A second public land that Ryan recommends is Burnsville Lake WMA (12,579 acres in Braxton County), yet another quality destination in District III that is centrally located. Burnsville accounted for 64 whitetails last December, good for second place in the late season. Of that number, 48 were does.

Burnsville features similar habitat to that of Stonewall, although the former is a tad hillier and does not offer the reverting farmland-type terrain that the latter does. Still, Burnsville does proffer its share of regenerating cutovers, brushy openings and old fields. Braxton County was a strong second in the harvest chart last December and is certainly a sound choice as a destination for the 2005 season.

The other choice of Ryan's was the McClintic WMA (3,655 acres in Mason County), which has become almost legendary as a superbly managed public land. No other WMA in the Mountain State contains the diversity of habitat that McClintic does. Indeed, I would wager that this public land boasts some of the most varied wildlife habitat of any public land in the Eastern United States.

McClintic features some 600 acres of farmland, 1,100 acres of brushy land, 180 acres of wetlands and 1,775 acres of mixed hardwoods. Deer thrive in such habitat, and the smorgasbord of foods there ensures that even during harsh winters, the animals will have something to consume.

The McClintic WMA recorded only 14 deer during the muzzleloader season, 11 of which were does and three were button bucks. Readers may rightfully ask why no bucks were taken, and the answer is that the public land has a restrictive regulation in place. The regulation states that all antlered deer during the muzzleloader season must have a minimum outside antler spread of 14 inches (ear tip to ear tip). Some of the bucks that hunters had to let walk last December may be "shooters" this year.

Mason County itself ranks 10th in the harvest tally from last December, a marvelous figure considering its modest size. Many of the counties that placed ahead of Mason, especially ones like Randolph, are larger in size. Mason County contains numerous farms, stream bottoms and cattle and dairy concerns.

Prospective hunters for this month should know that only single-shot muzzleloaders, which includes the very popular inlines, of .38 caliber or larger are legal. A muzzleloader outfitted with telescopic sights is legal. The latter regulation has been in place for several years and is one that many sportsmen, including this writer, have eagerly taken advantage of. I like having a low-power scope on my smokepole, as I feel that my shots will be inherently more accurate -- especially in low-light conditions.

Scopes also help hunters to quickly and more accurately identify the sex of a deer -- an important consideration in counties that have restrictions on antlerless harvests. Scopes also assist a hunter to better evaluate a buck's antlers -- a vital matter on many places where trophy management plans are in place or on a public land, such as McClintic, where restrictions on antlered bucks exist.

Finally, a firearm that has been converted into a muzzleloader by use of a plug, or a double-barreled or swivel-barreled muzzleloader, is illegal for deer hunting during the muzzleloader season.

Hunters should also be aware that when being transported in or on a vehicle, muzzleloaders will be considered unloaded when uncapped or when the priming charge is removed from the pan. As a safety precaution, I think it just makes common sense for inline users to remove the caps from nipples when it is time to quit hunting for the day or to drive to another wood lot. Many sporting goods stores sell cappers.