opportunity to make a joke about former Vice President Dick Cheney’s infamous hunting accident, motioning to take his gun off safety while cracking wise to the reporters. It’s a funny line, sure, but maybe less funny when you’ve just shown the world that loading a shotgun isn’t your strong suit.
Trump took to X and posted his own joke.
BREAKING: New images have surfaced from Tampon Tim’s staged pheasant “hunting” photo op today.
In Harris-Walz’s America, guns have been banned — Kamala has promised mandatory gun confiscation by executive order in her first 100 days. pic.twitter.com/uMPU79tOcf
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 12, 2024
The trip was a bit of a flop—much like the Harris-Walz attempt to win over gun owners. If this is the best they’ve got, I’m not sure too many hunters are going to be lining up to join that new coalition.