By DON DUBUC

Do not look now but “primitive firearms” just got modern.

The famed mountain men who toted those first-run Hawken rifles would be like cavemen in a Cadillac if they could look down the sights of today’s black powder hunting guns.

Whether it has become too easy to bag a deer with a conventional high-powered rifle or the product of sportsmen wanting more of a challenge and the longing to experience how our forefathers hunted, the back-to-basics weaponry movement is on the rise. Well, almost.

Compound bows with fiberglass arrows and all the accessories that make them deadly accurate at close range are nothing like the recurves fashioned from tree limbs that early man used. By the same token, more hunters are taking up muzzleloaders, rifles that propel slugs or round balls with black powder ignited by percussion caps.

Just like Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett did it, right?

Hardly! Muzzleloader manufacturers have replaced the exposed hammer with “in-line” (inside the breech and out of the weather) ignition systems. Pyrodex pellets have replaced the loose black powder and jacketed sabot bullets eliminate the round balls, grease and patches.

Even rifle scopes, now legal in most states including Louisiana, are fitted on today’s muzzleloaders. Hard as we have tried to go primitive, we have only managed to modernize replicas of what the pioneers used for hunting and protection.

However, not everyone is interested in these high-tech slash old-tech firearms. There are a lot of hunters who refuse to go with the new in-lines and sales of recurve bows are up.

It is all a matter of choice. I shoot a .50 caliber Thompson Center in-line Black Diamond. I use the pellets and the sabots and while I find it accurate at ranges up to 80 yards using the iron sights and has plenty of knockdown power, it is still a long way from a modern rifle. I do not use a scope because I believe muzzleloading should be an “intermediate” hunt. That is, somewhere between bowhunting and rifle hunting.

But that is just me and I have heard it from both sides of the fence. Some hunters would not think of limiting themselves by not fitting a gun that is capable of 200-yard shots with a scope. Others have told me without an exposed hammer, traditional black powder and patched, greased balls, there is no difference from a conventional rifle, thus no challenge.

I say “to each his own.”

Muzzleloading, like bowhunting, will extend your season. Before and after the regular gun seasons close, there are excellent opportunities to bag either a buck or a doe during special segments. Here is a rundown of when black powder special seasons are open for either sex deer (except in Area 5 where it is bucks only):

DEER MANAGEMENT AREA 1 – Nov. 16-22 and Jan. 20-26; AREA 2 – Oct. 26-Nov. 1 and Jan. 11-17; AREA 3 – Oct. 9-11 and Dec. 2-6; AREA 4 – Nov. 9-15 and Jan. 11-19; AREA 5 – Nov. 16-22 and Jan. 11-19; AREA 6 – Nov. 16-22 and Jan. 20-26; AREA 7 – Oct. 12-18 and Nov. 9-15; and AREA 8 – Oct. 9-11 and Dec. 2-6. (Area boundaries are described in the hunting regulation pamphlet.)

For those not lucky enough to have access to private lands most state Wildlife Management Areas also have special muzzleloader seasons when either sex deer can be hunted. Here are those tracts in the metropolitan New Orleans Area: BEN’S CREEK WMA (Washington Parish) – Jan. 6-24; JOYCE WMA (Tangipahoa Parish) – Oct. 26-Nov. 1 and Jan. 1-17; MAUREPAS SWAMP WMA (St. John the Baptist Parish) – Jan. 6-12; PEARL RIVER (St. Tammany Parish) – Nov. 16-22 and Dec. 30-Jan. 12; and SANDY HOLLOW WMA (Tangipahoa Parish) – Dec. 16-Jan. 1.

Remember anyone age 18-59 hunting on a WMA must have a special $15 WMA hunting permit in addition to other required licenses. A special $10.50 ($26 for non-residents) muzzleloader license is required for hunters in addition to basic and big game licenses. Rifles or pistols must be .44 caliber minimum and shotguns must be 10 gauge or smaller.

All of which must load from the muzzle or cap and ball cylinder, use black powder or approved substitute only, take ball or bullet projectile only, including saboted bullets and may be fitted with magnified scopes. This includes muzzleloaders known as “in line” muzzleloaders.

It is unlawful to carry a gun, other than a muzzleloader, including those powered by air or other means, while hunting during special muzzleloader segments.

Except it is lawful to carry a .22 caliber rimfire pistol loaded with No. 12 shot (ratshot).

DON DUBUC is the outdoors reporter for L’Observateur.