Drizzt
Member
Old-fashioned guns gaining popularity among hunters
By David Paulsen
Poughkeepsie Journal
More and more hunters are rediscovering a centuries-old firearm technology in search of greater challenges and a piece of history.
Bill Zimmer of Dover Plains wouldn't have it any other way. He is among the growing number of hunters devoted to muzzleloading rifles, the single-shot antiques that had their heyday in the mid-1800s.
For proof Zimmer, 56, is a true black-powder enthusiast, consider he hasn't hunted for deer with a modern rifle in about 20 years.
"It puts you at a disadvantage, but I like the challenge," said Zimmer, who planned to hunt two or three times before Tuesday's close of New York's muzzleloader season.
The muzzleloader season, which began Dec. 12 in most of New York, dates to 1978 and its popularity has grown dramaticly in recent years. The number of muzzleload licenses sold in the state nearly quadrupled in 10 years, from about 49,000 in 1994 to 193,000 in 2004.
Those numbers don't equal the number of hunters because some hunters buy more than one license, but the trend is clear: More hunters are taking advantage of the muzzleloader season even as the overall number of hunters in the state is declining by about 1 percent a year, said John O'Pezio, the big game section leader with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
"There's been an increasing interest in special season opportunities, especially more primitive opportunities such as archery and muzzleloading," O'Pezio said.
Experienced hunters are drawn to these special seasons because they attract fewer hunters than the traditional hunting season, O'Pezio said. And muzzleloaders offer unique challenges. Hunters must pack gunpowder and a bullet into the muzzle of their rifles before each shot, and the weapons have only primitive sights.
"You have to be closer to the animals than you would with a modern weapon," Zimmer said. "And since you only have one shot, you have to be more skillful. You can't waste that one shot. You don't get a second chance."
Club has 21 members
Zimmer and his family are members of Dutchess County Muzzleloaders, a club of 21 members and their families who enjoy hunting with the old rifles or simply love reliving the guns' era, from the mid-1600s to the mid-1800s.
Deborah Zimmer, Bill's wife, isn't much of a hunter, but she enjoys traveling with the family to period reenactment events. Participants dress in clothes from the era, live in makeshift dwellings and cook over an open fire.
"None of the modern things that make life so crazy," she said.
The family has been involved in these events for 18 years, though Bill Zimmer's interest in antique rifles dates to his childhood. He started collecting old rifles as a child and has been hunting with black powder since the the mid-1970s.
The rifles can be antique guns from the era or replicas made to look and work the same.
Tony Sterzl, secretary of Dutchess County Muzzleloaders, picked up the hobby after getting involved five years ago with reenactment events. Sterzl, 49, who lives in Cornwall Bridge, Conn., has hunted with muzzleloading rifles the last two years.
"It's more challenging," he said. "You have to be a lot more careful."
He went hunting recently in Connecticut with Zimmer and other friends.
Zimmer said the woods are more peaceful during the muzzleloader season.
"It gives us a quiet time that we can hunt slowly and carefully," Zimmer said.
David Paulsen can be reached at [email protected]
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051219/NEWS01/512190327/1006
By David Paulsen
Poughkeepsie Journal
More and more hunters are rediscovering a centuries-old firearm technology in search of greater challenges and a piece of history.
Bill Zimmer of Dover Plains wouldn't have it any other way. He is among the growing number of hunters devoted to muzzleloading rifles, the single-shot antiques that had their heyday in the mid-1800s.
For proof Zimmer, 56, is a true black-powder enthusiast, consider he hasn't hunted for deer with a modern rifle in about 20 years.
"It puts you at a disadvantage, but I like the challenge," said Zimmer, who planned to hunt two or three times before Tuesday's close of New York's muzzleloader season.
The muzzleloader season, which began Dec. 12 in most of New York, dates to 1978 and its popularity has grown dramaticly in recent years. The number of muzzleload licenses sold in the state nearly quadrupled in 10 years, from about 49,000 in 1994 to 193,000 in 2004.
Those numbers don't equal the number of hunters because some hunters buy more than one license, but the trend is clear: More hunters are taking advantage of the muzzleloader season even as the overall number of hunters in the state is declining by about 1 percent a year, said John O'Pezio, the big game section leader with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
"There's been an increasing interest in special season opportunities, especially more primitive opportunities such as archery and muzzleloading," O'Pezio said.
Experienced hunters are drawn to these special seasons because they attract fewer hunters than the traditional hunting season, O'Pezio said. And muzzleloaders offer unique challenges. Hunters must pack gunpowder and a bullet into the muzzle of their rifles before each shot, and the weapons have only primitive sights.
"You have to be closer to the animals than you would with a modern weapon," Zimmer said. "And since you only have one shot, you have to be more skillful. You can't waste that one shot. You don't get a second chance."
Club has 21 members
Zimmer and his family are members of Dutchess County Muzzleloaders, a club of 21 members and their families who enjoy hunting with the old rifles or simply love reliving the guns' era, from the mid-1600s to the mid-1800s.
Deborah Zimmer, Bill's wife, isn't much of a hunter, but she enjoys traveling with the family to period reenactment events. Participants dress in clothes from the era, live in makeshift dwellings and cook over an open fire.
"None of the modern things that make life so crazy," she said.
The family has been involved in these events for 18 years, though Bill Zimmer's interest in antique rifles dates to his childhood. He started collecting old rifles as a child and has been hunting with black powder since the the mid-1970s.
The rifles can be antique guns from the era or replicas made to look and work the same.
Tony Sterzl, secretary of Dutchess County Muzzleloaders, picked up the hobby after getting involved five years ago with reenactment events. Sterzl, 49, who lives in Cornwall Bridge, Conn., has hunted with muzzleloading rifles the last two years.
"It's more challenging," he said. "You have to be a lot more careful."
He went hunting recently in Connecticut with Zimmer and other friends.
Zimmer said the woods are more peaceful during the muzzleloader season.
"It gives us a quiet time that we can hunt slowly and carefully," Zimmer said.
David Paulsen can be reached at [email protected]
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051219/NEWS01/512190327/1006
