Pennsylvania hunters take step back in time with flintlock rifle deer season

A primitive hunting season is underway in Pennsylvania for those who enjoy winter weather and challenging firearms.

“It’s really a deep-rooted connection with hunting,” Curtis Morris, owner of Morris Gun Shop in Grove City, said about flintlock muzzleloader hunting.

“A lot of archers feel the same way. It’s more close and personal, a lot of things can go wrong and it really ups the ante of the difficulty of it,” he said.

The flintlock deer season began Tuesday and continues through Jan. 15. In Wildlife Managements Units 2B, 5C and 5D, which include areas around Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, the season continues through Jan. 27.

The scopeless guns are similar to what was manufactured before 1800 with an ignition system that is powered by a flint.

This is the 50th year of the state's flintlock season. “Heritage is the most important element for a lot of flintlock hunters,” said Travis Lau, communications director for the Pennsylvania Game Commission. “It does represent another opportunity to get out there. A lot of hunters primarily hunt deer and are interested in maybe only hunting deer, so that’s another opportunity for them.”

Lau said many hunters thrive on the heritage aspect, dressing in period-style clothing, while others wear modern camouflage. Orange clothing isn’t required but is recommended during muzzleloader season.

“I think that when you implement something new, and 50 years later it’s still going strong, and you can argue stronger than ever, that sort of speaks to what it means to people and the flintlock season means a lot to a lot of hunters," he said.

The agency sold 142,687 resident and 7,637 nonresident muzzleloader licenses for the 2022-23 hunting year.

While other states have muzzleloader seasons that allow ignitions systems like percussion and inline, Lau believes Pennsylvania is the only state that has a flintlock-only hunting season. “Flintlock rifles have their own history here,” he said.

Morris, 35, has been involved in muzzleloading most of his life and has owned his gun shop for 13 years. “I’ve been shooting them since I was about 8,” he said. At age 12, he could legally start hunting with one.

“My grandfather (Robert Rightnour) started me into it as soon I was able to hold a gun. He owned RMC (in State College), which was the biggest manufacturer of muzzleloader components in the nation. So I got my foot in the door pretty quickly in it. It’s been my life forever,” Morris said.

With the season occurring right after Christmas, there’s a better chance to hunt when there’s snow on the ground, which helps people see and track deer.

“It’s just being able to get out there. The snow is beautiful, it’s easy to see. You’re on the ground with these animals and you get that opportunity to make a connection during your hunt and seeing things in a way you never see them,” Morris said.

Why hunt with a muzzleloader?

Deer are curious and looking for food sources during the winter. “They haven’t been startled,” Morris said, in contrast to the skittishness many deer have during the rifle season.

“I’ve always found the camaraderie in flintlock season to be part of the reason I fell in love with it,” he said. Groups of hunters work together to drive or move deer toward each other. “We have fun laughing at each other and enjoying it,” he said about missed opportunities and successful outings.

He also likes spot-and-stalk hunting by himself.

He’s only shot one buck with a flintlock. “Statistically, your odds are pretty low that you’re going to shoot a buck in flintlock season. I’ve seen some absolutely beautiful bucks taken in flintlock season, and that’s one more part of it that makes it enjoyable,” Morris said.

“It’s definitely not a trophy-hunter's sport. It is a meat-hunter's sport,” he said. That includes being happy with an antlerless deer.

During the 2022-23 late muzzleloader season, hunters killed 25,790 deer. Only 1,230 of those had antlers. The success rate pales to the overall harvest number over the fall month: 422,960 deer including archery gear, rifles and muzzleloaders. There were 164,190 bucks killed.

“If you’re going into this with the intent that you’re going to go out there and kill every buck and every deer you see, you’re going into this for the wrong reason,” Morris said. “The odds are pretty slim. They are not in your favor. It’s the enjoyment of being outside, being outdoors. When it all comes together, it’s so much more rewarding because it’s so much more difficult to accomplish that goal,” he said.

Lau said it’s a good time to hunt both doe and bucks. “There’s still that opportunity to take a buck of a lifetime in the late season and do it with a flintlock.” Some does come into heat over the season and it’s possible to find a rutting buck chasing does.

He pointed out that flintlock hunters can use their antlered deer tag to shoot an antlerless deer instead. They don’t need to buy an antlerless license if they want to use their buck tag for a doe. “The flintlock season is the only season you can do that.".

Getting started in muzzleloader hunting

Morris advises muzzleloader hunters to buy the best gun they can afford.

“The quality of your equipment goes a long, long way toward the success and enjoyment you’re going to have during the season. Faulty equipment can unfortunately deter a lot of people from wanting to hunt. We have a lot of guys who hang it up because they believe it to be too difficult or too problematic,” he said. “It’s generally an equipment failure that’s causing that.”

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Keys to flintlock hunting success

Maintenance is important for the primitive ignition system on a flintlock. “Cleanliness is next to godliness seems to be a very true statement when it comes to muzzleloaders," Morris said. "A lot of times keeping your gun clean and your powder dry. One of the bigger neglected things that guys overlook, but is the starting point for making the gun work, is keeping their flint and frizzen (flint strike plate) clean."

Rubbing alcohol works well and doesn’t leave residue. The hand-cleansing alcohol wipe packets that come from restaurants work well to clean your flint, too.

When hunting in wet conditions, he said there are leather covers to put over the lock, but an empty bread bag draped over the lock works, too.

Flintlock aiming advice

Morris recommends hunters practice shooting their flintlocks with just black powder in the pan and nothing in the barrel. Learning to shoot and following through during the flash of the powder takes time. “Aim the gun and shoot,” he said about trying to follow through and continue holding on your target. “The more you do that, the more you get accustomed to that flash going off in your face."

He estimates a new hunter should be able to have the hang of it after 10 or 20 shots.

The bottom line, Morris said, is “Guys just need to have fun with it and not worry too much about it. The biggest key to muzzleloading is having fun."

With ignition failures and missed opportunities, it’s important to have a sense of humor. “If you can’t laugh about it, it’s not the sport for you,” he said.

Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors, and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: PA flintlock season challenges deer hunters