Primitive weapons: It’s past time to bid adieu

Even after Gov. Phil Bryant signs House Bill 1139, hunters will still have to wait until 2014 for it to take effect.

With tradition long gone, leveling playing field makes sense

We can argue over when the tradition of primitive weapon season died in Mississippi, but there is no disputing that it is dead.

That’s why when Gov. Phil Bryant signs House Bill 1139 sometime between now and Monday, essentially ending the need for a primitive weapon on private lands in 2014, it will simply be a matter of making the playing field more level. It is just a start, however. (See House concurs: Primitive weapons bill goes to Governor)

It is long overdue, ending this crazy inequity that has existed during their Dec. 2-Dec. 15 primitive weapon season.

That we even have to wait one more year — it takes effect in 2014 — makes no sense and is a shame.

What 1139 will do is allow landowners, leaseholders and their guests to use their weapon of choice on private lands during all primitive weapon seasons that begin after Nov. 30.

In other words, there will still be a primitive weapon season on the books for Dec. 2-15 (or Dec. 1-14 in years when Dec. 2 falls on Sunday). Hunters on public land, and this includes many thousands of sportsmen who can’t afford to join camps, will still have to use legal primitive weapons.

We won’t be fixing that, so it remains a problem.

Off the record, I’m being told that the reason public lands were excluded was to keep the primitive weapon season on the rotation so that the $14 primitive weapon permit could still be collected.

No matter what gun is being used during a primitive weapon season, a hunter will be still be required to either have a $17 all-game hunting license with a $14 primitive weapon permit — or a $31 Sportsman’s License — to hunt, unless exempt by age or disability.

Personally, I believe every hunter who chases big game should be required to buy the Sportsman’s License.

Before you say that would put a financial hardship on the poor, realize that it sure is cheaper than what has been the alternative under the current law, if they wanted to hunt in early December. They either had to buy a muzzle-loader (a few hundred, including scope) or one of those freaking “primitive” centerfires ($600-$800 and more, not including scope).

In a state that ranks at the bottom in all things income-related, that we had a season when people who could afford it could use a more effective killing weapon than the poor who could nowhere near afford it is ridiculous.

But that’s exactly what we have had ever since they started allowing those .35 Whelens, .44s and .45-70 centerfires.

There are plenty of people who would argue that the tradition of primitive weapons died long before those modern firearms were legal. Some say it began with the advent of inline-ignition muzzle-loaders, and some say it came when scopes were allowed on muzzle-loading rifles, both of which added significant expense for hunters.

It has been a long process that has made primitive weapon season passé. It was not longer fair, nor needed.

That wasn’t always the case. The original intent of primitive weapon season in early December was to reduce pressure on the buck population during what was considered a peak period of activity. As recently as 50 years ago, our population needed that protection.

Today, we have exactly the opposite scenario. We have plenty of deer, so much so that we are pushing the habitat’s carrying capacity in most areas and exceeding it in others.

We need to be encouraging hunters to go to the woods, not have what essentially has been a two-week timeout for many hunters at a peak time of activity for big bucks.

Sen. Giles Ward (R-Louisville), the chairman of the Senate’s Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee, recognized all of these arguments when he helped push the bill through the Senate after it was first defeated. He entered a motion to reconsider and two weeks later it passed easily.

“The legislation would never have been introduced nor passed if the state had not begun to recognize the centerfire cartridge weapons as legal during primitive weapon season about eight years ago,” he said in an e-mail response to questions. “But when the only discernible difference in hunting during primitive weapons season with one of these type weapons and using a conventional high powered rifle is between $650 and $1,000 for hardware, there simply was no justification in not making this change for private land owners, their guests, hunting clubs, etc. hunting on private lands.

“And, according to my cyphering, it will add 26 days of quality deer hunting for our Mississippi sportsmen without a state imposed requirement to spend a significant amount of additional money for the privilege.”

Congratulations Sen. Ward, and to Rep. Scott Bounds (R-Philadelphia), the chairman of the House Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee who was the bill’s original author, for finally bringing common sense to the matter.

Now, next year, let’s see about eliminating the requirement on public lands as well.

About Bobby Cleveland 1343 Articles
Bobby Cleveland has covered sports in Mississippi for over 40 years. A native of Hattiesburg and graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Cleveland lives on Ross Barnett Reservoir near Jackson with his wife Pam.

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