By BEN NEARY
NMWF Conservation Director
New Mexico big-game hunters could no longer use scopes on muzzleloading rifles under a proposal from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
Stewart Liley, chief biologist with the department, briefed members of the New Mexico State Game Commission on the issue at its April 11 meeting in Santa Fe.
The use of scopes, together with other recent improvements in muzzleloading rifles, has made the rifles effective at ranges of 600 yards and more, Liley said.
Liley said the game department now sees about the same success rates among muzzleloader hunters as it does for those who use centerfire rifles – up to 40 percent for some species.
In order to avoid cutting the number of hunting licenses the state issues for elk and other species, Liley said the game department is recommending a ban on the use of scopes on muzzleloaders starting next year.
“Right now we’re seeing muzzleloader success rates across the state on all species that match (centerfire) rifle,” Liley told commissioners “Another way to potentially reduce the harvest while keeping licenses the same is to modify muzzleloaders and what’s allowable for muzzleloaders.”
Banning scopes could reduce the success rates of muzzleloader hunters by perhaps as much as 30 percent, Liley said. “That would require us to not reduce licenses as drastically if we saw those kinds of decreases in harvest success,” he said.
“We’re to the point right now that a muzzleloader is just an ‘any legal weapon type,’” Liley said. “There really is no difference from a success rate on those guns.”
Commissioner Roberta Salazar-Henry responded, “Yeah, to go back to ‘primitive weapon,’ you’d have to not allow any muzzleloader newer than 1975. It’s not a primitive weapon hunt.”
Muzzleloading enjoyed increased popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, with several companies importing percussion and flintlock guns from Italy and other countries. Thompson-Center, Lyman and other US companies introduced domestically produced rifles. New Mexico and many other states offered special hunting seasons for muzzleloaders.
The use of scopes on muzzleloaders dates back to the mid-1800s, however their use in hunting was limited until recently. The mid-1980s saw the introduction of guns with in-line ignition, such as those produced by Knight and other manufacturers. Such guns resemble bolt-action rifles and use an internal striker to fire a cap or primer, rather than the traditional sidehammer design. The in-line design generally makes it easier to mount scope sights.
In-line guns have become the dominant muzzleloaders for hunting in recent years. Hunters commonly use them to shoot copper-jacketed bullets at speeds in excess of what’s typical for traditional muzzleloading rifles shooting lead bullets or balls.
Several states have imposed restrictions on muzzleloader scopes in recent years. Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington all have prohibitions or restrictions on the use of scopes. Some states restrict muzzleloader hunting to traditional sidelock guns and don’t allow in-line guns or jacketed bullets. New Mexico has a few deer hunts that are restricted to traditional muzzleloaders and lead projectiles.
Liley said in a recent interview that he doesn’t see the need for New Mexico to move beyond banning scopes on muzzleloaders.
“I don’t think you’d have to go and not allow in-lines,” Liley said. “But I do think you would have to have no scopes. Some of the states have moved that way, some of the states have that, and I think you see a drastic reduction in success.
“The best of the people who really are practicing with muzzleloaders with iron sights maybe are harvesting out to 200 yards, maybe,” Liley said. “The majority are going to be successful out to 100-125 yards. Right now, muzzleloaders are shooting out to 800 yards accurately. So you can imagine that closing the distance from 800 to 100 yards is a lot more difficult. Success rates are going to drop.”
Liley said he expects to hear protests from hunters who are accustomed to using scoped muzzleloaders. “It probably is going to be one of the louder proposals, I would imagine,” he said. “But to maintain some of these license numbers we have in these units we’ll have to either reduce license numbers significantly in some of those, or change that on the muzzleloader hunts.”
Liley said it’s difficult to compare hunter success rates in different states because of differences in how they set up their hunts. “But on average, like in Colorado, they do not allow scopes, but their success rates on muzzleloaders are around 20 percent or less, ours is depending on the species up to 40 and 40 plus percent,” he said.
If removing scopes from muzzleloaders in New Mexico cut the success rate in half, Liley said the state could either increase the number of licenses it issues, or not have to decrease licenses.
“There are some species where we’re saying we may have to decrease licenses to maintain the same kind of quality of hunt, or can we do something like remove scopes off of muzzleloaders and maybe not have to decrease licenses and maintain that same kind of quality,” Liley said.
The success rate for muzzleloader hunters varies according to the species, Liley said. He said overall success rates for elk muzzleloader hunts are in the range of 30-35 percent. On other species, it’s higher.
“Ibex success rates on that male hunt is 40 percent success,” Liley said. “It is really no different than the rifle hunt. And trying to get within 100 yards of an ibex without a scope is going to be a whole lot different. I don’t see success rates staying that high.”
The game department is presenting rules this year to the state game commission that will govern the hunting of big game species in the state for the next four years.
Liley said all the game department recommendations for big game species focus on sustainability. “We’re trying not to reduce licenses as much as possible,” he said. “And what are methods, such as scopes on muzzleloaders that would lead to not having to reduce licenses but we’re not harvesting as many animals.”
Jesse Deubel, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said the group supports the proposal to ban the use of scopes on muzzleloaders. “A primitive unit shouldn’t include single-shot rifles, which is essentially what these muzzleloaders have become,” he said
Liley said he’s aware that some muzzleloader hunters who are accustomed to using scopes question why the game department doesn’t seek similar restrictions on archery equipment, which also has evolved steadily in recent years. Some experts are able to take game at ranges that would have been unheard of a few decades ago.
“Archery success rates aren’t close to what we’re seeing on muzzleloader success, and muzzleloader success is coming up on any legal sporting arm,” Liley said. “So no, we’re not going after technology. This is not a technology issue as much as it is this technology on muzzleloaders has allowed for those long-distance shots, and what that has now turned into is much higher success rates on muzzleloader hunts than what we see in areas where scopes are not allowed.”
There has been some push-back nationwide among muzzleloader hunters to states’ efforts to ban the use of scopes and other improvements. Some groups have asserted that banning scopes for people who have less than perfect eyesight amounts to federally prohibited discrimination.
A discussion about the proposed muzzleloader scope ban on the Facebook site “New Mexico Fish and Wildlife,” generated hundreds of comments earlier this month. Many people commented that it would be unfair to have one group of hunters shoulder all the burden of reducing the harvest.
“This whole extreme long range muzzleloader argument is a red herring,” said hunter Steve Miller, who started the Facebook discussion. “Has technology made the modern black powder rifle capable of 300-400 yard shots? In the right hands, I say a few are pulling it off. From my experience, the vast majority of animals are killed 200 and less. I see this argument as a lot of uninformed people willing to sacrifice one set of hunters for their own gain.”
Hunter Dan Bragg commented, “I know that I won’t be the only one that says ‘without a scope, I won’t be able to hunt with my rifles.’ I use reading glasses only for reading. I can’t see a rear sight on my rifles, therefore I have a scope on all of them.”
Hunter Sean O’Keeffe of Rio Rancho voiced a different perspective on the thread.
“I own and shoot T/C cap lock rifles, both .50 and .54 cal,” O’Keeffe wrote. “They both are limited to their effective ranges. The theory behind the true primitive rifle hunts is to provide the adventure of the mountain man style hunts, and all that goes with that. Including primitive iron sights and real black powder. Cap and flint rifles are limited to 100 yards on average using patched roundball and 125 to 150 with a maxi-ball style bullet cast from pure lead. Today’s modern muzzleloaders are shooting copper jacketed bullets at twice the velocity, and distances so far, you could not see an elk with the naked eye. So, in that regard, the primitive muzzleloader shooter is already handicapped off the starting line.”