The original question deals with a STATEWIDE season. Currently it is not a STATEWIDE season, so why doesn't the TPWD make a statewide season for late January or end rifle season on December 31, and put in a two week STATEWIDE muzzle loader season?

currious how many will be out hunting with ML this year during General hunting season.. if i go will take mine a time or two..

I ml hunt during the general season. I will use a modern rifle about one a year.

I think, bow, cross bow and traditional flintlock / roundball should all be one season. The key is the difficulty of the weapons system should be close to each other.

The current modern muzzleloader could be replaced with a 45-70 single shot and you would see no difference in rates of kill.

thinking you'll find that idea will cause trouble with bow hunters.. whin they included cross bow during archery season, the WMA where i hunt held off on the crossbow's, they doing some surveys, am not able ta pull & hold back my 70# bow.. would rather see the cross bow get excepted during archery than my black powder, theirs plenty of time ta use it during general season..

The bowhunters have a huge lobby in Austin, even a smell of tapping into "their time" will get them in gear.

The problem is where to put the season. Bowhunters will not give up any of October, period. Late December or January would limit the ML season to being an anterless season due to bucks dropping their antlers. Personally, I wouldn't mind an anterless season.
Other problem is big ranches want the ML season on their terms, so they can charge for management hunts. Money talks.

I don't think things would be better, they would only get worse. The deer harvest in Texas is more than the deer population of most states. With more restictions, shorter seasons etc., the population would spiral out of control. More animals killed on highways, smaller deer, more inbreeding and eventually a massive deer die-off from starvation and/or disease. Just my .02 but something to think about.

We had a Muzzle Loader season but they removed it due to the inline muzzle loaders which shoot about the same as a rifle.

Now if they made it a Traditional Muzzle Loader season that would work but I do not think they have enough man power to hand out all of the tickets to people using in lines lol.

Don't recall that there has ever been a STATEWIDE muzzle load seson. I know for the past 15 years, it has been limited to certain east Texas counties only, and the limited seasons never had anything to do with inline or traditional weapons.

Sorry I do not remember the year. But in South Texas they had a Muzzle loader season 1 time.

And I did ask one Game Warden and this is what he told me at the time.

We had a Muzzle Loader season but they removed it due to the inline muzzle loaders which shoot about the same as a rifle.

I do not know how true it is just what I was told at the time.

But I do wish that they would come out with a Traditional Muzzle Loader Season.

I have a TC Renegade 50 I would sure like to take out of the cabinet.