Legal but Unjust (An open letter to the IDFG)

Here is the multiple choice question for the day

Which was invented first?
a) The center fire rifle
b) The bow and arrow
c) The muzzle loading rifle

To any one sane this is a simple test, and strangely enough the more primitive the armament the less advantage the hunter retains. However, the Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) seems to operate upon anti-logic. In Idaho with the purchase of a standard hunting license one buys the right to wield a modern firearm in the field. Of course tags are extra as they should be. But if one wishes to give more advantage to the game animal and chooses a more primitive arm, the hunter must pay extra. In the case of a muzzle loader $18.25 and in the case of an archer $18.25. Archery and muzzle loader hunters must pay extra to be disadvantaged; that seems backwards to me. Of course the logic behind the IDFG is fees and funds. Paying extra for a disadvantage seems illogical.

Secondly, should we not consider archery as the de facto baseline hunting weapon? It was invented first the muzzle loaders second and the center fire rifle third. So again would it not be logical for a baseline hunting license to include the right to wield the most basic arms rather than the most modern? I would suggest in a logical world it might go something like this. Hunting license includes archery, additional endorsements may be purchased at the following fees- muzzle loader permit $5 center fire permit $10 enter fire with telescoping site $15. Not only is such a scheme logical, based on sporting advantage and tenure of technology, but it would also raise much more money due to the vastly larger numbers of rifle hunters. The latter should perk up the ears at the IDFG. The present system is unfair and backwards. It would almost seem like they are picking on a minority, which is what a constitutional republic is supposed to prevent. There is a right and wrong in every matter, wrongness substantiated by a majority may be legal but it is still wrong. I believe Ayn Rand called it, “a legal injustice.” The present fee structure is wrong!

Walt Holton