Absolutely none of this has happened in the states where muzzleloading regulations have allowed all the modern muzzle-loaded rifles...loads...and sight systems.
You all suffer from the Chicken Little syndrome. The sky is not falling...and modern technology is not killing our muzzleloader seasons.
Just the opposite. The more appealing muzzleloader seasons (and regulations) are to the average hunter...the more participation in...and the more muzzleloader hunting opportunities we enjoy.
Please, pull your heads out of your anal orifices and see the big picture.
Toby Bridges
NORTH AMERICAN
MUZZLELOADER HUNTING
I would have to respectfully degree, not that where these changes have already happened has not affected opportunity, but that big game in western states IS different.
Take elk hunting for example. We are talking about a relatively small number of tags for the people who what to hunt them. A very finite pie so to speak. Then we have a lot of competing interests (bowhunting, muzzle, rifle). Increased harvest in a special season in Colorado IMO WILL result in lower tag numbers because you are esentially putting a rifle season in the middle of the elk rut and more elk will be killed. You may have more people calling for more muzzleloading tags, but there WILL be a BIG push by the bowhunters not to increase these tags. And there are defitately lots of people who are happy with their rifle tags.
In Colorado, they have cut the number of muzzleloader statewide bull tags by aprox. 1000 in the last two years. I can virtually guarantee you that if the success rate went up in this season, the numbers would go down more.
Sure, in Texas allowing anything goes with muzzleloaders does not affect the harvest that much because we have millions of deer and a 2 month long season anyway. Can you name any elk hunting state that has made these changes and actually increased the number of muzzy tags from historic levels?
And if that is not enough, let's talk money. Higher hunter success means that SOMEONE will have to give up tags. With elk, you can't just keep printing tags, when hunter success goes up, you have to figure out where to cut tags elsewhere. Cutting tags would mean lost revenue. When is the last time you remember game departments doing that? It is either that or increasing prices. Since they are already very high for us nonresidents, I don't vote for that.
I enjoy hunting with all weapons. While I probably enjoy hunting with a muzzleloader the most, I also enjoy bowhuting and rifle hunting. Respectfully, I think I am the one seeing the "big picture" here.
