Question, Why was the muzzle loader hunt moved from the November dates to the current September dates? And what was that motivation?
Improved weapons? Too successful during the rut? Why?
I'll admit I've been mostly an archery guy for the last 20 or so years and took up muzzle loaders as a part of the dedicated hunter program. If needed I'll pull the scope that came with my gun to comply if the changes are made. I'd just like to understand the motivation of those driving the change. So far it has been a less than stellar presentation.
To be totally honest I don’t remember all of the back ground of that decision. I’ll share a little more insight that might add some insight into it.
Some of the reasons the November muzzleloader hunt got approved by the Board were the following……, as I saw them, from my seat at the table.
The archers were not at all happy there were muzzleloaders hunting at the same time they were sneaking through the trees. Understandable, I didn’t blame them at the time. When we approached them to support a different season for muzzleloaders I figured they were afraid the DWR might add more units to the muzzleloader season and keep it during the archery season. They dang sure didn’t want that, so they may have supported anything but that. Hence, they supported an any season, as long as it didn’t overlap the archery season.. (I m pretty sure the rut ever entered their mind at the time.). I know the muzzleloaders weren’t asking for a rut hunt, we just want “a” season to hunt, and we told the Board that. We never asked for the November hunt, the Board put it there without us pushing for it to be in November.
The other dynamic was the elephant in the room. The Utah rifle hunters.
By the time the fifth year of the “trial muzzleloader season” came around, the rifle hunter were pissed off that guys with guns were out killing deer before the October rifle hunt. They were up the DWR butts about that with the Board. I always believed it was primarily the rifle hunters, represented by the Utah Wildlife Federation and a strong and well connected group from the Salt Lake Sportsmen’s Club who were leaning on Norm Hancock and Grant Jense from the DWR, that caused them to recommend the Board completely do away with the muzzleloader hunt…….. because there members where complaining about the muzzleloaders get first crack at the mule deer with a rifle……. muzzleloader or not.
Again, I think the rifle hunters representative’s didn’t object because they didn’t think the Board will authorize any hunt and they weren’t thinking about a November season either. They were more concerned that if there was a season, it wasn’t prior to the third Saturday in October.
Finally, in the 1970’s there was no shortage of mule deer. In fact, some believed there were far too many. The Board meetings were filled with agriculture organizations threatening law suits if deer populations were allowed to increase, with annual spring range horse back rides, with bureaucrats, hunters, and land owners and lessers……… studying winter range over grazing caused by too many mule deer. I recall two local Legislators riding with us some years. So the evils of hunting seasons near or during the rut was a big, “who gives a damn”. Like I said, the November season being a week before the rut was never an issue and it was never discussed, with any passion, at any public meeting I attended.
I can’t recall what year the DWR recommended the season be moved to September. I do think it was at least years 10 year later or more, because the Knight rifle was available at the time, if I remember correctly. It have could a napkin meeting, over lunch, by some good ole boys but it was any of the good ole boys napkins from this area because I was never involve nor do I know anyone who was. I’m going to speculate that the reason it was moved were as follows: hunters had started to hear stories of big bucks getting killed by muzzleloaders in November, the number of muzzleloader had increased and they were using more advanced technologies, the talk of bucks being killed in the pre-rut/rut was pissing off rifle hunters…… again.
By then the Muzzleloader “fad” had cooled and most muzzleloader were not involved in any Muzzleloader Clubs or interested in the traditions off the muzzleloader/mountain man history, that bunch of guys were no longing an organized force in the State. Nor are they now, to my knowledge.
The muzzleloader season was well established and not longer being threatened by then and most muzzleloader hunters were by now, just regular sportsmen that enjoyed hunting with less hunting pressure etc. Hoping to catch a buck in the pre rut was likely a big draw to the November season for that group.
So………. I believe the DWR took the initiative, but I honestly can’t say for certain what their rational was.
I recall thinking, maybe an early fall hunt wouldn’t be all that bad, the weather would be better and we would once again be hunting deer prior to the rifle hunt, so why not. I wasn’t passionate about it either way so I don’t ever remember going to a public hearing and speaking one way or the other about the DWR’s recommendation. Nor do I remember anyone else speaking for or against it. I don’t even recall the rifle hunters representative being all that opposed to it, but I could be wrong about that. My recollection was it pasted through the Board process with little fan fair.
We have to remember, it wasn’t until after these changes took place that anyone but a handful of us guys even screaming that the mule deer population was in decline. A few of the South Central Utah deer hunters were the only ones fighting the DWR against the tens of thousands of antlerless mule tags being issue in the last 80’s early 90’s back in the early 90’s. That’s way we shoved the antler restriction hunts on the Division down here in 1984. Most people think the decline started with the winter of 1993. That is was not the case in South Central Utah, our herd numbers tanked 4 or 5 year prior to the winter of 1993.
Without more stimulus to jog my memory, that’s the best I can do.