With the technology available to modern hunters, killing a deer can be as easy as pointing to it. Pin-point rifle accuracy aided with scopes powerful enough to see distant stars has taken a lot of the challenge out of a hunt.

That is specifically why several hunters have opted for the old-school style of hunting with muzzle-loaders.

&uot;You have to stay on your toes,&uot; said Richard Prescott of Natchez. &uot;You have to get up fairly close. You’re not going to shoot a deer from 200-300 yards.

&uot;If they make one that can do that, I don’t know about it.&uot;

Muzzle-loaders come in two basic styles – traditional, which look similar to guns used in the Civil War; and in-line, which look more like modern weapons.

&uot;But they’re both loaded through the muzzle,&uot; Prescott said, hence the name. Powder and a projectile are loaded from the top of the barrel. Traditional guns still use balls as a projectile, while in-line guns use a tapered, conical bullet, he said.

In-line guns are more accurate than traditional muzzle-loaders, but both suffer from the same problem – misfires.

&uot;It seems like mine misfires just about every other time, said Gene Williams, a Natchez resident who is hunting with a muzzle-loader for the first time this year. &uot;But it’s a challenge. It’s what most of your real hunters are going to.&uot;

Another reason the sport is gaining popularity is the longer season available for primitive weapons.

&uot;I’m like everybody else. I just want to stay in the woods a little longer,&uot; said Steve King of Natchez.

Muzzle-loader season in Mississippi extends before and after regular gun season – from Dec. 2-15 and from Jan. 18-31. Louisiana’s season is similar, but the dates depend on which of the state’s seven regions one hunts in.

For those interviewed, the first segment of primitive weapons season was anything but successful.

&uot;I haven’t killed anything,&uot; Prescott said. &uot;I missed two and had one misfire.&uot;

King has had a rough season as well. &uot;I haven’t even killed anything with my rifle yet, but I have better luck with it.&uot;