Muzzleloading

[Dale]

Does anyone in BC hunt with a muzzleloader? I've been on the forum for awhile and I have not seen anything do to with muzzleloaders. I'm bringing mine from Manitoba where I hunt whitetails with it. Wondering if there is even any season for anything? Can't really find anything in the regs.8)

[Brambles]

No special season for muzzleloaders yet. I'd rather use a rifle given the choice.

[huntwriter]

Does anyone in BC hunt with a muzzleloader? I've been on the forum for awhile and I have not seen anything do to with muzzleloaders. I'm bringing mine from Manitoba where I hunt whitetails with it. Wondering if there is even any season for anything? Can't really find anything in the regs.8)

Hello muzzleloader friend.:smile:

I hutnted a lot with muzzleloaders in the states, both in-line and percussion side lock, great Fun. Then my wife took me "home" to B.C. The first thing I tried is to find a shop where I could buy muzzleloader equipment. I have not found yet any such place. I am often told, "We do not hunt with these things here."

I have not given up hope yet, if allelse fails I go down to the states to get my stuff. But bringing it to Canada could be a hassle. Another option would be to go to Alberta or Ontario and combine it with a hunting trip.;-)

[ruger#1]

there used to be muzzle in the eighties, it was with the archery season.

[sealevel]

I sure have no problem getting muzzleloading supplies

[huntwriter]

I sure have no problem getting muzzleloading supplies

Where do you get your muzzleloading gear?

The only place I could find is Italian Shooting Sports but their supply and choice is so limited that I never bothered to go all the way back to Vanvouver again. Here in Langley is a gun shop, accross from that achrey store. He told me that he could order some stuff for me but it will take ages to arrive.

[Foxer]

Never really caught on here big. Maybe just one of those 'sleeper' sports waiting for someone to promote it, or maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's the 'wet coast'. :)

Sounds like something someone should look into starting a store or a club for. I've thought about it from time to time. Frankly - i think it'd be pretty cool to hunt with one of those old flintlocks, which you can still buy. But i don't know much about 'em except apperently you can kill yerself a baar when you waz only three if'n you know how to use 'em. :)

[Fred]

I have been doing small game off and on for about 25 years. Big game would be fun but I am a meat hunter and fun is in second place to supper!:biggrin: I have 2 Hawkens both in 50cal, one Capper and one Flinter. One of these days I might even get to take that Flinchlock out for a try. :cool: Fred

[sealevel]

We were starting to have good seasons in the 80`s we had a one around naniamo and comox i think close to victoria . there was some moose seasons up north. But our game dept. said with the inlines shooting 150 yards BP could just hunt in the open season. We tried to get it back with primative muzzle loaders but they wouldn`t listen.Since then BP is dying a lingering death. Huntwiter i will pm you a phone number soon

[willyqbc]

would love to have a primitive weapons muzzy season. I plan on trying for my blackie this spring with patch and ball out of my 50 cal hawken.

Chris

[huntwriter]

Thank you sealevel, much obliged.:smile:

[Gateholio]

Muzzleloading will never take off in BC unless there is a special season.

And there will not be a special season with inlines and scopes etc, and I don't blame them.

I'd fully support a muzzleloading season if the weapons were restricted to iron sights and no inlines. (Cap)

I don't relaly care if peopel use Pyrodex pellets and sabot slugs, I think that the real advantage (in hitting) to the modern muzzleloaders are the optics and the quick in-line lock time.

[Fred]

Pennsylvania has a Flinter only season for deer and that is to make sure that inlines are NOT used. Fred

[huntwriter]

Pennsylvania has a Flinter only season for deer and that is to make sure that inlines are NOT used. Fred
That's one crazy state, forgive me my Pennsylvanian friends should you read this, I love Pennsyilvania and you know it. They have many different season. Besides the one for Flintlocks you mentioned they also have a in-line muzzleloader season and a caplock muzzlelodaer season (although I think they lumped them together now). But they also have a compound bow season and a traditional achery season and up to few years a go even a promitive archery season.

This is the perfect example of what the pickering of different interest groups can lead too. Add to this multidude of season the rifles and the slug gun season and the soon to come special crossbow season, and you know why each gets to hunt only a few weeks and hunters own a arsenal of different weapons.

Mind you, good old Pennsylvania has the deer numbers too. They have near enough as many deer in that state as in all of Canada. We used to joke that, in that state the mile markers consist of run over deer on the road side. You see more road kills there than in any other state. Seeing 40 to 50 deer on a evening out in a field is common. The local zoo's have a permit to drive along the highways to pick up the road kills to feed their lions and tigers with.

[huntwriter]

Muzzleloading will never take off in BC unless there is a special season.

And there will not be a special season with inlines and scopes etc, and I don't blame them.

I'd fully support a muzzleloading season if the weapons were restricted to iron sights and no inlines. (Cap)

I don't relaly care if peopel use Pyrodex pellets and sabot slugs, I think that the real advantage (in hitting) to the modern muzzleloaders are the optics and the quick in-line lock time.
I use to hunt with in-lines and percussion cap locks, also with sabboted revolver bullets and round balls. It's like it is with the bows. Whatever you chose you have to use witin it's limitations. Out to 50 - 60 yards a round ball dispatches quickly of any deer, even elk. With an in-line 100 to 120 yards is very doable. With Pirotex, a hot nipple and shotshell primers plus proper tuned sabboted revolver bullets modern in-lines can reach out deadly up to 200 yards now.

I disagree with you in that I belive that hunters should be able to hunt with any muzzleloader they chose to hunt with and not put restrictions on what type and sights or loads can be used. I firmly believe we should come away from this classifications and make it just Muzzleloader (any ML). We also could lump rifle and muzzleloaders together. I see not why we need a special season for everything. You do not see that they make distictions with the different rifle cartridges, you can take a .30-30 or a .300 mag for deer hunting. So why make a distiction between muzzleloaders. The cap lock with roundballs is the .30-30 of the muzzleloaders and the in-line ignited with a shotshell primer and Pirotex is the .300 magnum of the muzzleloaders. between these two extrems there is a lot to play with and all are more than plentiful gun to take almost any big game animal.

Hey, Roger Raglin took the world record bison with a caplock muzzleloader and a concial bullet, with one shot I might add. Now that was exiting to see when the smoke cleared.

[sealevel]

I agree huntwriter about not haveing a season for all different hunting tools. The muzzle loading openings were small pieces of land like between naniamo city and the railroad tracks and the same in the comox valley close to towns.

[moosecaller]

There was a late season (Dec.) moose with muzzle loaders (traditional) around Groundbirch just north of Chetwyn up until a few years ago. I went two years running and scored both times, it was great. For some reason they shut it down? Don't know why but I would really like to see something like this again, with traditional M/L of course. I firmly believe the in lines can go with the regular season because of thier abilities.

[Gateholio]

I use to hunt with in-lines and percussion cap locks, also with sabboted revolver bullets and round balls. It's like it is with the bows. Whatever you chose you have to use witin it's limitations. Out to 50 - 60 yards a round ball dispatches quickly of any deer, even elk. With an in-line 100 to 120 yards is very doable. With Pirotex, a hot nipple and shotshell primers plus proper tuned sabboted revolver bullets modern in-lines can reach out deadly up to 200 yards now.

I disagree with you in that I belive that hunters should be able to hunt with any muzzleloader they chose to hunt with and not put restrictions on what type and sights or loads can be used. I firmly believe we should come away from this classifications and make it just Muzzleloader (any ML). We also could lump rifle and muzzleloaders together. I see not why we need a special season for everything. You do not see that they make distictions with the different rifle cartridges, you can take a .30-30 or a .300 mag for deer hunting. So why make a distiction between muzzleloaders. The cap lock with roundballs is the .30-30 of the muzzleloaders and the in-line ignited with a shotshell primer and Pirotex is the .300 magnum of the muzzleloaders. between these two extrems there is a lot to play with and all are more than plentiful gun to take almost any big game animal.

Hey, Roger Raglin took the world record bison with a caplock muzzleloader and a concial bullet, with one shot I might add. Now that was exiting to see when the smoke cleared.

If an extra muzzloader seaosn was to be proposed, it woudl get no support unless it restricted ML to 'traditional' or close to it.

There is no distinction between a 30-30 and a 300 because they are basiclaly the same thing.

The way the inlines are used, they appear to be closer to a single shot centerfire than a roundball and caplock, IMHO.

Adding an extra ML season open to inlines. would not be much different to adding an additional rifle season.

[huntwriter]

If an extra muzzloader seaosn was to be proposed, it woudl get no support unless it restricted ML to 'traditional' or close to it.

There is no distinction between a 30-30 and a 300 because they are basiclaly the same thing.

The way the inlines are used, they appear to be closer to a single shot centerfire than a roundball and caplock, IMHO.

Adding an extra ML season open to inlines. would not be much different to adding an additional rifle season.
I am not in support of any special season. If I would have it my way there would be only two seasons. Archery season (includes all archery equipment including crossbow and primitive bows with stone arrowheads. Heck I even would throw the spears in too) and Firearm season( includes anything that goes "bang" including any muzzleloader and handguns.)

I always try to keep things very simple with as little regulations and "special" lables as possible.:)