Panel limits modern muzzleloaders

It’s gun today, gone tomorrow for some Idaho muzzleloader hunters under rules adopted Jan. 11 by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission.

David Vig, of Careywood, for example, was thrilled with the $1,000 muzzleloader hunting rifle his wife gave him for Christmas. But before he had a chance to try it out, the commission outlawed his and other muzzleloaders with in-line ignition systems for use in Idaho’s special muzzleloader hunting seasons.

Though they shoot black powder and are loaded with a ramrod, guns like Vig’s just aren’t primitive enough, the commission decided.

“My wife just bought me a brand new gun that would have been legal to use last season, but now it’s not good for anything but hanging on the wall,” said Vig, 70, a lifelong North Idaho resident who’s been hunting since he was old enough to buy a license.

Sporting goods stores stocked with certain modern-design muzzleloaders suddenly have inventory they’re not likely to sell in Idaho, or even in Washington and Oregon where those guns already had been banned in muzzleloader seasons.

Much like archers, muzzleloaders have been given special seasons at choice periods because the traditional primitive weapons have a maximum range of about 100 yards and ignition systems that are prone to getting wet and not firing.

However, advances in modern muzzleloader design have increased the range, accuracy and efficiency too much, the Idaho commission said.

“It came down to drawing the line on how efficient a muzzleloader could be or the commission would be looking at changing the special seasons,” explained Jim Hayden, Idaho Fish and Game Department regional wildlife manager in Coeur d’Alene.

About 48 percent of hunters polled on the agency Web site and at meetings in towns such as St. Maries, Silver Valley and Coeur d’Alene said they preferred to restrict special muzzleloader seasons to traditional weapons while about 41 percent opposed such restrictions, he said.

Muzzleloader hunters have had little advantage in Idaho elk hunts, but their success rates in some areas for deer have been getting significantly higher than archers and modern firearms hunters, state surveys show.

“We sold most of our guns and don’t have a lot left over, so the new rules won’t hurt us too much,” said Rob Smith, manager of the Black Sheep sporting goods store in Coeur d’Alene.

“But this was a surprise to us. It would have been nice if they had let us have six months or a year to get out of our inventory. (Smaller stores) don’t have the option a big-box store has to ship their guns to another state where they are legal.”

The rules adopted by the commission require, among other things, that muzzleloaders use all-lead bullets, open sights and loose black or synthetic black powder. The weapon must have an exposed, pivoting hammer and an exposed ignition using only flint or percussion-type caps.

Hunters can still use muzzleloaders of any type during the regular season.

Southern Idaho already has had some muzzleloader seasons designated for traditional black-powder guns, but the rule is new to the Panhandle.

Vig said he owns a traditional muzzleloader, but he’s steamed that he can’t use his new Knight .52-caliber rifle.

“I think (the commission) overstepped by making something illegal when it’s been legal for years,” he said.

Several sporting goods store owners said they might have trouble finding a variety of traditional muzzleloaders to put on their shelves for the 2007 seasons.

“Part of it is demand,” Smith said, “but manufacturers are going to build what sells the most. In-line muzzleloaders are legal in the East, and one county in Pennsylvania has more muzzleloader hunters than all of Idaho and Oregon.”

But Western states seem to favor sticking by their traditional guns for special hunts that Eastern states don’t have, Hayden said, noting that Colorado drew the line on muzzleloader advances about 10 years ago.

“If you look at the Internet, you realize there’s no end to where technology would go with muzzleloaders,” he said. “One muzzleloader Web site (for Ultimate Firearms Inc.) opens with a headline, ‘Put ‘em in a Pile at a Quarter Mile.’ “