Nope, these are not new regulations.
Practice without the scope, remember to load the gun from the muzzle, and yes, you can use powerbelts.
As for the use of a scope. You say,
I prefer to harvest animals in the most ethical means available. I believe if a scope helps, I should use it.
The idea is to stay legal AND ethical by not taking 150 yard open sight shots. You may be able to make this shot all day with a scope but the idea is to be SELF LIMITING in your shot selection and be a sportsman about it.
ML seasons in Colorado aren't intended to be pseudo-rifle seasons where you can take 250 yard rifle-like shots to fill your freezer. They're intended to offer a more primative approach to hunting when compared to rifle.
HUNT! Sneak up on the deer! With a little practice you can take a deer with a 50 or 75 yard ML shot and it will be an ethical, quick death. You may even find that while working up a load in 5 grain increments you find that your rifle is even more accurate than you were getting with pellets
