As predicted, this fall’s deer season has been outstanding. Bow hunters enjoyed a productive year and the regular firearm harvest is substantially higher than last season’s numbers.

Last winter’s mild conditions certainly helped turn this autumn’s whitetail hunt around. Mild snow conditions and moderate temperatures increased winter survival rates and decreased losses to predators. Higher doe survival led to greater numbers of fawns and across-the-board herd growth.

Nonetheless, Maine’s hunter success rate for this year’s firearm season, which ends tonight at 15 minutes after sunset, will be less than 20 percent. About one in six participants will have managed to tag a whitetail and put some venison in the freezer. All is not lost, however, because on Monday morning the statewide muzzleloader season begins. All Wildlife Management Districts are open from Dec. 2-7, and an extra week of black powder hunting in WMDs 12, 13, 15-18, 20-26, and 30 will run from Dec. 9-14.

If you still have an unused deer tag, have the desire to keep hunting, and the yen to get into muzzleloading, now is the time. This year’s deer numbers are good, the weather and snow conditions are conducive to being afield, and a few bucks are still in rut. Step one is to secure a muzzleloading stamp at the town office for $11 and stick it on your license. Step two is to beg, borrow, or buy a muzzleloader and the necessary products to load and shoot it, and scurry to the nearest target range to learn about the gun and sight it in. This isn’t as difficult a procedure as it might seem. The trying chore will be selecting a gun to fit your needs.

Guidelines in the Maine hunting regulations handbook will help define the choices. Muzzleloading firearms must have a rifled or smooth bore of .40 caliber or greater. Guns must be loaded through the muzzle with powder, bullet or ball, and be capable of firing only a single charge. Ignition of the propellant must be accomplished by a percussion cap or a priming charge of a flint, match, or wheellock mechanism.

Primitive vs. modern

Let’s start off by eliminating black powder handguns and shotguns from the choices, since they have distance and sighting limitations. Muzzleloader hunters need every advantage available, and although some shots are at close range with a stationary quarry, most are not. Most sportsmen participating in the black powder deer hunt will be carrying in-line rifles. As the name suggests, all of the shot components: the bullet, powder, and ignition charge are one behind the other at the base of the barrel.

Inline guns utilize molded bullets, which are pre-lubricated to eliminate the need for a patch, or plastic-encased sabots. When fired from a rifled barrel, either projectile is extremely accurate and easily capable of 3-inch groups or less from a bench rest at 100 yards. A wide selection of modern bullets is available in various weights, shapes, and calibers.

Black powder is actually a misnomer for modern muzzleloaders, since black powder has been almost totally replaced by much more stable and versatile propellants such as Pyrodex. To quicken loading time and prevent measuring errors, Pyrodex is even available in pre-weighed, solid discs.

Inline rifles also enjoy the dependability of a percussion cap or a primer to ignite the powder charge. Failure to fire is almost unheard of in these modern sealed-system guns. Another huge advantage these models hold over traditional muzzleloaders is the opportunity to attach a scope. Ease of use, variety of components, accuracy, and dependability make inline muzzleloaders as deadly as modern centerfire rifles.

For a growing number of black powder shooters, these inline features I’ve mentioned are the very reason such firearms shouldn’t be considered true muzzleloaders. In several states this attitude and supporting arguments have prevailed, leading wildlife officials to ban inline guns during special muzzleloading seasons and allow only true primitive mechanism guns to be used. There’s no question that taking a deer with a traditional-style “smoke pole” is a difficult accomplishment, but it’s extremely memorable and gratifying for a true outdoorsman.

Matchlock and wheellock rifles are fairly rare commodities and seldom used for big game hunting. Wet weather and snowy conditions lead to many misfires and with so few good chances to bag a buck, firearm failure is devastating. Sportsmen who truly wish to deer hunt in the tradition of Lewis and Clark, Boone and Crockett, or our own early ancestors need only turn to a flintlock or percussion cap rifle. Both styles are readily available in a wide variety of models at local sporting goods stores or through catalog sales. Ready-to-shoot guns or build-it-yourself component kits along with a starter pack of shooting materials cost from $150 to $500.

Even under the best of conditions, flintlocks can be finicky firearms. Dry conditions are optimal, but December hunting in the Maine woods is far from that. Sleet, rain, snow falling from branches, and even a heavy, humid fog can prevent the flint from sparking or the powder from igniting on a sidelock. Cap locks are more dependable since percussion caps seldom fail, but moisture can still keep the fire from igniting the powder charge. Such is the realism and uncertainty of choosing to be a true muzzleloading hunter.

Hunting tactics

December’s muzzleloading season has several advantages and disadvantages for participants. On the plus side, only 9,282 permits were sold last year, so hunting pressure is greatly reduced during the muzzleloading season. The reduced number of sportsmen in the woods and the necessity for a fairly close shot tends to decrease the likelihood of a shooting accident. This same need to get close to a whitetail combined with the occasional firearm failure is part of the reason only 795 deer were taken last season. That’s a success ratio of less than 9 percent, but this year’s numbers should be better.

Remember what you’re hunting with. Even inline rifles won’t handle long-range shots as well as a fast, flat-shooting centerfire. On the other hand, a heavy, round-nosed bullet from a muzzleloader will plow through brush and drop a buck whereas the high-powered but smaller caliber bullet will deflect more easily. Shot selection is everything for smoke pole hunters. Your first shot has got to be your best one, because a chance to reload is unlikely. Even for an experienced and prepared muzzleloader, there’s too much time, too much noise, and too much movement for most deer to stand and wait.

Lighter hunting pressure should make the deer a bit less spooky, which will work in the hunter’s favor. Field hunting won’t be as productive as working the woods, although beech ridges, wild apple trees, fresh cuttings, and patches of raspberry bushes are excellent open-area hunting locations. Colder weather means the whitetails must feed more often and each of the settings mentioned is an easy food source. From the sportsmen’s perspective, they are great spots to set up a tree stand or ground blind and generally offer very open shooting lanes.

Frequent feeding means the deer are moving more, often between dark growth, cedar swamps, and swales where they take cover and rest, to nearby ridges where they feed and enjoy whatever warmth the December sun provides. Locate a well-used trail and find a spot with an overview of an open stretch to sit and wait for a close shot at traveling deer. Snow cover, especially a fresh dusting, which is common during black powder season, is a great benefit in locating trails and distinguishing tracks.

Soft snow will aid the hunter in quietly still-hunting an area or tracking a good-sized whitetail. Each of these methods requires very slow progress and when successful will put a woodsman within dependable muzzleloader range. Another close-range practice is to locate a fresh rub or scrape, take a stand, and wait for a buck to come to you. A bunch of bucks are still in rut and traveling regularly to check their territorial scent posts.

So dress warm, be quiet, and be patient.

If an area is all tracked up, don’t overlook the practice of rattling. Set up a doe scent trail to increase your odds, find a likely spot, and imitate a buck fight. Use a deer call to add a few grunts and increase realism. At this time of year, if nothing happens within 90 minutes, try another area. Rattling will draw a deer within confident black powder range.

My father-in-law was born and spent most of his life in Fort Kent and was an ardent whitetail hunter, successfully taking deer after deer each fall from the woods between Allagash and Escourt. He took up muzzleloading late in life and during his third season with a cap lock rifle, he tracked and downed a big-bodied 8-pointer. Of the several dozen deer accounted for during his many hunting seasons, that black powder buck was his proudest trophy.

Muzzleloader season isn’t just a chance to spend a couple more weeks in the woods. It’s not just about tagging a deer.

Combining black powder and white snow gives a modern sportsman a chance to relive the primitive hunting style of his forefathers. When all goes well and deer and hunter show up a the same place at the same time, if the gun functions without fail and your aim is true, there’s no more rewarding experience for a true outdoorsman. Many sportsmen who try muzzleloading find that the smoke and smell gets into their blood and a pastime becomes a lifelong practice.