Bison Hunt

[Boz330]

Back in the spring I posted a thread looking for a place to hunt a Bison. I just got back from that hunt and my Godson and I both got a Bison with BPCRs, lead bullet, Black Powder and iron sights. Both rifles were 40-65 and neither animal went further than 25yds before piling up.
This was a canned hunt but we did have to stalk for awhile and then wait for a shot that wouldn't hit an unintended critter. Both shots were under 125yd which I had set for my max and both shots took out the heart.
My Godson was shooting a Shilo Sharps and I was shooting an 1874 Swedish Roller that was restocked and re-barreled to 40-65.
I tried to post a pic of my Buff but it wouldn't come through for some reason. The rifle picture and the freezer full of meat went through.

[brasshog]

Very nice man. I'm jealous. Any info on what happened to the boolit ?

[hc18flyer]

Excellent, I am jealous as well! Perfect rifle as well! I can likely only dream of such an experience? Nice going. hc18flyer

[Winger Ed.]

That's great.

The freezer reminds me of a interview with a lady that her & her husband lived off the grid up North, and he'd killed a moose.
"All winter: we had moose steaks, moose roast, moose pizza, moose spaghetti, moose chili, moose burgers,
sweet & sour moose, moose sausage, BBQ moose ribs, moose fried rice, moose stew, moose & beans,
moose sandwiches, and for snacks we had moose jerky".

[Boz330]

Very nice man. I'm jealous. Any info on what happened to the boolit ?

Both were complete pass through s. The boolit was a 20-1 lead tin at 405gr. The exit hole on my cow was pretty big.

"Excellent, I am jealous as well! Perfect rifle as well! I can likely only dream of such an experience? Nice going. hc18flyer"
It was a bucket list thing for me as well, but at 77 I probably won't get too many more chances so I bit the bullet so to speak.

Bob

[Boz330]

That's great.

The freezer reminds me of a interview with a lady that her & her husband lived off the grid up North, and he'd killed a moose.
"All winter: we had moose steaks, moose roast, moose pizza, moose spaghetti, moose chili, moose burgers,
sweet & sour moose, moose sausage, BBQ moose ribs, moose fried rice, moose stew, moose & beans,
moose sandwiches, and for snacks we had moose jerky".

LOL Since my wife passed a couple years back That will be my diet for the coming year although I can help some friends out and slip some chicken in there.

Bob

[LIMPINGJ]

Looks like the start of many good meals.

[Winger Ed.]

Thanks for sharing that.
It's a hunt that dreams are made of for sure.

The only thing I didn't like about hunting when I was still out there slaughtering helpless wildlife,
and doing all my own processing- When that critter hit the ground, the fun was sort of over.
At least until the next trip came along.......

[MarkP]

Where did you hunt?

[lar45]

Excellent job

[HWooldridge]

I’ve always felt the .40 caliber BP rifles are underrated. This is proof what they can do with a well placed shot.

[stubshaft]

Excellent eating right there.

[Abert Rim]

Boz, dude, you are living my dream. I have a Swede roller rebarreled and chambered to .44-77 that I have yet to fully finish and shoot, but would dearly love to take a meat bison. The prices even for yearling "harvest hunts" have gone through the roof since I first started looking at them a dozen or more years ago. Gets spendier when you factor in a new freezer, hair-on hide tanning and cleaning the skull.

[Pirate69]

Awesome!! What did the Bison weigh? How much meat dressed out? I have recently purchased a Springfield 1873 Trapdoor and have been working on a Whitetail Deer load. Your results give me confidence that a well-placed shot will do the job in my restricted range of 100-150 yards. Thanks for sharing your excellent hunt.

[Boz330]

We hunted at High Adventure Ranch in the Missouri Ozarks, some really beautiful country especially with the fall color change.
They didn't have a way to weigh the animals but estimated about 1000lbs with 350lbs of meat. The freezer in the picture is the size of a full size refrigerator, not sure of the cubic feet. The meat filled 3 good size coolers and while I could pick them up it was easier with 2 people. The contract called for 2 to 3 year old animals. Just the hide from my cow was all I wanted to pick up.

I bought that Freezer in 1983 USED. Not really sure when it was made. It was in a flood in 1989. I defrost it every 10 years, whether it needs it or not. Says a lot about how they made things back then. It might use more electricity than the new ones but you don't have to replace it every 3 to 5 years.

Bob

[Yellowhouse]

Remington way back when put the hurt on the 40-70 as a bit light for Buffalo. All they had to do was up the bullet weight from 330 to 370. Worked for the 40-90/

[TurnipEaterDown]

Just a general FYI guideline: I have found in the butchering of 2 bison and multiple steers that I get (as boned meat) 40% of live weight.
This is a general guideline that several butchers I have worked with agree to as being reasonable, and FWIW, works personally for me on WT Deer too.

Congrats on your hunt, I have enjoyed several times 'watching large animals fall down quickly' as well.

I think I remember that you had inquired earlier this year here for places to hunt bison.
Very glad you enjoyed what you booked, and were able to share the experience w/ your own family members.

BTW: Generally you can get photos to be small enough to post here by simply using the editing/cropping tool on your PC.

[Boz330]

The actual Buffalo.

[DougGuy]

The actual Buffalo.

I've never been that fortunate to hunt bison, moose, or elk. WTG!!

[groovy mike]

Congratulations! Next step find some good bison recipes!