Bison Hunting

[Notchy Bob]

That was a good story, @Tanglefoot ! I enjoyed reading it.

Notchy Bob

 

[Jim Wag]

Some lady got
Tore up by a
Buff
This weekend in
Yellowstone

I wonder if the animal is now eligible for a
Hunt

Jim in La Luz

 

[swamperkk]

Some lady got
Tore up by a
Buff
This weekend in
Yellowstone

I wonder if the animal is now eligible for a
Hunt

Jim in La Luz

I know what happen, she wanted to pet him, that’s a no-no

 

[French Colonial]

As others stated there are bison hunts that are for free ranging animals. AK has a couple of herds as well, and as others stated they are on a lottery system.

A buddy and I went to SD in Feb. on a bison hunt. It was a paid hunt on a large ranch.

It was definitely not like shooting a cow in the pasture. But it was also not like a 10 day hunt in the wilderness. These animals were very spooky. When we started our stalk through a stand of trees to get close enough to the two bulls that we were going to shoot there were 4 bison that could see us about 800 yards away. They took off like the devil was after them.

It was 18 below zero that morning. Luckily only a 7 mph wind and sunny.

The bulls we took were 10-12 years old. The outfitter recommended that all of the meat be turned into burger except the loins. I had the butcher save some roast. The burger has 10% beef fat added to it and it is simply wonderful. The lions are very good and tender. The roast when cooked in a pressure cooker fall apart and taste good, however the meat is stringy and tough.

I could see shooting a young bull or cow in the future just for the meat.

I did not use a ML, but I did use a traditional buffalo rifle shooting BP and pushing a 530 grain bullet that I cast.

As you most likely already know, shooting an animal like this is like ordering one off a menu. Price is based on what you want. My buddy and I both wanted what this outfitter called supper trophy bulls. Biggest of the big. Figured that we will most likely only do this once in our life, so we went big.

The picture of the bull with me and my buddy we are not sitting back away from the animal to make it look big. We are leaning into it to keep it from tipping over.

This took place in NE South Dakota. The good thing from Iowa it was only a 7 hour drive. The butcher got both animals processed in less then 24 hours. With the meat, heads and hides the back of the 3/4 ton pickup was full.

Getting a full head mount. Already have the skull hanging in the cabin. The back half of the hide is also getting tanned.

Fleener

View attachment 82137View attachment 82138View attachment 82139

My experience was a lot like Fleener's but was close to Dodge City. Yes it was fenced but the acreage was so large that the only time we saw the fence was when we went in and back out and there were literally hundreds of Bison.

Stayed in Tipi's and dug outs, very cool, everyone in period correct clothes etc. I was shooting an unmentionable Remington original action with a "Rough and Ready" rear sight and a Beech front. Bison were so wary that we could not get close to them even belly crawling, finally had to walk quartering toward them behind the horses and then step out at the last minute to shoot.

We did make a mistake and did not get it all ground up...tougher meat I have never had...... even the hamburger was tough.

I will dig around, I have some picture around here somewhere.....

 

[fleener]

My burger is great tasting and not tough. You would think that you are eating the best beef burger you have ever had. We were told that the loins on an animal this old was a 50/50 proposition. Might be good might be bad. Our are some of the best steaks I have ever had, and very tender.

The next roast I cook I am going to cut it across the grain in 1/4" chunks, then pressure cook it. Should make a difference.

I have always wanted to shoot a buffalo/bison. Must be too much reading about our history as a country. I had no misconception on what we were doing or the type of hunt it is or was.

I cant wait to get the mounted head back. I think it will look great.

Fleener

 

[French Colonial]

There were four of us on the hunt I went on and it could have been the difference in the conditions the animals were raised in but ours were very very close to inedible. Glad yours are better.

Doesn't matter though, still one of the great experiences of my life.

 

[tenngun]

As a Trauma nurse about once every three years I get some one hurt by buff on a farm. About three times what I see for cattle injuries. And there are not three times as many buffs in this area.
Buff were big herd animals. Not the same as deer or even elk. Even in the wild it was easier to hunt them and get in range. Indians did it with bow long before horses came to the plains.
I will never have the disposable income to hunt even a ‘ranch buff’ but your still dealing with a wild animal. I wouldn’t look down my nose at any buff hunter on a ‘farm’

 

[Kansas Jake]

A man who raises buff in our area gives tours to his herd. He is adamant that no one get off the trailer he uses. They are used to coming for range cubes so come right up to the trailer. A fun adventure but he also notes buffalo are one of only a couple of North American mammals that aren't afraid of others. Griz is the other.

 

[Phil Coffins]

I’ve shot three buffalos so I’m far from an expert. What I’ve learned is for meat a 2 to 3 year old is big enough and makes good meat. Shoot them in December for the best robe and a cow has more hairs per square inche so makes a warmer robe. We cut the meat ourselves and it’s big job even with friends that help. The last hide I had tanned cost about $450 and took four months to come back.
Hope this isn’t too racy for this crowd.
all 271 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[3Setters]

Santa shooting buffalo?

 

[Notchy Bob]

I've never shot one, so can't speak from personal experience. However, information I've put together from reading the literature of the period indicates the buffalo cows were always preferred over bulls during the time period that interests us. The females had thinner, lighter skins, which were much better suited for tanning into robes, clothing, and lodge skins, and the fur of the cows was preferable. The meat of the cows was said to be more tender and flavorful than bull meat. Kootenay Brown, who hunted with the Metis people of the Canadian plains, said a six-year-old bull was almost totally useless. They could make exceptionally tough stirrup leathers from the hide of one of those animals, but that was about it.

The bulls were said to outnumber the cows, both overall and in mixed herds. A large number of cows was necessary for regeneration of the herds. Theoretically, one bull could "service" a number of cows, but each cow could produce a calf only once every year or two. By all accounts, buffalo populations started to decline by the 1840's, or possibly earlier. The buffalo robe trade, which involved buffalo cow hides tanned by the Indian women, was well under way in the 1830's and in fact, Bent's Fort was built to be a center for the robe trade. Indians were killing more cows for robes, and emigrants, military and exploratory expeditions, and travelers were killing more cows for meat and "sport." By that time, eastern Indians had been "removed" to the west, and were actively participating in the robe trade and subsistence hunting, in direct competition with the indigenous tribes. So, buffalo cows were being killed at an unsustainable rate even then. Remarkably enough, mountain men and experienced plainsmen apparently disapproved of wholesale killing of the cows. Osborne Russell described one of his companions studying a herd for several hours, trying to pick out a cow "poor enough" to kill for their small party to eat, and Francis Parkman said his guide, Henri Chatillon, frowned on the killing of cows unnecessarily.

I was looking at guided buffalo hunts a few years ago, but determined they were logistically and financially out of my reach. I do recall that "cow hunts," while limited, were generally cheaper than bull hunts. Again, cows are necessary for breeding and regeneration of the herds, and I think buffalo ranchers are pretty careful in selecting "dry," barren, or surplus cows for these hunts.

It is good to see so many of our forum members do hunt buffalo, though. That demand helps make buffalo production profitable, and selective hunting and culling helps keep the herds viable and healthy.

Notchy Bob

 

[OldMaineWoodsman]

As a retired Museum Curator, I always enjoy Notchy Bob's historical and informative posts.

 

[hrt4me]

my own ranch in northeast Texas lies 3 miles from a nearby buffalo ranch where I can purchase meat; the owner would probably let me shoot one when the time comes for next slaughter...

 

[French Colonial]

Always read about the pioneers living in dugouts in the west, this is what they look like

 

[Kansas Jake]

My great grandparents lived in a dugout for a year or two until they had enough to build a house. This was in Nebraska.

 

[Jim Wag]

As a retired Museum Curator, I always enjoy Notchy Bob's historical and informative posts.

I've said it
Before,
Notchy Bob
Is
The man

Jim in La Luz

 

[Jim Wag]

Always read about the pioneers living in dugouts in the west, this is what they look likeView attachment 82368

View attachment 82365View attachment 82366View attachment 82367

My grandpa lived in a
Dugout
On the
Arkansas River
The first five years of his
Life
Rocky Ford, Colorado

Jim in La Luz

 

[LME]

Has anyone here hunted Bison? In an earlier post I mentioned getting shutout for Moose permit drawings in both Maine and New Hampshire. It's been a number of years now and I know you can't get drawn if you don't apply but it is getting frustrating.

My dream hunt experience was always Big Horn Sheep. At 61, I'm not sure I could do it now, and the cost is enough to give you heart failure. With that said, I was considering a Bison hunt for maybe 2022. What I don't want is to shoot one in an enclosed, ranch environment. I don't want to go through the lottery hassle either, as I'm already doing that. A couple of the outfitters that I have communicated with tell me that there are no "free range Bison" except in protected areas.

Was wondering what experiences some of you may have had. Thanks in advance for any input/guidance.

Check out Merrits ranch! It is about half way between Sabinal Texas and Utopia! I think this is what you are looking for? He also has exotic animals. It isn't to my taste but to each his own!

 

[longcruise]

The reason Wisconsin is called "The Badger State" is not a reference to the animal but rather to early settlers who lived in dugouts.

 

[Musketeer]

There are actually some free-range bison hunts up near the Grand Canyon, but there are a very small number of animals and a lottery system to hunt them, so you may be 81 before you get picked.

edit: to give an example: 45000 people around the country have applied for next year and there are only 12 slots available. Way better odds than the lottery but still a long shot.