I could have done without seeing that video.
Of that there is no doubt .
Wouldn’t he rather have pulled out a 300 H&H or something anyway . seriously , out starving in the mountians and he comes up with an inline . But surly old jack had all the jacketed bullets , sabots , 209 primers as well as needed toolsall back in his packs on ther horse that froze to the tree behind him .
it’s the way it is centershot because comparatively , muzzle loading hunter numbers , here , are very small . Our seasons have for the most part been based around short range weapon areas or units that could have or needed small numbers removed so as to keep the unit from converting to depredation.
If we add into that ,
*management for money vs. management for game populations and herd health.
* political influences
*Continued rise in cost of licenses and tags
* Concerning modern muzzle loading , the complete contradictions concerning capabilities , even among their own supporters. IE ., on the net they out do traditional designs in every way . But make a claim as to that while standing in front of the commission and its all lies .
There really is a lot to it . Speaking for myself , I don’t care if I shoot a buck ore doe , cow or bull . Frankly I don’t care how big the horns are either. If I come across a large bull or buck fantastic . But im not turning down the meat either . So if it’s a small rag horn or spike , so be it .
There however are a lot of folks that dont see it that way . So you have those wanting trophy hunting, to the point of going to a lottery system like many other states and doing away with the general hunt to get it . You have those who are against hair tags . While I understand the whole buck /doe ratio principle, frankly culling is culling , no mater in a cow herd or a deer herd .
Myself I believe that eventually the commission will cave in and release the restrictions on modern muzzle loading. In doing so they will again reduce the number of available hunts for muzzleloading again and eventually do away with the season all together .Turning the managment of those hunts back to draw / restricted hunts .
I think we will see archery go the same way . It will take longer , but it will happen .Not before our general season goes to a lottery system or complete permit only hunts though . I say that becouse esch year i see the archers becoming more and more devided . I have even heard more modern artchers saying that things are starting to go to far .
So we are not alone in our confusion . look around and its not hard to see .
*Centerfire and special season like Archery and muzzle loading
*Fly fishermen and live bait anglers
* The everyday common fisherman and sport fishing
*4X4 and ATV/quads
*Hikers and mountain bikes
* Jet boats and rafters
The list goes on and on
As to more time in the woods .
That ship don’t float here . We are only aloud 1 tag per year for each species . Possibly 2 if your in a depredation draw. You don’t get another tag to bow hunt and another to muzzle load and another for center fire . You just get that one tag and when you fill it your done . So the only way your going to get more time in the woods is
a) Don’t shoot anything until the last day of the last hunt of the last special weapons season or fill your tag in September and then hunt upland game birds tell the end of December .
b) hunt predators like coyotes which is open year around
c) take advantage of the fact that you can carry any weapon you want , in the woods , any time you like .
No need for a modern inline , carry what ever you like . IE take that AR , AK …..
No need for a license , no need for a tag .Hike , camp , explore all you like. Just don’t get caught killing anything without a hunting license.
But then again it maybe different where you live , out here we for the most part still have some semblance of freedoms left
when it comes to kids not being tought history, yep agreeded 100% . thats why its so very important that we teach them history not some modern verssion of it .
while i dont see as many small kids at the events as we once did . I am seeing growing numbers of those in thier 30-40 .
I'm in agreement with most of your thoughts. What I see is a bunch of little specialized 2 week hunts, which sucks because like you said you only get one tag anyway. Or buy another non-res. tag for $300, which i think is the F&G's underlying goal anyway. They know the herds are healthy and selling an extra tag gets them an extra $300. Most people don't kill one deer let alone 2. I find the current trend toward unlimited controlled hunts a very poor way to manage game and people. All it does is limit opportunity, which makes people mad and they quit hunting all together. This is exactly where archery, muzzleloader and short range weapons should be filling the gaps. Reduced take should equal longer seasons and more opportunity - unfortunately the Idaho Fish and Game is doing exactly the opposite.
