Rog's Rod & Nimrod

Have you ever changed your mind about something as in making a 180 degree turn around? Well I have. In my 7/24/19 column, I supported our SDGF&P commissioners in taking a look at telescopic sights on muzzleloader rifles used in deer hunting, and actually recommended going to a four-power scope on muzzleloader rifles. Our current SDGF&P rules prohibit the use of scopes on muzzleloaders as the season was meant to be a primitive hunting experience.

Exactly what changed my mind? I recently watched a TV hunting program where an antelope was killed at over 300 yards with a Connecticut Valley Arms Paramount muzzleloader rifle. The hunter bragged that the new CVA rifle was effective out to 400 yards! I went to CVA on the internet to take a look at the new Paramount rifle. This is what the CVA people had to say.

“The Paramount .45 caliber bolt-action was developed and designed to handle “Super Magnum” propellant charges and thus provide higher velocities necessary for killing shots at 300 yards and beyond. ELR bullets are specially designed to provide incredibly tight groups at ranges previously thought unreachable for a muzzleloader.”

In my opinion, the capability of this rifle and others like it completely circumvents the intent of hunting with a muzzleloader rifle. When are we muzzleloader people going to say enough is enough? Thankfully our South Dakota muzzleloader regulations have set .45 caliber as a minimum bore diameter. Otherwise these muzzleloader manufacturers would go to a .30 caliber rifle, pour modern smokeless powder down the barrel, and ram a .30 caliber bullet down the barrel in order to call it a muzzleloader.

Well, I’ve changed my mind! Our SDGF&P commissioners need to leave our primitive muzzleloader season as it is. It has already been compromised by in-line rifles and black powder substitutes. Muzzleloader hunters need to forget about lazar rangefinders and computerized scopes, and pride themselves on getting close to the game. I realize that many will disagree with me, but I’ve never be bashful about stating my opinion.

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I’ve already alluded to a TV hunting program, and I want to express my feelings about most of them. Many of these programs are offensive to me, and I can only guess how non-hunters feel about them. It is my hope that one way or another, my views on this reach the people who produce these shows.

No one, hunters included, want to watch an animal suffer. Too many of these programs follow the wounded animal on camera after the shot. The viewer is subject to watching a struggling deer, elk, or antelope fight to stay on his feet. Betsy, my wife, supports my hunting and is pro-hunting, but she agonizes over this footage, and I’m with her 100%.

It seems like the TV hunter is almost proud of a poorly placed shot. Counting caribou, moose, elk, deer, and antelope, I’ve accounted for somewhere between a 100 and 200 North American big game animals, and I can count on my two hands the number that didn’t drop on the shot. I’m not a great shot, but I do choose my shots carefully. These TV personalities need to do some tasteful editing.

I have a second suggestion. Laughing, dancing, hugs, and high-fives are uncalled for when a game animal has fallen. I believe a moment of silence, thanks, and meditation is far more appropriate. I realize that exhilaration exists after a prolonged stalk or climb, but the hunter’s woods and field is not the 18th green at Augusta.

A third concern is not nearly as important as my first two, but I’ll say it anyway as long as I’m on this subject. All this supposed whispering before a shot is staged. My hearing is bad enough thanks to too much shooting over the years without sufficient ear protection. Let’s speak up so that hunters like me can hear what you have to say.

I’ve used the term “most” when referring to hunting programs. Some are extremely well done, and I applaud their efforts.

See you next week.