Muzzleloader seasons were built for a smokepole that went "fffft-BOOM" and threw a round ball accurately to maybe 100 yards. In 2026, a mainstream muzzleloader can be rated for smokeless powder and wear a fluted, threaded Bergara barrel, a TriggerTech trigger and a long-range scope. That gap is why eight Western states now ban magnified scopes during muzzleloader-only hunts, and why the fight over what counts as a "primitive" weapon is now at the state level.
If you hold or plan to apply for a muzzleloader tag, this is the rulebook you're actually dealing with. It's also the version you'll see argued at the next commission meeting.
What the hardware does now
The clearest example is CVA's Endura line, introduced for 2025. Both the Endura LRH and Endura Pro are rated, according to American Hunter, for "either Blackhorn 209 or specifically recommended modern smokeless rifle powders." That's possible because of a tungsten-lined breech plug built for the higher pressures. CVA's VariFlame adapter system holds the ignition component with magnets on the bolt face. The 2026 Endura Pro in .45 caliber lists at $1,999 with a fluted Bergara barrel and a TriggerTech trigger.
None of this is illegal in itself. It's a very good rifle that happens to load from the front. That's exactly the regulators' problem.
What the states have done
Western muzzleloader rules split into two groups, according to goHUNT's state-by-state breakdown:
| Magnified scopes during muzzleloader-only seasons | States |
|---|---|
| Prohibited | Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington |
| Allowed | Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming |
The scope rule is only one of several. Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Oregon require loose powder, not pellets. Idaho and Montana ban 209 primers and allow only percussion or musket caps. Colorado and Montana ban sabots; Idaho's sabot ban was ended by state law in 2025. Idaho and Oregon require an exposed ignition system.
Idaho is the strictest. Its muzzleloader-only hunts require open or peep sights, with "scopes and any electronics" prohibited. They also require loose black powder or a loose substitute, flint or cap ignition, and a patched round ball or a conical metal or metal-alloy projectile, with sabots allowed. The minimum is .45 caliber for deer and .50 for elk.
Utah voted in November 2023 to ban scopes stronger than 1x on all big-game muzzleloader hunts starting in 2024. Open sights, peeps, red dots and 1x optics are still legal.
New Mexico adopted its ban through the State Game Commission's four-year manner-and-method rule. Scopes are out during muzzleloader seasons, but scoped muzzleloaders stay legal in any-legal-weapon hunts where centerfire rifles are also allowed.
Why the agencies did it
New Mexico's chief game biologist, Stewart Liley, made the case directly. Modern muzzleloaders with scopes had become effective at long range. Success rates were matching centerfire rifles, at up to 40 percent. If that continued, the department said, it would have to cut the number of licenses to keep the harvest sustainable. "There really is no difference from a success rate on those guns," Liley said. The department estimated that removing scopes could cut muzzleloader success by as much as 30 percent.
That's the trade the agencies are making: a less effective weapon in exchange for keeping the tag numbers. It's worth understanding before you decide which side you're on.
Two readings, both defensible
The case for the restrictions says a primitive-weapon season only makes sense if the weapon is primitive. Muzzleloader hunts often get prime calendar dates, such as the edge of the elk rut or the early deer rut. They get those dates because the weapon was expected to kill fewer animals. If the weapon catches up to a centerfire, the season loses its reason to exist. The options are fewer tags or a less capable weapon. Most hunters, given the choice, would rather keep the tag.
The case against says the restrictions trade ethics for nostalgia. A scope helps a hunter identify the animal and place the shot, especially for older eyes in dim light. A hunter on open sights at 150 yards may wound more animals than a scoped hunter at the same distance. New Mexico Commissioner Roberta Salazar-Henry, the sole vote against the New Mexico rule, also raised a fairness point: archery technology has advanced just as much, and nobody is taking compound bows away.
Both arguments are serious. You can hold either one without being a purist or a gadget hound. The fair-chase debate over technology is spreading well beyond muzzleloaders. Our piece on Idaho's limits on cell cams and thermal follows the same argument into scouting tech.
What this means for your next application
If you apply for Western muzzleloader tags, choose the gun to fit the strictest state you'll hunt, not the loosest. A scoped, pellet-fed, 209-primed rifle that's legal in Wyoming won't be legal on an Idaho muzzleloader hunt. Plan to swap sights, ignition and powder, or own two setups. That planning belongs right alongside the draw strategy in our Western draw system explainer and the budget in what nonresident hunting actually costs in 2026.
Read the current-year regulations every year. goHUNT's comparison was last updated for 2024's changes. Commissions revisit these rules on multi-year cycles, and New Mexico's is a four-year rule. Check your state's 2026–27 digest, and our 2026–27 season dates by state for when those muzzleloader windows open.
You don't have to take a side on scopes. You do need a rifle that's legal on the hunt you drew.
