Montana heritage firearm season

[kootne]

This is new this year, first statewide muzzleloader only season ever in Montana for deer and elk. Flint, cap, match or wheellock only, got to have a side hammer ignition, caps must be percussion caps or musket caps only, no in line, no shotgun caps, breech loading or optical sights. round or conical lead projectile only, no other projectile material allowed except round ball may be cloth patched. Loose measured black or black substitute powder only, no pellets and no paper or other cartridges.
A lot of online out of state whining about unable to come and use their inline, saboted, copper jacketed, 3 pellet, 209 primer rifle with variable power scope but the locals around here are having a blast. Blasted one myself, a big dry doe whitetail. Happy for the blessing of the meat and to be outdoors with a rifle in my hand.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I like it , traditional hunting , congratulations on your deer .

[missionary5155]

Good morning and Congratulations!
That is how most states started out. Makes ya wonder why it took so long to finally wake up.

[LenH]

Several years ago it was called Primitive Hunting. Pretty much the same rules as listed above.

[Thumbcocker]

Good job Montana

[Shawlerbrook]

Agreed ! Inlines and crossbows have really ruined the special season hunts.

[Texas by God]

I'd like it if Texas had a season like that.

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[ChristopherO]

Congratulations on your successful hunt and the dawning of a new era of traditional Muzzleloading Hunting. Some day I would enjoy joining your ranks with one of my hammer percussion rifles. What a treat that must be.

[Paul D. Heppner]

Good for Montana! I will admit that I used to use my Knight during our regular firearms season back when we were required to use shotguns, handguns, muzzle loaders. Now that we are allowed to use rifles I haven't touched the Knight. When muzzle loader season rolls around my Lyman Great Plains is the only one that gets the call. Those patched 50 cal round balls really get the job done. And if you really want to know, archery season I use a recurve or longbow only. I have even successfully used them during the regular gun season.

[gunseller]

My son has an inline. Reason was he did not think he could hit anything with my original style smoke poles. After the last day a few years ago I let him shoot empty my cap gun. He could hardly believe it he hit the broken tree limb he was aiming at at about 100 yards. I shot an eight point WT at just over 200 yards with it a few years ago. You are not unarmed with a old style smoke pole. I wish Iowa would go back to triditional ML only.
Steve

[BunkTheory]

Good morning and Congratulations!
That is how most states started out. Makes ya wonder why it took so long to finally wake up.

the hunting seasons are only considered a way to eliminate deer herds and reduce car/deer accidents. Nothing more. IN michigan i can do the muzzle laoder season for the second year in a row with any CENTER FIRE CARTRIDGE RIFLE..

[Jal5]

Bunk got it 100%. Case in point in my area of Ohio the herd was severely affected by a bacterial infection 3 years ago. Estimate was a large percentage of deer died. Anecdotal reports state that 50% less deer are seen year round. Since then we have had no changes in bag limits at all. The seasons are set to reduce deer population to help the car insurance and farming industries. It has little to do with the natural resources or the hunters.
Joe


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[BunkTheory]

and looking at my latest issue of the state dnr run news paper.... they incorrectly lengthened the muzzle loader season by 5 days on their front page updates.

[Screwbolts]

I support all legal means of harvesting deer. United we stand, divided we fall.

[waksupi]

A muzzleloader season was brought up around twenty years ago. The ones pushing it were all inline shooters. The traditional shooters in the state came out in force to testify against it. I'm hoping this new season works out well. There was a real scramble of people looking to buy guns here. Then they had no clue about how to shoot them.

[Randy Bohannon]

As it should be Montana.

[quilbilly]

Good on you, Montana! I wish we had it here in Washington. Of course, I never did consider a side lock with a PRB a handicap.

[white eagle]

sounds like that is the way it should be
they ought to have a archery season with only bows and arrows only, no crossbows

[dk17hmr]

I'd like to see more muzzleloader seasons here in Wyoming. Every survey the Game and fish sends me I always write it in the comment section.......still nothing of course.

[ChristopherO]

I support all legal means of harvesting deer. United we stand, divided we fall.

I agree 100% with your sentiment. But if Montana finally designates a portion of the season to traditional muzzleloaders that was never set aside for any other firearm I think that is swell, too, though it may make any archers upset if it hones in on any part of their season. Always a trade off.

[MT Gianni]

My freezer was too full for me to go out but a friend shot a decent 5 point bull with his frontloader. He walked up to it in the wind and had about a 75 yard shot. He then gave it to two families to split who didn't tag out this year.

[kootne]

Interesting to hear the various mindsets of other States' game laws. In Montana, the Dept. of Fish, Wildlife and Parks normally sets the regulations and seasons without any interference. This muzzleloading season and it's regulations was actually enacted by a Bill passed by the Montana Legislative branch. Our seasons, limits and regs have nothing to do with Highway Dept. or insurance companies but Fish, Wildlife and Parks does work agriculture interests if control is needed. Three levels of big game populations are considered in determining the regs; below, at, or above desired population. The desired population is primarily determined by the carrying capacity of each individual hunting district. Agricultural interests are factored when excessive damage becomes an issue. Also if CWD is present in an area, increased harvest is used to bring down numbers to hopefully limit spread.
Bow season does not allow crossbows, but you can use them in the general season. No caliber restrictions on big game in Montana, no baiting, salting or feeding of any kind ever, no electronic calls, no using phones or radios to assist taking game, no hunting big game with dogs except for big cats, can't hunt the day you spot game from an airplane or drone. Can't shoot while touching any part of your vehicle or from any part of a public road or its right of way. No sharing tags, shoot your own stuff, not your wifes or your buddies.
Well, that's some of our rules, I think "fair chase" is an underlying premise of our hunting regs. I am generally just fine with our laws but then I've never lived elsewhere except Wyoming for a few years and they were pretty similar there.

[rbuck351]

I have only lived in MT for 5 years but I am glad to see we have a primitive black powder hunt now. I haven't got a full set of the rules yet but it sounds like they are very reasonable. I'm not sure why no paper cartridges are allowed as they have been around as long as percussion caps but that is a minor issue. I didn't go hunting this year as I don't have room in my three freezers for even a deer let alone an elk.

A conventional sidelock or flintlock does not handicap one enough to allow the use of inlines, powder pills, sabots, scopes, shotgun primers and other such stuff. I saw an add recently where there is a new "Muzzle loader" that uses what appears to be a shotgun shell loaded with a BP substitute that fits in the breech and all you push down the barrel is a sabot with bullet. I'm sure there are those that would like to use one of these in a primitive hunt.