My main issue with the change (more muzzleloader days in Nov.) had/has to do with the 3-buck limit rather than changing muzzleoader days from December to November.
stik said:
NOBODY lost any days. in fact, unit B hunters gained days.
Very true, and why the linked artice was mostly much ado about nothing.
Personally, it would be to my "personal" benefit if the entire deer season were "archery only" or "muzzleloader only", but I do see a bigger picture beyond what could be in the short-term, "what's in in for ME".
I have always enjoyed bowhunting & muzzleloader hunting, and well understand how we originally started these "special" seasons and why they have been such a wonderful thing to our deer hunting history in TN.
But now, with the deer herd where it's at, with the # of hunters slowly shrinking (at least in TN), and with more of those hunters spending less time afield annually ---- maybe we're getting closer to it making sense to just do away with some of these specialty seasons?
After all, is the modern inline muzzleloader really much disadvantage or greater hunting challenge than the modern centerfire rifle? Please tell me how there's any "tradition" or "nostalgia" in muzzleloader hunting considering what most are carrying afield? Almost a "ditto" for the modern compound or crossbow in the hands of an experienced hunter?
It seems the speciality seasons are mainly just causing some rift among hunters. And think about the disadvantages to the potential younger hunters who have to spend roughly 3 times as much money to fully participate in TN's deer season, as they would need to spend, if we didn't have these specialty deer seasons. Maybe we could cut the losses on the dwindling number of hunters? This said also in the context of our still expanding deer herd, and our really having little worry about the woods being overcrowded in the near future.
I know this is a big "jump" in thinking, and I'm not suggesting it happen suddenly nor all at once. But there are advantages to making some things easier to understand and less costly, when there's little need for over-complication and significant additional cost to participate at entry level. In fact, "simplification" was much of what was behind TWRA's decision to put all the muzzleloading days consecutively in November instead of having them scattered over 2 months. Again, no muzzleoader days were lost, and it's much easier (especially for both new hunters and less avid ones) to understand the regs.
That said, would now be fine with me if the last day of archery season was in late October, then "firearm" deer season began on November 1st, and
ANY "firearm" were a legal weapon until deer season would simply close until the next fall's early archery season segment begins again.
But at some point in the future, I think we'll just see a "deer" season, without any specialty "weapons" complicating when and with what weapon is legal. When that time comes, I'll likely still be bowunting in October, but having to check the regs to see if my weapon is legal, that will no longer be an issue.
I do understand why some have concerns about the "opening" day having less significance. But from what I've seen, the hunting is just more uniformly spread when opening day is less significant, possibly even improving the hunting around the time of our traditional "opening" day of the November "rifle" season.
Of course, my thoughts coming from someone who began deer hunting in TN when our statewide limit was "1 buck" and female deer were like sacred cows. And I remember back in the early 80's when the TWRA listened to the arguments coming from a nostalgic group of "black powder" enthusiasts requesting a special "muzzleoader" season --- just for them --- and the compelling argument was --- they would kill so relatively few deer they would cause little or no harm to the deer herd.
This first muzzleloader season was established in the early 80's, just a few days in early November, with a 1-buck limit, for the main reason that a handful of hunters were requesting it, and it seemed to pose no harm. Perhaps now it wouldn't harm much to just do away with it.
,no were not going to loose any gun hunters over that swap imo,i have heard several complaints from bow hunters,
