bicountry,

"Second, the ML season today is more of a tool for deer management for special early seasons"

Why do you suppose archers and muzzleloaders were given seasons early? Why are archery seasons and muzzleloader seasons vastly longer than modern rifle seasons? It's not because it's relatively easier with hunt with, but because it is typically harder that their modern rifle counterparts. Tell me; are the kill ratio percentages higher with modern rifles or with muzzleloaders/archery? This is the crux of the entire argument. People i.e. consumers who demand and manufacturers who push products, want new gear so that they can still legally fit into a 'primitive' season but approaches kill percentages of rifles. Choosing a weapon with which to hunt is entirely personal, but we have muzzleloaders that act like rifles and are marketed specifically to rifle hunters who wish to be able to 'technically' hunt in muzzleloader season with as little difference between weapons as possible. That's why states such as Idaho have implemented rules about what constitutes a legal blackpowder rifle, exposed pivoting hammer, no 209 primers etc. Why did they do this except to counter the trends that those who are not willing to accept the limitations of blackpowder and manufacturers have been pushing lately? It is not just me that is noticing these things.

If it were a matter of regulating deer population only, the most effective way is to allow those with historically the most effective weapons a longer season, thus increasing the numbers of deer killed. However, because there is a difference in effectiveness (relative to kill percentages) among weapons, there are separate seasons to allow longer seasons for those weapons with the lower percentages of success.

"Only reason there is more success, is because there is more hunters now in the woods."

I am talking per hunter kill ratio, not overall numbers.

"Imagine how use archers felt when they added special ML seasons right smack dab in the middle of our season"

By the tone of it, it sounds like you were none too pleased. You felt like they were cheating because now muzzleloaders with an extended range which your longbow could not duplicate were walking the same woods as you and were taking 50-60-70 yard shots while you were trying to stalk and make a 20 yard shot. Eventually all the clatter of muzzleloaders in the woods changed the archery season during that time, probably to the point you either did not hunt with a bow during that time, or picked up a muzzleloader.

The personal attacks I have endured from so-called level-headed people here is astonishing. How quickly some lower themselves to the lowest common denominator of hurling insults and making unfounded comments about me is rather surprising. How prescient I was to see someone would try to insult me in reference to the letters after my name, thank you RidgeRunner for proving my point that insecure people must insult those they fear in order to make themselves feel better, this is not just my opinion but has been proven in a clinical setting.

This will be my last post, if you feel the need to continue to try to abase me by snide comments and your own chest-beating, then do so.

Howard