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News Release
For Immediate Release January 20, 2007
When It Comes To Muzzleloading Regulations, The Idaho
Fish and Game Offers Less Than Fair And Equal Treatment
The Idaho Fish and
Game has deservingly been catching heck for a
recent ruling that would make modern in-line
ignition muzzle-loaded rifles illegal during the
state's special muzzle-loader hunts or seasons.
In a press release issued on January 19th, the
Department referred to the sudden influx of
hunter comments over the regulation changes as
"an unusual number of complaints" - and they
apparently still don't get it. Muzzleloading has
evolved into a modern oriented hunting sport and
it is never going to fully return to its old
traditional ways.
The headline of that release reads - "In-Line
Muzzleloaders Still Legal". Only not during the
special muzzleloader seasons or hunts. |
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For years, the state of Idaho has been a real contender
for having the absolute worse muzzleloader hunting
regulations in the U.S. Only Oregon and Colorado imposed
more ridiculous restrictions on what today's
muzzleloading hunter carries into the field to hunt big
game during the muzzleloader only seasons. However,
until the adoption of new regulation changes at a
meeting in Boise earlier this month, in-line ignition
rifles and saboted bullets were legal. The new
regulations go totally against the wants and needs of
modern muzzleloading hunters by making these hunts in
Idaho a traditional only experience.
"These changes are clearly an attempt by this agency to
exclude itself from a discrimination complaint filed
against the remaining states that do not permit the
aging muzzleloader hunter to use a scope during the
muzzleloader seasons. In all, fifteen states were named
in the complaint by the North American Muzzleloader
Hunting Association that was filed with the U.S.
Department of the Interior," states Toby Bridges,
founder of the North American Muzzleloader Hunting
Association.
Every state in the country receives Federal financial
assistance from the U.S. Department of the Interior. And
by prohibiting the muzzleloading hunter from using a
precision riflescope during the muzzleloader seasons,
the "no scopes" regulations in place in these states are
in direct violation of the Department of the Interior's
discrimination policy. (Georgia was one of those states,
but officially legalized scopes last August.)
The first line in that policy statement reads - "No
person in the United States shall, on the grounds of
race, color, national origin, age or disability be
subjected to unlawful discrimination under any program
or activity conducted by or which receives Federal
financial assistance from the Department of Interior."
The regulation changes in Idaho that now eliminate the
use of modern in-line muzzleloading rifles and saboted
bullet loads during the muzzleloader only hunts do not
in any way change the fact that this agency and the
commission that sets regulations still discriminates
against muzzleloading hunters with less than perfect
vision. And today that is the vast majority over the age
of 45, who have suffered some natural sight
degeneration. This very normal age-related disability
will exclude these hunters from participating in the
special seasons or hunts due to the Idaho Fish and
Game's open sights only restrictions during these
separate hunting opportunities.
In the most recent press release (January 19), the
agency repeatedly refers to these special seasons/hunts
as "traditional" or "primitive" without any indication
of the qualifications of those who decided what would
meet those requirements. Telescopic rifle sights (a.k.a.
riflescopes) have been in documented use on
muzzle-loaded rifles since the 1830s, and such sighting
systems are every bit as traditional as the percussion
side-hammer rifles that will very likely be used by the
majority of Idaho hunters faced with the state's foolish
new muzzleloading requirements.
If anything, the new regulations discriminate against
today's muzzleloading hunter more than ever. Nationwide,
easily 90-percent of ALL muzzleloading hunters now rely
on a modern in-line ignition rifle and a very modern
hunting projectile - the latter mostly of the saboted
variety. And in the 36 states that have now adopted fair
and equal treatment for all muzzleloading hunters, more
than 90-percent have mounted a riflescope on those
rifles. Muzzleloading is now a bona fide hunting sport,
and the Idaho Fish and Game needs to realize the
difference between "Muzzleloading" and "Muzzleloader
Hunting". Traditional muzzleloader shooting groups have
the right to require the use of very traditional rifles,
loads and sights during organized re-enactments or
traditional rifle competition. However, this 10-percent
minority of the sport today should never be allowed to
dictate to the 90-percent majority who make up the
nearly 3 1/2 million muzzleloading hunters in the
country today.
"It seems to me that the recent regulation changes to
take muzzleloader hunting backwards in Idaho are nothing
more than a game department thumbing its nose at the
Department of the Interior's involvement to bring fair
treatment to muzzleloader hunters who require the use of
a scope for precise shot placement. These changes also
show a severe lack of muzzleloader knowledge by those in
the state who are responsible for the management of
wildlife resources. And when a game agency makes such
poor choices, it has to be held accountable," states
Bridges.
The January IDFG release also states - "In recent years,
the number of special muzzleloader hunts and the number
of participants have declined."
Read that statement one more time. Of course, if the
Idaho Fish and Game reduces the number of muzzleloader
hunts, it is only natural that fewer muzzleloading
hunters will participate. This game agency (and
commission) does not have a clue about muzzleloader
hunting. In the vast majority of states, these hunts
have grown in popularity at a tremendous rate. The big
difference is that in most states, the regulations are
relaxed enough to allow the hunter to decide whether to
go traditional or modern. The state of Idaho is now
forcing the hunter who participates in the muzzleloader
seasons to go traditional, eliminating the right of
choice.
Prior to making the regulation changes, the Idaho Fish
and Game claims they sought out input from muzzleloading
hunters during a public workshop in Lewiston this past
November, plus through a survey published on the
Department's website. The North American Muzzleloader
Hunting Association charges that the input they sought
was biased and extremely slanted. The IDFG has
repeatedly blamed the efficiency of modern in-line
rifles and loads for the decline in muzzleloader hunting
participation, and has even strongly hinted that the
accuracy and knockdown power of these rifles and loads
could be linked to a decline in mule deer numbers.
"We feel that the Idaho Fish and Game purposely
targeted, and remained in contact with, extremely
traditional muzzleloader groups in that state in order
to get the answers and input they wanted. When
modern-minded muzzleloading hunters began to respond to
the survey on the Department's website, it suddenly
became inaccessible. At the January 11-14 meeting, the
Idaho Fish and Game Commission instrumented their
changes to the muzzleloading regulations based on less
than equal input from modern muzzleloading hunters.
Those regulation changes simply need to be trashed, and
hunters in the state of Idaho should begin to watch this
agency and commission with a much closer eye!" Bridges
accuses.
Based on the slanted hunter responses received,
according to the Idaho Fish and Game, 48-percent were in
favor of the changes, and 44 percent opposed the
changes, while 8-percent had no opinion. The North
American Muzzleloader Hunting Association feels that all
of this needs to be investigated by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
Again, this appears to be simply a slight of hand trick
by the IDFG to try making the muzzleloader hunts in the
state traditional only - and to get around the
discrimination complaint filed against the state's "no
scopes" muzzleloader regulations. Still, the recent
release sent out by this wildlife agency shares, "The
modern muzzleloaders legal under Idaho rules up to now
could still be used in special short-range weapons hunts
and in any-weapons hunts." (Doesn't that constitute
segregation?)
In other words - These Rifles Cannot Be Used During The
Muzzleloader Seasons! Even though they load from the
muzzle.
"Whatever happened to managing harvest numbers through
permit quotas? The Idaho Fish and Game continually makes
it sound as if all the new muzzleloading changes are to
limit harvest and help bring big game populations back.
Yet, the rifles and loads they now mandate are sure to
result in greater wound loss. They honestly feel that a
.45 caliber rifle loaded with a patched round ball is
sufficient for deer-sized game out to 100 yards. Even
with the hottest loads shot in a rifle of that
bore-size, that ball will hit a deer at 100 yards with
only about 400 foot-pounds of retained energy. On a
percentage scale, such a load is more like 70/30 in
favor of that deer being lost to inadequate energy,
compounded by less than ideal shot placement due to the
open sight requirement. And when that deer is lost, do
you think that hunter will simply pick up and head for
home? Or, load up and go out to look for another
target?" Toby Bridges would like to know.
-End-
Take Just A Few Minutes To Write The Following E-mail
Addresses And Let Them Know How Poor Their Muzzleloading
Regulations Are - And Demand Change:
IDFG Director - "Cal Groen" <director@idfg.Idaho.gov>
IDFG Big Game Manager - "Brad Compton" <bcompton@idfg.Idaho.gov>
And the following IDFG personnel have had negative input
on muzzleloader regulations:
"Kelton Hatch" <khatch@idfg.Idaho.gov>
"Randy Smith" <rsmith@idfg.Idaho.gov>
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