By Glen Wunderlich
Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA)
Michigan’s muzzleloading season is underway statewide through December 11th and I have one question: How many folks still use their ol’ smokepoles? Now that Michigan has revised regulations to allow the use of any firearm deemed legal for the regular firearms season, hopeful hunters are still bound by the same restrictions for Zone III. This means that shotguns and .35-caliber or larger rifles that fire straight-wall cartridges with a maximum case length of 1.80 inches can be used to take a buck or a doe.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s a welcome relief from the days of problematic front loaders; if it wasn’t the powder that failed it was the primer. It’s not that muzzleloaders cannot be effective but why mess with the messiness of black powder, or any variation thereof, unless one is a traditionalist looking to reproduce the ills of yesteryear?
A case in point follows. My pal, Joe, had taken his modern muzzleloader afield and lined on a mature whitetail doe right in his wheelhouse. Everything seemed right when he released the trigger but the projectile fell harmlessly to the ground a mere 20 feet from the muzzle. Apparently, Joe had left the powder charge in his rifle for too many days, and as had happened to hunters thousands of times over in history, his hunt was a dud.
In the year of 2012, when a movement was afoot in Michigan to allow the use of certain straight-wall cartridges, I was invited to testify in the Michigan House of Representatives’ hearing on House Bill 5244 relative to the practicality of adding limited centerfire calibers to our options afield in Zone III. An objective look at ballistic comparisons between the proposed cartridges with shotgun and muzzleloader ballistics demonstrated that Michiganders were already using legal firearms that were producing as much or more velocity and energy with their shotguns and muzzleloaders.
Although no vote was held on Bill 5244 that year, the matter was brought forth the subsequent year’s session and became today’s law. Never did I imagine we’d be allowed to use centerfire rifles during muzzleloader season, but here we are and there’s no reason to believe we are ever going back.
By all accounts, Michigan has an over-abundance of deer in many areas – especially the more populated parts. By easing restrictions, as has been done, more hunters will participate to reduce the deer numbers, because better tools for the job have been made available to us.
In summary, there are plenty of things that can still go wrong on any hunt, but requiring cumbersome equipment that remains prone to failure, is no longer one of them. Firearms manufactures were quick to jump on the bandwagon and subsequently have been producing firearms in 350 Legend and .450 Bushmaster calibers based on the high demand created in Midwestern states that have adopted the same or similar legislation.
Although I’ve relegated my Knight muzzleloader to dust collection, I haven’t given up the notion of reviving it in the future for use by my 12 year-old great grandson. Light powder charges can make for a light-recoiling long gun that won’t beat up a youngster. It’s all a matter of choosing the proper tool for the job – one that will get the job done ethically and humanely.
Although muzzleloading season is somewhat of a misnomer today, it’s still firearms deer season with more opportunities than in the past for those desiring to put some low fat, high protein venison in the freezer without breaking the bank.
