This coming Monday, Dec. 10, sees the opening of the special muzzleloader and late archery season. That season closes Dec. 18, giving hunters with the appropriate licenses eight extra days to pursue deer. Obviously, if the weather stays sour and cold, it will have a negative effect on both the number of hunters afield as well as the deer harvest. Both types of hunting normally require hunters to either take up watches along deer travel routes or still-hunt at a snail's pace, both of which are a challenge when it's cold and nasty.
Of the two methods, archery presents the biggest challenge since it involves drawing and then accurately releasing an arrow despite the cold conditions and deer that were made extra wary by weeks of already being hunted. The muzzleloading hunter has it easier, but there are hurtles unique to hunting with a muzzleloader that modern gun hunters need not be all that concerned with. Paramount is the fact the hunter gets just one shot when or if the opportunity presents itself, and there's also the chance of a misfire. And despite modern in-line designs, no muzzleloader is as accurate or as long range as modern centerfire rifles. Generally, any shots over 100 yards are iffy at best, despite the claims made by some manufacturers and a few hunters.
Bowhunters brave enough to take advantage of the late bonus season encounter a far different environment than they did during the regular archery season. For one thing, the technique of hunting from a tree stand can be a real ordeal if it's cold and windy. Also, if there's a snow covering, deer are more apt to spot the hunter before they get within bow range. Even if the deer doesn't initially spook, the bowhunter will probably alert and spook it when he tries to draw. And when it's below freezing, the draw-weight of a bow is increased due to its parts becoming frozen. That, coupled with cold muscles and heavy clothing, can often make what is normally an easy draw-and-release into a grunt-and-strain one.
Those who hunt with a muzzleloader, regardless of the in-line or sidelock ignition type, normally put some kind of thin seal material over the muzzle to keep rain or snow from getting down the barrel and contaminating the propellant. Some use tape while others use a section of a small balloon (when fired, the force blows the seal off without affecting accuracy). However, the biggest problem with moisture often occurs when a muzzleloader that's been in sub-freezing temperatures for several hours is brought inside where it's warm. The gun sweats due to the temperature change and the moisture contaminates the propellant. If you plan to remove the ignition cap but leave a charge in the barrel for tomorrow's hunt, don't bring the gun inside. Either leave it locked in an unheated garage or vehicle, or unload it, let it sit an hour, dry it thoroughly, and place a fresh charge in it just before you hunt the next day. Over the years, and having hunted the late seasons with both bow and muzzleloader, I can honestly say that I no longer even consider hunting this special season with the bow. Several of my bowhunting friends have also taken up the muzzleloader rather than the bow. Why? There are several reasons, but one dominates that decision.
It has to do with my – and their – self-set ethics. I just don't shoot a bow as accurately when it's cold and I'm shivering in a tree stand. If I made a bad shot and only wounded a deer, I'd never forgive myself. I hunt because I enjoy the challenge, regardless of what tool I use to hunt with, and my goal is always to make a quick and humane kill when I harvest any game. If, by chance, we happened to get a belated "Indian Summer" during the late December season, maybe I'd bowhunt again. But that hasn't happened in a while. Heck, we bowhunters already have enjoyed a month-long fall season before gun season ever opened, so we've had plenty of opportunities.
To me, the muzzleloader is a fair compromise - one that's about halfway between a bow and a modern centerfire rifle. Keep in mind that those deer that were easier to hunt a few weeks ago are now educated to most hunting tactics. So getting an accurate shot opportunity under 50 yards – at least one that's not at someone's backyard bird feeder – isn't all that easy now. If or when one does offer me a 50-yard shot, the muzzleloader can do it effectively, while a bow can't.
There's been increasingly more support to legalize crossbows in New York (one of the few states left that they're banned in). To me, it makes a lot of sense, given the fact the state's hunter numbers have been declining as present hunters head toward senior citizen status, and fewer young people hunt. It could also be the answer to solving how to control the burgeoning deer populations near suburbs and other "protected" areas where gun hunting isn't allowed or practical.
Maybe the test is to allow crossbows to be used during this late December season. Although their range would be no farther than a vertical bow's, at least it would allow older hunters who've quit bowhunting altogether the opportunity to try them out and make their own decision as how they compare to compound bows. I know my initial impression was that modern crossbows shot like a gun and would reach out much farther than a compound bow. But once I'd used one, I quickly discovered the main difference was a crossbow can be drawn and locked, while a standard compound has to be drawn and hand-held. In fact, I can still shoot more accurately and farther with my modern Hoyt RazorTec compound than I can with the modern crossbows.
So, to you hardy late-season hunters with either muzzleloader or archery licenses, or both, I wish you good luck next week. And don't get hypothermia. One thing's for certain ... if you take a deer then, you can rest assured the meat will stay cold.