Committee advances bill to legalize sabots for muzzleloader season

Representative Ron Mendai, presenting House Bill 128, told the Senate Resources & Environment Committee the measure would move a current Fish and Game rule into statute to allow the use of sabots in muzzleloader-only seasons.

"It's a pretty simple bill. You can see what it does. It's very short," Mendai said, adding that sabots are more accurate and can improve terminal performance when harvesting game.

The bill would remove a Fish and Game administrative rule (ID rule 406703 as cited in testimony) that currently prohibits sabots during muzzleloader-only seasons, and instead make the allowance explicit in statute. Proponents said sabots—plastic sleeves that improve the seal and spin of a projectile in a rifled muzzleloader—increase accuracy and the chance of a clean harvest.

"They're more accurate. Accuracy is incredibly important in harvesting wildlife," Mendai said. Dave Lant (District 33), a longtime muzzleloader hunter, described sabots as a modern replacement for the historical patch used behind round balls: "It is a little bit use of technology, but from a user, it doesn't really... change my activity or my hunting style. It just makes it a little easier for me to participate."

Conservation and hunting groups provided comment. Nick Fasiano, executive director of the Idaho Wildlife Federation, said the group was not opposing the bill but warned legislators about piecemeal changes that could create a "tangled web" of technology-specific statutes and urged continued public engagement through the commission process: "Hunters spend a lot of time thinking about sort of that interplay between success rates and opportunity, and what technology is used in hunting."

Some committee members expressed caution. Senator O'Conowitz and others argued that technology that increases harvest success can reduce the traditional challenge of primitive-weapons seasons. "You're gonna get a cleaner, quicker kill," O'Conowitz said in support, while other members noted concerns about moving rule language into statute and preserving the character of primitive-arms seasons.

After discussion and public testimony, a committee member moved to send House Bill 128 to the floor with a recommendation to pass; the motion was seconded and adopted by voice vote. The committee recorded that the motion "carries" and sent the bill to the full Senate for consideration.

Votes at a glance: the committee voted by voice to recommend House Bill 128 for passage; the committee did not record a roll-call tally in the hearing transcript provided.

Ending: House Bill 128 will next appear on the Senate floor for debate and a full vote; committee testimony and questions show the bill attracted both technical support from hunters and conservation-minded caution about embedding device-specific allowances in statute.