“It probably is going to be one of the louder proposals, I would imagine,” he said. Liley said he expects to hear protests from hunters who are accustomed to using scoped muzzleloaders. So you can imagine that closing the distance from 800 to 100 yards is a lot more difficult. Right now, muzzleloaders are shooting out to 800 yards accurately. “The majority are going to be successful out to 100-125 yards. “The best of the people who really are practicing with muzzleloaders with iron sights maybe are harvesting out to 200 yards, maybe,” Liley said. Some of the states have moved that way, some of the states have that, and I think you see a drastic reduction in success. “But I do think you would have to have no scopes. “I don’t think you’d have to go and not allow in-lines,” Liley said. Liley said in a recent interview that he doesn’t see the need for New Mexico to move beyond banning scopes on muzzleloaders. New Mexico has a few deer hunts that are restricted to traditional muzzleloaders and lead projectiles. Some states restrict muzzleloader hunting to traditional sidelock guns and don’t allow in-line guns or jacketed bullets. Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington all have prohibitions or restrictions on the use of scopes. Several states have imposed restrictions on muzzleloader scopes 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. In-line guns have become the dominant muzzleloaders for hunting in recent years. The in-line design generally makes it easier to mount scope sights. Such guns resemble bolt-action rifles and use an internal striker to fire a cap or primer, rather than the traditional sidehammer design. The mid-1980s saw the introduction of guns with in-line ignition, such as those produced by Knight and other manufacturers. The use of scopes on muzzleloaders dates back to the mid-1800s, however their use in hunting was limited until recently. New Mexico and many other states offered special hunting seasons for muzzleloaders. Thompson-Center, Lyman and other US companies introduced domestically produced rifles. Muzzleloading enjoyed increased popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, with several companies importing percussion and flintlock guns from Italy and other countries. ![]() “There really is no difference from a success rate on those guns.”Ĭommissioner Roberta Salazar-Henry responded, “Yeah, to go back to ‘primitive weapon,’ you’d have to not allow any muzzleloader newer than 1975. “We’re to the point right now that a muzzleloader is just an ‘any legal weapon type,’” Liley said. “That would require us to not reduce licenses as drastically if we saw those kinds of decreases in harvest success,” he said. “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.”īanning scopes could reduce the success rates of muzzleloader hunters by perhaps as much as 30 percent, Liley said. ![]() 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. ![]() 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. 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. 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. 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.
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