Big Bull Bison Hammered Down

[SingleShot]

So after picking up my hunting gear again after a several year hiatus I decided there was some catching up to do. For that reason I submitted 5 LEH's including one for Bison in 7-42B running Oct1-15. To my amazement I drew the tag!

I did as much research as I could and asked a lot of questions of a lot of people. Thanks to all that responded.

Drove to Mile 171 and travelled 60 km into some of the most beautiful country I have experienced. It was like stepping back in time in some ways as much of the area is quite pristine.

Got into the desired area mid afternoon and just took a break from the travelling. Later that afternoon a bison appeared on a ridge about 1 km away. He was easy to spot as his rich brown coat stood out against the pale golden grass which he was feeding on. Daylight was now short and we watched him for a while. He slowly grazed out of sight but appeared to be moving in our direction.

He appeared again, only this time he was one ridge closer. We had the spot on him and he looked impressive to say the least. This went on for three ridges, getting closer and closer as daylight started to fade. My partner looked at his watch, looked at me and said " You want to go after him"? "That's what we're here for, lets go!" I replied. We quickly grabbed our rifles, cartridges and decided we would try to get up on the final ridge between us and the beast and intercept him as he was definitely on the move and appeared to be headed towards the river. We had 30 minutes of usable light.


Around and up we went, moving as quickly as we could without making a lot of noise. All my summer hiking really paid off as I could navigate the hills and terrain with long easy strides. We got up the ridge in about 15 minutes and stopped to catch our breath. Everything was quiet and no movement any where. Did he pass by us already? Was he still moving in our direction? no way to know.

We decided that at his pace he probably got by us and we had about 10 minutes to move into the trees and see if we could pick him up. Off we went, moving quickly trying to catch up ground. The light was dropping fast now and we had no clue where he was. Finally we had to turn around and head back. "Tomorrow morning" we said, "Tomorrow morning".

I

[jjsachmoe]

more more!! Sounds good so far!:-D

[tomahawk]

Ok now thats enough turkey, back to the action!

[Crimson Viking]

Hey that's no fair, leave us hanging like that.

[SingleShot]

Next morning we headed down towards the river as we could see some meadows and suspected the bull which was all alone the previous night was pointed in that direction. Sure enough....first meadow we check and there's a bison. He was standing about 15 yards off the brush line and more or less broadside to us. We put two sets of binoculars on him, one with range finder, and find him to be 196 yards off. Definitely a bull but not positive if it's the same one from the night before. No wind to speak of but he has seen us. I took a good rest and drew a bead on him... forward and low... just behind the front leg.

As I prepared to fire I remember a lot of things went through my mind. How long I had waited, how far I had come and how I had to make this count. Just too much hope and thoughts invested to make a mistake now. I focused on hearing that boom whack and pictured it in my mind.

Boom...........................whack!

Great relief to hear that sound. I knew I made a good shot and I knew the 300 WM would not disappoint.

The bison simply stood there and gave a small quiver. I watched not sure if he would fold or bolt. He took a few steps, quartered away from us and just stood there. It seemed like about 5 minutes but was probably only 3 that he stood frozen in his tracks. I had the rifle on him not sure what to expect next and did not have a good second shot at this point. Then he began walking towards the nearby brush, looking for the most part un-phased. Holy crap I thought, tough creature. He got about 5 yards and lay down and I mean lay down... he didn't fall. He still presented no shot so two of us crept up to within 50 yards or so and tried to get a good angle on him. No shot here either.

He was basically bedded down and motionless. Ok we thought, lets get in front of him and see if we have a shot from there. We circled back and wide and then came towards him from the front. We are now within 30 yards of this bison and don't really know how bad he's hurt. It's been about 10 minutes since I shot him and I have two thoughts: he's going to fold as he lays but it's slow and not desirable. I got a good stance, got ready and my partner gave a short bull moose grunt. Immediately the bison's head began to roll from side to side and up he stood. Bison and moose do not get along well.


I put a second shot in him and down he went for good. Still had to approach him cautiously as he didn't exactly have 4 feet off the ground.


It was about 4 degrees out so we went to work quickly; caped the head and front shoulders and then gutless. It's surprising how their size diminishes once the hide is off.


All in all it was a great experience although almost anti-climactic after all the planning. I saw some great country, learned the ropes a bit up there and came home with what I went for. Can't ask for much more than that.

pictures in next post.

[jjsachmoe]

excellent!!! Pics? Congrats as well!!!

[Hammerhead]

Congrats and looking forward to some pictures. I agree that the size diminishes when the hide comes off. When you see them broadside they look like such a huge animal with being so deep down thru the chest. Lacks that barrel chest of a moose for sure and of course the hinds are surely smaller. It sure is a fun hunt though.
..........waiting for pics"............
HH

[SingleShot]

I shoot a gun better than a camera but here it goes; as it layhttp://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk300/logonphoto/DSCF3380.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/logonphoto/media/DSCF3380.jpg.html)

[SingleShot]

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk300/logonphoto/DSCF3386.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/logonphoto/media/DSCF3386.jpg.html)

[SingleShot]

caped;http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk300/logonphoto/DSCF3392.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/logonphoto/media/DSCF3392.jpg.html)

[SingleShot]

Gutless:http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk300/logonphoto/DSCF3396.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/logonphoto/media/DSCF3396.jpg.html)

[Bear Chaser]

Nice. Congratulations.

[monasheemountainman]

Awesome bull. Crazy how little meat you get from such a huge animal eh?!

[SingleShot]

skull and horns:http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk300/logonphoto/IMG_1970.jpg (http://s283.photobucket.com/user/logonphoto/media/IMG_1970.jpg.html)

[scottwh]

Great story and great buffalo :) Congrats to you!

[GOLDEN TOP SNIPER]

Perfect .. i will consider putting in for that area .

[tomahawk]

Great story and pictures to go along with a nice bull bison. First hunt of thr season is much different then the later ones, they are pushed and not just hangin around like that guy was.

[coach]

Congratulations on a vey successful hunt. Great job recounting the story. Awesome pics. Thanks for taking us along.

[Caribou_lou]

Great bull! I always appreciate when Hunters take time to get some great photos after the kill.

[Darksith]

awesome, thanks for sharing, was starting to think that bison were a myth even though we are going on a hunt in january

[treehugger]

Awesome job man! Really a privilege to read your story and see the photos... thanks a lot

[hunter1947]

Thats a dandy bull bison you got your story was a nice reed as for the pictures ,,congrats to you and your hunting partners getting this bison..

[kennyj]

Great story, great bull! Thanks for sharing your adventure.
kenny

[ydouask]

Thank you for the write-up and pictures, well done. :-D

[bisonhunter]

That is one nice bull. Those young ones make for the best eating anywhere. Congrats!

[srupp]

WOW !Absolutley awesome...great read....congradulations...

cheers

Steven

[Blainer]

Great looking Bull!!

[dana]

Nice!!!!!!!!

[Kilwinning]

Way to get her done
Congratulations

[Mugger]

Thanks for posting, great way to start boxing day with a coffee and a great story and picts, great job you guys.

[REMINGTON JIM]

Awesome Bull there - i hope to get a LEH one day and get me a BIG BULL too ! Congrats and thks for the pics and storey ! :-D RJ

[stinkyduck]

Thats a nice bull, beautiful country! i guess we can call you two shot now!!!! lol

[yama49]

Nice bull, congrats.. My buddy had the same draw 5 years ago, got his buffalo in same spot as yours..

[butthead]

nice job there
wish i could of been there

[HarryToolips]

Wicked hunk of animal there congrats!

[RustyRipper]

You make it sound so easy! I know first hand that a bison hunt is not always so but you got er done. Nice bull congrats. And thanks for waiting so long to share. Gives us something to read in the off season!

[trigger]

Awesome bull. Very nice hide on him. Congrats.

[deer nut]

What a bull & great story. Congrats!

[Rattler]

Nice bull, congrats. So where did your first shot hit him?

[SingleShot]

Both shots were right in the heart/lung area. I took the heart with me and the lower third of it was gone. I suspect that was the first shot due to the bison's behaviour. I think the first shot would have been enough although you just don't know if they might get up and bolt. Didn't go deep into the entrails to determine damage from other shot. Found both bullets laying against the hide on the side opposite entry.

[huntinnut]

Very Nice!

[benttip]

awesome..if ya dont mind what bullet were ya shooting out of your mag...thanks for sharing

[outdoorsk]

Nicely done. Thanks for sharing the story and pic's.

[Lastcar]

That's pretty cool. What an adventure! Cool story and great ending!

[Mik]

Congrats on the bull, thanks for sharing....hoping to get one....next week :)