Primitive weapon season provides last chance to burn gunpowder while deer hunting

Hunters still seeking to collect a deer with a firearm this season will have Saturday through Tuesday (Jan. 7) to use a muzzleloader or another primitive weapon.After Tuesday, archery remains the only method of harvesting a deer for the remainder of the deer season, which finally ends on February 2.Some use primitive weapons during all of the firearms seasons for a variety of reasons. For those who have taken many deer with shotguns, they may be wanting to challenge themselves by being forced to rely on a single, well-placed shot, without the possibility of an immediate follow-up round available with most shotguns or straight-wall cartridge ammunition rifle calibers.Others, by spending lots of time shooting paper targets, have gotten to understand and appreciate the superior accuracy and range that some muzzleloaders have over most shotguns.Hunters using muzzle-loading guns have the option of being as primitive or modern as they wish. They can use a flintlock weapon similar to those used by the 18th-century pioneers or a modern in-line rifle with fool-proof primers, gunpowder pellets and superior projectiles.When it comes to choices, the flintlock gun is the least reliable firearm available to use during this season, since it relies on black powder being set off by a spark from a piece of flint rubbing against a steel "frizzen."Muzzleloaders that use an enclosed percussion cap to ignite the powder in the barrel are in the middle of the pack with respect to reliability. Many flintlock firearms were converted to percussion cap ignition hundreds of years ago.Even though the main gunpowder charge in the barrel may not always go off, at least the cap is more likely to provide a spark than a piece of flint — especially in damp weather when making a spark can be challenging.The modern "inline" muzzle-loading rifles reliably fire, thanks to the use of modern primers and ignition pellets fully enclosed in a sealed barrel. After sufficient target practice at the range to determine the ideal combination of gunpowder and bullet weights, the rifled barrels and sabot slugs can produce accurate shots up to 200 yards away.By definition, legal primitive weapons include muzzle-loading rifles greater than .38 caliber, muzzle-loading shotguns of 10 gauge or smaller, and archery equipment.Longbows, which include compound and recurve bows, must have a draw weight of at least 40 pounds and crossbows need at least 75 pounds. Arrow blades may be fixed, expandable or mechanical having a width of at least three-quarters of an inch.A reminder to archers: A solid or camouflage orange vest, jacket or coveralls must be worn as the outside layer of clothing regardless of the weapon that is being used during all firearm seasons.The details are spelled out in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife's Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations 2019-2020 Digest.Ohio hunters participating in late-season firearm hunts benefit from snow cover to find deer by following their tracks and to spot deer.Their warmer, dark winter coats have replaced their cooler, reflective red summer hair, and even in trace amounts snow makes them much more visible compared to spotting them in a background of dark mud, wet logs, tree trunks and dead vegetation.Snow is also a great tool to have available when determining if a targeted deer was hit with a bullet or arrow and to follow its tracks to the carcass. With only one shot available, make sure that it is on target for a quick, humane kill.One drawback to shooting a late-season deer is that the antlers may come off after it drops from the shot or while being dragged back to the vehicle.Sometimes, what a hunter thought was a doe at a distance turned out to be an already shed buck. To avoid this, watch for the red pedicles, the raw spots or scabs where the antlers were attached to the head.A small whitetail deer buck in winter vegetation only 40 yards away illustrates how tough they can be to spot without snow.