Pennsylvania Outdoors Columnist
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With centerfire rifles now being permitted to hunt deer in several parts of Pennsylvania during the flintlock season, an organization wants the Game Commission to create a new early flintlock opportunity that gives hunters a chance to take a buck or doe.
The Pennsylvania Federation of Black Powder Shooters has started a petition on change.org as well as a paper petition seeking a new hunting season for primitive flintlock rifles. That online version has 1,065 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
In 2024, the Game Commission added Wildlife Management Units (WMU) 4A, 4D and 5A to the extended firearms antlerless season that was held Jan. 2 to 20 during flintlock season. The change was made in southcentral Pennsylvania to reduce the number of antlerless deer in areas with Chronic Wasting Disease. In the past, the extended firearms season was limited to WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia regions.
With the addition of more opportunities to hunt deer with rifles during the flintlock season, the Black Powder Shooters feel too many hunters will change to centerfire rifles instead of using primitive firearms.
Jeff Warner, president of the Pennsylvania Federation of Black Powder Shooters, said he would like to see the early antlerless muzzleloader season in October that includes all types of muzzleloaders be extended from one week to two weeks. Hunters using flintlocks would be able to hunt either bucks or antlerless deer.Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
“They’ve (Game Commission) been talking for years now about changing the late season a little bit,” Warner, who lives in Clearfield County, said. “This past year, specifically, they have allowed centerfire rifles in now six Wildlife Management Units across the state.”
He said there have been proposals to allow other types of muzzleloaders in the flintlock season. His organization is looking to preserve the sport of flintlock hunting.
“We’re pushing for the early season because, with the way the Game Commission works historically, once they’ve added a season or extended the rifle season, that’s not something you can convince them to rescind,” he said.
“Our big reason why we are not necessarily catering to any type of muzzleloader is how historically significant the flintlock is to Pennsylvania. Just the hunting season alone, we’re the only state in the country that has a hunting season that’s dedicated specifically to flintlocks. And it’s that way for a reason. Most people would consider Pennsylvania to be home to the long rifle. And as a matter of fact, the Pennsylvania long rifle is our state firearm which not many people know about,” Warner said.
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With the changes that have been happening with the hunting seasons, he said his organization is concerned for the future of flintlock hunting.
“With the allowance of centerfire rifles in the late season, we’re really scared that the history is going to go away,” he said.
He wants the late flintlock season to remain the same and expand upon the October season.
https://cd3b2c672a229e03ede6e4e2cccf754d.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-41/html/container.htmlPlan for this year: Pa. Game Commission sets tentative 2024-2026 hunting, trapping seasons, includes 3 SundaysMore: Two Pa. hunters get rare bucks with flintlock muzzleloaders. Here’s how
“The idea that we came up with is that early muzzleloader season where its any muzzleloader and you can harvest just a doe, our idea was to extend that by a week whether you start it a week early or extend it a week longer. And in those two weeks, a hunter with a flintlock could harvest a buck or a doe. To coincide with the archery season, we’re not asking for those two weeks that the archery hunters not be in the woods. We’ll share the woods with them as much as we would hope that they would share the woods with us,” he said.
“I don’t think there’s going to be so many extra guys in the woods with their flintlocks during those two weeks that it’s going to really do much of a change for archery hunters,” he said. The agency sold about 154,000 muzzleloader permits during the 2023-24 hunting year. That number includes those who hunt with all ignition types in the October muzzleloader season.
Warner’s concern for the late season is that hunters will opt for their centerfire rifles instead of their flintlocks. “I’ve spoken with people personally who said now that they can use their modern rifles in the late season, they’ll never touch their flintlock again,” he said.
“Hearing things like that drove us to what we’re doing.”
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