Thinking there is more to it. They claim the muzzleloaders are too successful. They either reduce the number of tags or reduce the chances of harvesting an animal. Money won another one. They get the revenue and have more elk.
Have to wonder how the 17,000 muzzleloader hunters are going to react?
(See article mentioning the number of hunters)
I found this comment from the article lame:
"Liley said he expects that loss of animals to wounding by muzzleloaders may decrease under the prohibition against scoped muzzleloaders. Although scopes allow hunters to hit animals at long range, he said the animals may not give any indication that they've been hit so hunters may not follow up all their shots."
There are many older shooters, including me, that cannot focus on iron sights especially the rear sight. Unless there is some sort of accommodation then I won't be doing it anymore. There is some possible relief found in the article:
"Jesse Deubel, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said the group supports the prohibition of scopes on muzzleloaders. He said the NMWF focuses on providing more hunting opportunity for resident hunters. Deubel noted that the game department director has authority to provide reasonable accommodation to hunters with documented vision issues." Time will tell.