ML buffalo hunting???

[Protrucker]

On the brain shot.... At an intersection of lines from the eye to the opposite horn..... on the "X"..... The animal was dead instantly. So, be very careful of a head shot.

I used to work for a rendering company, picking up animals to bring back to the plant. Occasionally, I would pick up from a bison farm, but I never had to dispatch a bison. I did, very often, have to dispatch cows & I always used that "X" for the target. It works very well, even with a small caliber. The gun & ammo that I had to use was only a rimfire .22 long rifle & CCI Mini Mag solid bullets.
The old advice that shot placement is far more critical than caliber or energy really is what you should keep in mind.

 

[Mulebrain]

[/quote]
The old advice that shot placement is far more critical than caliber or energy really is what you should keep in mind.[/quote]

From all my quick research, that is the conclusion! You can watch many youtube videos of apparently many bad placed shots. They have to just keep shooting and shooting :shake:

Patience and a well placed shot, should produce the desired result :thumbsup:

 

Here's an anatomy diagram. Note that the heart way low in the chest cavity and that the hump shot will ruin a lot of steaks and really piss it off.
[url] http://www.thbison.com/faq.shtml#aim[/url]

Sean

 

[Runner]

Years ago I used to drop my wife off and take my daughter to see the critters at Lone Elk Park because they did the feeding early in the morning. A quick stop at Hardies for Hash Rounds and OJ, and off to see the elk, deer, and bison. One morning an average sized bison stuck his head in the truck window. When he smelled the Hash Rounds, he got excited and started to breath in and out rapidly.
The dust from under the seats was sucked up into the air with each inhale and paper blew around when he exhaled. I actually believe he could have turned his head and crushed me right there in the seat using his neck muscles. Being me, I gave him a kiss on the cheek showing out for my daughter!
The point is this. Unless the lungs are damaged to the point that they collapse, a bullet hole thru them isn't going to quickly impress the bison. The amount of air being moved by those lungs is impressive! They are also a cold weather adapted critter. They can stand rump first in a blizzard chewing their cud. Such critters have a very slow metabolism, and the colder it is, the slower their metabolism gets. They don't bleed out as quickly as some would expect. Unless you turn off the lights, cut the wiring, or shut down the pump, they don't die quickly.
Heart or spine shot would seem to be the best options.

 

Runner,

A lung shot will kill them, but they might travel a long ways before they cash in. That can make things difficult in getting it to the truck with an animal as large as a bison. I've seen them soak up a lot of lead in the lungs. If you take a lung shot, and they walk or run off, they'll lay up and eventually bleed out.

Spine shots are always dicey on animals this big. Necks are tough to hit, because they are short and there's just so much darned hair. The spine is also way down in the back compared to what most people are used to on other critters. Plus, I guess I'm picky and don't want to put a bullet anywhere near the backstrap where so much of the goodies are.

Fun talking about this. Wish I were going, but I have a whitetail, and an elk in the freezer.

Sean

 

[Protrucker]

I just watched a hunting show on tv and a guy shot a 2,000# buffalo with a .30-30, dropping it in it's tracks. He said that he aimed 6" behind the horns. Someone on this forum recently stated that a .50 muzzleloader compared to the .30-30 ballistically.

 

[Herb]

Oops- I made a mistake. I know you find that hard to believe. Never-the-less... Those bison are not at Valentine NWR but Fort Niobrara NWR, both address Valentine, Nebraska. I've been to both many times.

We have an interesting bison situation here in Utah. Oh, the minimum muzzleloading requirements are .40 caliber lead or expanding bullet with 210 grain or heavier bullet for elk, moose, bison, sheep and goats. There are free ranging bison herds on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake and in the Henry Mountains. I don't know how many. Some friends have killed bison in the Henry Mts with centerfire rifles, and that is one tough hunt. One, Jim Zumbo, was on a hunt there when his partner stuck his truck in a draw and burned it up trying to get it out. They had to walk a long ways out.

In the Vernal Express, Nov.20, 2007, there was an article about bison. It seems the Ute tribe has a herd of about 600 in the Hill Creek part of the res., built up from 1985. Now, there in no fence around this. I don't know what they do with them, but there may be fee trophy hunts. 35 of them have "pioneered" into the Book Cliffs. DWR wants that herd to increase to about 450 animals. You know how the Yellowstone bison go where they want to. It seems to me there are going to be bison all over eastern Utah in a few years and over towards Grand Junction, CO if they want to go there.

Maybe I'd better build me a buffalo gun for depredation hunts. Think I'll make another .58, though .62 sounds good, too...

 

[Bon Sauvage]

A friend of mine took a buffalo on the Big Island of Hawaii with a 50 caliber caplock and patched roundball a number of years ago. His first shot was too low and broke one of its legs. The buffalo fell at the second shot.

My friend approached the animal and attempted to deliver the coup de grace with a Colt's 1860 Army revolver. Five shots later the buffalo expired. A little examination showed that all five bullets had flattened out against the wool on the buffalos head; not a single one penetrated. The animal had died from the effects of the second rifle shot.


Ogre

 

[Bon Sauvage]

Mountainman56 my own experiences in shooting two patched roundballs at one time have convinced me that it is a pretty much a load for use when, "The enemy is over the wall!"

It is a short range proposition in my opinion. The balls tend to flatten against each other upon firing and then start to spread apart when they leave the barrel. It is fun to experiment though.


Ogre

 

[scott fellows]

i have to agree with Runner. in the cold weather buffalo are hard to put down. i've shot 2 of them with my .62 with a prb and 60 gr of 3f goex. the 1st one took me two shots and the second one took 1 shot. he is right nabout their metabolism slowing way down. they don't bleed very well at all in cold weather. heart shots are best on them. our guide told us that the tip of the heart actually rests against the inside of the breastbone. if you are like me and used to shooting whitetails it's hard to make yourself aim that low, but thats what you'll have to do.
pieman