Does your state have a separate ML season?

Mine doesn't.

Note: Please don't take the following as belittling anyone's aggravation or claiming his point isn't 100% valid. My goal is simply to offer an alternative prespective. :winking:

I've read several posts where folks have been distressed by either the positioning of their muzzleloading season or the fact that folks can use scoped inlines. At least those states have a disitinct period of time set aside for primitive-type firearms and the folks who favor those kinds of guns are not afield with hunters toting bipod-equipped 300 Ultra Mags. (With the exception of the state where break-actions firing modern metallic cartridges are allowed...that's almost as bad.) We have more pronghorns than people here. We have hundreds of thousands of whitetail and mule deer. Whitetails are actually a pest out here and have dramatically encroached on the mulies' habitat. Deer/car collisions are over a hundred a month in my county alone. Elk populations are thriving. We would offer some of the best muzzleloading hunting in the country and draw thousands of hunters from other states. We could just have a whitetail-only muzzleloading season and help reduce their numbers while putting boucoup dollars into G&F's pockets instead of them spending money to hire state hunters to do it.

So why don't they establish a ML season?...polls showing that they would have low participation. I suspect that is why inlines are allowed in some states' ML season...to get enough hunters to make the season fiscally possible. It is entirely possible that without those plug-ugly modern muzzleloaders, some states would just cancel the separate season entirely and primitive hunters would have to go compete with the high-tech long-range critter-sniper crowd. No, things aren't what we would wish...a dedicated primitive/ traditional (sidelock only) muzzleloading season with no optical sights allowed. But only you can decide whether half a loaf is better than no bread at all.

Noah (living in a gluten-free state) Mercy :thumbsup:

Up here,(southern tier of upstate NY) we have a separate ML season. It's immediately following regular season - this year it was december 12-20.

After the deer were thoroughly spooked (we just got rifle rights in my countyfor regular season, spurring many more hunters to take to the field), and I stalked a good 3-6 miles through open field and hard wood forest during ML.

I personally think that ML season should be early,
or at least prior to regular season. There are fewer hunters then, and they shoot less frequently than the modern hunters (BAM.....BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM).

There are rumors of an early season next year, but it may put us at odds with bowhunters.


I'll leave it to better minds than mine...

Legion

Here in Wyoming we have some ML only areas. If you hunt these areas you will have the place to your self. There is very little interest in this type of hunting. I used to hunt the area near Boulder, Wy. I think it has been closed. You can use a ML any time during the regular hunting seasons. I have never found this to be a problem.
Redwing
SW Wyoming :thumbsup:

PA this year has a "flintlock" season from dec 26th to jan 14th..............bob

Alaska does not discriminate against weapons during hunting seasons for big game hunting.
However, the game board has wisely implemented "muzzleloader or shotgun only" in some of the more populated areas around Los Anchorage that were previously closed to big game (read moose) hunting which was previously archery only. They also opened a section of the Fairbanks Management area to moose hunting w/ muzzleloader that was previously archery only.
This is a rather new developement which I would guess is the result of bowhunters not meeting harvest quotas set by ADF&G for the game management units.
The only wrinkle is the hunter has to complete a muzzleloading hunter training class similar to the IBEP class required of bowhunters.

Modern Gun
Zones 1- 2
Nov. 12 - 27, 2005
Zones 3- 4
Nov. 12 - 21, 2005

Archery
Statewide
Sept. 3, 2005 ”“ Jan. 16, 2006

Youth Only Firearms Season
Statewide
Oct. 8 ”“ 9, 2005

Muzzleloader
Statewide
Oct. 15 - 16;
Dec. 10 - 18, 2005

Crossbow
Statewide
Nov. 28 - Dec. 7, 2005

Free Junior Deer Hunting Weekend*
Statewide
Dec. 31, 2005 ”“ Jan. 1, 2006

Massachusetts has a seperate muzzleloader season. And you can hunt with muzzleloaders during the regular shotgun season. No cartridge rifles are allow during any of the deer seasons.

CP

Nebraska has muzzleloader season right after rifle season through the month of December but you can get a season choice tag where you can hunt any season, archery, rifle, muzzleloader and an extended season through the 15th of Jan. but they are doe only.

Nevada has a muzzleloader only season for mule deer. It is after archery season, and before regular season. It is generally only 2-3 weeks long. You can use any legal weapon during the regular season also.

Maryland has some issues as well. Fortunately Breech loading firearms are only allowed in 2 counties of our state. They border W. Virginia and are mountainous with lots of public land. The rest of the state is burdened by proximity to the eastern Megalopolis, represented here by Baltimore and DC. The prospect of too many wannabes coursing through the suburban woods during Modern Firearms (AKA Shotgun) season keeps that down to less than 3 weeks.

Unhappily, ML season gets spread out here, with an early week (mid-to late Oct.) when it can be too warm for good hunting, and the rest of the season (about 2 more weeks) coming right after Shotgun. One can use MLs in Shotgun season, as long as you don't mind a bit of a crowd. For example, the private land I usually hunt (c. 175 acres)was shared by 5 hunters on the last Saturday of the 'Gun season. Bowhunters get the best deal, they can hunt in any season and have almost 2 months of "Bow Only" season. We need an extension of ML season since we're not meeting DNR's Deer conservation targets. Even with their huge season, MD bowhunters only took c. 19,000 deer last year compared to ML's c. 23,000. We're not getting a proper chance to help !

I don't mind the inline shooters much, it's the "Baghdad Overture" from a barrage of slugs delivered via pump action that bugs me !

FL actually has 2. One before and one after regular gun season. The latter is shared with archers.

VA has an early ML before modern firearms seasons and a late season that finishes this Sat. For those of us who also hunt MD the seasons are a offset conveniently. GC

We have ml season after the bow season and before rifle. For deer it falls at the end of sept. its a whole 5 days. Elk is the same way, but its the end of October I beleive. All the rifle hunters have jumped to the inline rifles and moved to the muzzleloader because its right before the rut and the weather is better. Also there are less hunters. There won't be for long though. I rarely see anyone out hunting with a gun with a woodstock except me. The drought out here has the deer population pretty low and all the deer seem to know to go to private property when the bullets start flying. Elk are in plenty but most areas are spike only. I also don't have a horse to get after them. Once they spook they are gone unless you have a horse or one of those curious 4 wheeled wagons that run without horses pulling them.

Utah has a ML season, used to be after the regular gun season and during the rut (November) but is now in Sept. (9 days where I hunt) There's almost as many hunters here during ML season as in rifle ,99% with in----- and riding 4 wheelers.
The catch is you have to opt for either archery, ML, or rifle and then go thru a draw to get that tag or by paying more money and doing 24 hrs. work for F&G and attending some classes you can
hunt all 3 seasons but can only take 2 animals in 3 yrs. but if you get a tag and are willing to walk (climb) you hardly ever see anyone else, they're all out riding the roads.

:shocked2:

And I thought Nevada was bad! At least here, you can put in for all 3, and if you happen to draw all three, you can take 3 deer, no strings attached.

I've got my 2 for this 3 yr. period so I can't hunt deer here next yr. maybe I should put in for Nevada, there's some good country just over the border, over toward Ely.

I feel your pain Deadeye. I didn't even see a deer with horns for the 3 years I did the dedicated hunter. Where are you in Utah? I will never do the Dedicated hunter again. Cost me more money and service hours and was not worth it. 4 wheelers everywhere and rifle hunter mentality to boot.

Noah, I'm with you. At least a cow/calf, doe/fawn license. It's hard when I get a tag to choose how I want to hunt. This year I'm putting in for a couple doe/fawn tags so I can bowhunt and ML hunt.

R.I has a seperate muzzle loader season and muzzle loaders can be used during our Shotgun season providing they are smoothbore and of the minimum gauge allowed for shotguns.....this makes no sense when shotguns no longer have to be smoothbore themselves. :cursing: :youcrazy: