Section 1.22: Muzzleloading Firearm Deer Season
Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 3-0301, 11-0303, 11-0701, 11-0715, 11-0903, 11-0907, 11-0909, 11-0911, 11-0913, 11-0917, 11-1103
Contents:
Sec.
§1.22 Muzzleloading firearm deer season.
(a) "Northern Zone."
(b) Late Southern Zone Muzzleloading Season
(c) [reserved]
(d) License requirements
(e) Other regulations
(f) Other requirements
(a) "Northern Zone." The types of deer that may be legally harvested, the open Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) as described in section 4.1 of this Title and the open season dates (First and Second splits) for muzzleloading in the Northern Zone are set forth below.
| "Open WMUs for harvest of deer of either sex" | "Open WMUs for harvest of antlerless deer or deer having both antlers less than three inches in length" | "Open WMUs for harvest of antlered deer only" | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST SPLIT of the muzzleloading season for deer shall be the seven days immediately proceeding the Northern Zone regular big game season: | 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6A, 6C, 6F, 6G, 6H, 6J, 6K | 6N | |
| SECOND SPLITof the muzzleloading season for deer shall be the seven days immediately following the Northern Zone regular big game season: | 5G, 5J, 6A, 6C, 6G, 6H |
(b) Late Southern Zone Muzzleloading Season.
(1) Open areas. Any portion of the Southern Zone open to rifle or shotgun harvest of deer, pursuant to subdivision 2 of section 11-0907 of the Environmental Conservation Law.
(2) Open season. The Late Southern Zone muzzleloading firearm deer season shall be the nine-day period immediately following the Southern Zone regular deer season established in Section 1.16 of this Part.
(3) Valid tags. During the late Southern Zone muzzleloading firearm deer season, any unfilled deer tag for the current license year is valid, and an antlerless deer may be taken on a regular season tag.
(d) License requirements. Any person who hunts or takes deer during a muzzleloading firearm deer season must possess, on his or her person, a license valid to hunt big game granting special muzzleloading season privileges or a non-resident muzzleloading or combination license.
(e) Other regulations. It is unlawful for any person to hunt or take a deer during the muzzleloading deer season except with a muzzleloading rifle, muzzleloading smoothbore, or muzzleloading handgun capable of being loaded with only one charge. For the purpose of this section, a muzzleloading rifle, muzzleloading smoothbore, or muzzleloading handgun is defined as a single barreled gun which is loaded only through the muzzle and by no other means, shooting a single projectile and having a minimum bore of .44 inch. It is unlawful for any person to hunt with a muzzleloading handgun unless the gun is registered as required by law and such person possesses a valid permit to carry said handgun.
(f) Other requirements. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of the Environmental Conservation Law relating to deer hunting, including hunting hours, manner of taking, tagging, reporting, possession, and transporting, shall apply to hunting and taking deer pursuant to this section.