What was your most satisfying BP harvest?

[The Baron]

I find every BP harvest is much more satisfying than my "modern" gun kills, but I think my greatest satisfaction came from my first flintlock kill. I'm not a deer hunter, but I do love hunting turkeys. I had 4 percussion gobblers under my belt when I decided that I was hooked on doing it with BP and invested in a nice flintlock smoothie(my first flinter). I shot a nice tom my first morning out with it and it was an incredibly exciting and addicting event. I've shot several more since and it seems everyone becomes my favorite, although I can still picture shooting that first flintlock gobbler and remember my great feeling of accomplishment.

We all love pics, so here's a few flintlock gobblers to stare at (notice the same lucky hat... I store it in a locked, velvet lined box in the off-season... LOL).

1st flintlock gobbler - April 25th 2006 (I don't even need to look up the date!)

1st of 2010

1st of 2007

2nd of 2007

 

[John Wasmuth]

Nice bird and great job. That second photo looks like a Mossy Oak Advertisment. :thumbsup:

 

[Trench]

Yes, sir, you certainly look satisfied. :grin:

 

[Hoyt]

With my .58cal rifle it would be this public land (Shawnee National Forest) Illinois buck

With my .62cal smoothbore it would be this public land (Greenswamp WMA) Osceola gobbler.

 

[The Baron]

A flintlock Osceola is definitely on my bucket list. Nice job Hoyt. :thumbsup:

 

[hoochiepapa]

I used to have a lucky hat, and....I'm married, what can I say?
Great jobs!

 

[nchawkeye]

Baron, what gauge fowler do you use for turkeys and did you have it choked??? Thanks...

 

[The Baron]

Baron, what gauge fowler do you use for turkeys and did you have it choked??? Thanks...

My gun is a Caywood Type "C" in .62. It has no choke, and an effective range of about 25 yards max.

 

[joed1223]

My most satisfying were my first two harvests which occurred about a week apart last week.The doe was a 40 yard broadside, and the fox was stalked from about 150 yards to 48 yards and fell stone cold to a Maxi in the head. I love flinting here in PA's late season! :grin:

 

[S.Kenton]

I have hunted quite a bit with my 45 and my 50...I think my most satisfying with either had to have been when I shot a nice 10 pt buck on the run at about 60 yrds with my T/C 50 cal Hawkens. It was like 10 degrees out with 25 mph winds..COLD! I'm sure lady luck played her part in it.. :thumbsup:

 

[S.Kenton]

I'da not been wanting to be the one to quarter and load AND drag that BEAST out..lol
How much did that weigh? :thumbsup:

 

[gmww]

It was about 1200 lbs. The nice thing about hunting on the prairie is you can drive right up. The rancher brought out his backhoe and it was cleaned, skinned and loaded hanging from the backhoe bucked.

 

[S.Kenton]

Thats AWSOME! How far of a shot was it? Make a nice rug or robe..and a nice head on the wall. I ain't never ate the meat..whats it like?

 

[caddo]

The pic of that buck is screen saver quality Hoyt :hatsoff:

 

[gmww]

The shot was about 60 yards give or take 5. I already have a buffalo rug and mount. I'm having this also made into a rug and I'm having the skull bleached. I'll post a photo of the previous buffalo mount.

The issue with mounting a buffalo head it they are huge. So you need a large space. I'm speaking wide and tall. I chose to head mount it vs shoulder mount it. The reason was a wanted a full sized rug and save on wall space. The skull looks great against a contrasting wall.

As for the meat. I would encourage anyone to harvest them 2 years and younger. The reason being is the older they get the tougher. The taste is outstanding. The only meat I can say I like better is Moose meat.

If you want a trophy the by all means go for an older mature one.

As far as nutritional facts its on par with chicken!
http://www.bisonbasics.com/nutrition/nutrition_comparison2.html

Also, by the time everything was said and done with cost, I was looking at about $3.75 a lbs. Try and price buffalo in the store and see if you can beat that!

I would also add that harvesting a buffalo isn't what I would call hunting. They are herd animals and are not too afraid of hunters unless they have been hunted hard. I like to tell folks it was more of a harvest than a hunt.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I would also add that harvesting a buffalo isn't what I would call hunting. They are herd animals and are not too afraid of hunters unless they have been hunted hard. I like to tell folks it was more of a harvest than a hunt.

Good comment. I have known guys who thought they were going to get the whole "Dances with Wolves" experience of running the herd and shooting a buffalo off horseback. Instead they were taken into a large pasture, told which animal to shoot, and got a standing shot at 50 yards or less.

They were very disappointed, simply because their expectations were too high.

Can you imagine the insurance cost( if you could even buy it) to protect the land owner from the suits filed if someone on horseback was injured in a true "chase"???

Someone here wrote a while back that they knew of one place where such buffalo chases did occur. As an attorney, I would love to see the paperwork that the "hunters" have to sign for the landowner before getting in the saddle. And what kind of instruction/training would the "guide" have to give the hunters on how to shoot from the horse, without spooking the horse to buck them off? :hmm: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:

 

[John Wasmuth]

Yep, Buffalo is the best beef you'll ever eat. Older cows aint so tough but older bulls are, well, older bulls. Buffalo burger in the stores here is $4.98 a pound, sir loin is $8.95 for an 8 oz steak, so yep, really high dollar.
Raising them aint cheap by any means at all, they eat, they eat alot and during the harder winter months they seem to really eat alot! LOL. The meat makes it worth it.

 

[gmww]

I met a Flathead Native in Montana that was planning on spearing a buffalo from horseback. He said it was his dream. I met him in a taxidermist shop on my first buffalo hunt. I have to admire the fella for having a dream and the guts to do it but... I thought that was a train wreck about to happen. :youcrazy:

 

[hoochiepapa]

It might be an "easy" hunt, but the critters can be hard to kill, no? I wouldn't be disappointed, how many folks can say they killed a buffalo with a flintlock??
And any wild meat gets tougher as the critters age, you kill an old bull elk and you'll wonder why you didn't have it all made into burger or sausage.
I'm envious. :shake:

 

[luieb45]

I would also add that harvesting a buffalo isn't what I would call hunting. They are herd animals and are not too afraid of hunters unless they have been hunted hard. I like to tell folks it was more of a harvest than a hunt.

Good comment. I have known guys who thought they were going to get the whole "Dances with Wolves" experience of running the herd and shooting a buffalo off horseback. Instead they were taken into a large pasture, told which animal to shoot, and got a standing shot at 50 yards or less.

They were very disappointed, simply because their expectations were too high.

Can you imagine the insurance cost( if you could even buy it) to protect the land owner from the suits filed if someone on horseback was injured in a true "chase"???

Someone here wrote a while back that they knew of one place where such buffalo chases did occur. As an attorney, I would love to see the paperwork that the "hunters" have to sign for the landowner before getting in the saddle. And what kind of instruction/training would the "guide" have to give the hunters on how to shoot from the horse, without spooking the horse to buck them off? :hmm: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:

I don't think I'd ever try shooting a buffalo with a Henry Rifle in .44 rimfire :haha:.