BuckAlley

I was told by a employee of the DEC here in NY the main reason scopes are now being allowed on muzzleloaders was due to the number of older aged people with bad eyesight that use muzzleloaders having a difficult time just using open sights. This was something poor sighted hunters had requested at DEC inquiry meetings held last year. I also figure it was another reason for the DEC to try, and get more hunters back into the woods.

hoythunter48

I would actaully like to hunt with a spear, I dont know the legality of it, but i might have to look into it,

Clint.

Hunting with a spear...that would be the ultimate in deerhunting. What a rush. I don't know about you guys, but I think it could be done. We've all been that close. Maybe we could get a year-around season!

Clint

Charlie P

Buck Alley, Because older people were having trouble using open sights, Ok.[&:]

vc1111

The thinking that a muzzleloader should only be used to remember primitive days gone by is nonsense.

Yes, many blackpowder hunters want to get in touch with their primitive roots and all that good stuff. Good for them. They do not need to use an in-line. They can always use a flintlock or a caplock instead and use only a patched roundball, and they can wear a coon skin cap if that makes them feel better.

But here's the fact of the matter. ...

Some states use the limited range of the shotgun and the muzzleloader to increase the safety of the hunting population and the non-hunting population.

A modern muzzleloader can be superior to a shotgun, yet will have a range limitation that helps reduce the chance of injuries.

Finally I would add that every generation of hunter throughout time has embraced the state-of-the-art in hunting implements. Why should the muzzleloading hunter of today being singled out for doing so? Is that not what the modern bowhunter has done and is doing? If I were to list the innovations in bowhunting that have been gleefully accepted, I'd have to pack a lunch and clear my schedule for the day.

Clint.

Interesting posts.
I am left wondering though.....why not open the muzzleloading season to single shot rifles and shotguns?..same principle.

I have often wondered why pistol shooters don't have their own season too.

Clint

Arthur P

I fully agree with Mr Stangis, and I think the same thing can be said about bow season as well.

Antler Eater

I guess I look at the article in a little bit different light. I read it before this thread developed and never felt like he was trying to "drive a wedge".

I do think we need to take a second look at regulations when it comes to black powder seasons. I am not trying to take anything away from our muzzle loading brothers, just shift the seasons in certain places.

A prime example is the Colorado Elk season. Any of you who hunt elk during archery season on public ground there know what I am talking about. The archery season in Colorado lasts roughly 30 days. Sounds good yes? The first two weeks (normall pretty hot during the day) you are competing with other bow hunters for a bull. In the third week of the season when the rut starts to get interesting black powder season opens. An army of orange clad hunters takes to the hills pushing most of the animals to private or nearly in accessable ground. This makes it very difficult for the bow hunter for the remainder of the season.

The solution is simple...you don't have to take any seasons away or shorten it. It is as easy as tacking it onto the end of bow season. Certainly safer too. I have never understood the logic of putting an "orange army" of hunters loaded with firearms into the woods at the same time camo clad bowhunters are sneaking around.