Lessons learned from a Bison hunt

[snowhunter]

New hunting experience of bagging a Bison thought me that the Bison is a very tough animal that can absorb many magnum shots, if vitals like heart and both lung are not taken out by the first shot.

Therefore, when hunting Bison, pre prepared to shoot many shots from any suitable hunting rifle.

Over five shot in the front quarter from a 300 Winchester magnum, using Barnes Triple Shock did not kill the Bison outright, but eventually the Bison bled out and expired from the wounds.

My butcher told me that due to the extremely high prices of Bison meat, my Bison meat was worth about $ 3000.-. My butcher also told me that the Bison loins are worth $ 300.- each. !

[ElectricDyck]

Big animals for sure! Yeah, interesting about the prices, I tell my wife that we could not afford to buy organic meat let alone venison or elk. Mostly just to justify hunting trips...:wink:

[fishkiller]

you should learn how to shoot never put your bullet in the front end of any animal engin room and you only need 1 then let it fall over give it time it will fall

[bigneily]

Why some people shoot an eatin animal in the fronts is beyond me?

[ElectricDyck]

It's too bad it couldn't have been shot from a keyboard while browsing HBC where everything is perfect.:mrgreen:

[BRvalley]

I was invited on a bison trip this fall but had to decline due to work schedule...when I was looking into, I learned the vitals are slightly different than a moose or elk...a perfect shot on an elk would be gut shot on a bison....on a broadside shot the placement should be much farther forward

you got the job done either way, congrats on some good eats

this is a good thread to read

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?87113-30-06-for-Bison/page2

[RiverOtter]

you should learn how to shoot never put your bullet in the front end of any animal engin room and you only need 1 then let it fall over give it time it will fall

Which end do you recommend...???

[The Dude]

Sorry, what's this thread about? Shot placement, bullet construction, Magnums, or the price of meat? Simply curious here.

[RiverOtter]

New hunting experience of bagging a Bison thought me that the Bison is a very tough animal that can absorb many magnum shots, if vitals like heart and both lung are not taken out by the first shot.

Therefore, when hunting Bison, pre prepared to shoot many shots from any suitable hunting rifle.

Over five shot in the front quarter from a 300 Winchester magnum, using Barnes Triple Shock did not kill the Bison outright, but eventually the Bison bled out and expired from the wounds.

My butcher told me that due to the extremely high prices of Bison meat, my Bison meat was worth about $ 3000.-. My butcher also told me that the Bison loins are worth $ 300.- each. !

Congrats on your bison Snowhunter, should be some awsome eats...

You couldn't have chosen a better bullet for your hunt either, and if in doubt, shoot till they fall. Heck of a lot better than assuming they're dead, letting them build adrenaline, then tracking them all over hells half acre.

Never a bad idea with a TSX, to follow the front leg up to the body, find the shoulder knuckle, then poke a hole in it and knock the front wheel(s) off. Take away mobility, and you got plenty of time to evaluate whether or not you need a second.

[RiverOtter]

Sorry, what's this thread about? Shot placement, bullet construction, Magnums, or the price of meat? Simply curious here.

I believe "E", all of the above, would be the best answer........:-D

[steel_ram]

Is it about learning to put more rounds out, or making the first one count?

[boxhitch]

Its not about a bison hunt or there would be a story and pictures.

[91Jason91]

Or instead of telling people make sure you shot the thing lots of times you could just say only take 1 shot and make that shot count................................

[lorneparker1]

^^^^ Havent heard of to many bang flop Bison

[snowhunter]

Just got back from my Northern British Columbia "Hunt of a Life Time" of wild Bison, which I could only hunt with the permission of a lottery draw, which took me about 25 years finally to win.

I was truly a great experience, including the 1404 kilometers drive, each way, which took two day to reach, but drove home again with Bison, in one 17 hours stretch, taking turns to drive and sleep with one of my hunting partners, whom I have thought to hunt. We were home 5 o'clock in morning from this marathon drive. The winter weather in Northern and central British Columbia was closing in on us, which made us decide on this non-stop long distance drive. We only stopped for gas and fast food.

My other hunting partner drove his own truck.

The Bison was by far the most difficult game animal I have ever put down. It took almost two full clip, five shots, from my 300 Winchester Magnum rifle, as well as couple of shots from my hunting partners rifles, before this critters put up a final and dramatic performance, bled out and expired, after all the shots had gone into the vital heart and lung area, but just missed the heart by inches. These animals have huge stomachs as well, and I am glad we did not accidently give it a gut shot, which surely have been a big stinking mess !

The meat is now at my local butcher, who also told me that my Bison meat was worth about $ 3000.- on the commercial marked ! The tender loins are worth $ 300.- a piece !

We had to hike and get to the Bison herd, and myself and my hunting partners had to hike through the forest, and never expose yourself in the open, and finally I spotted couple Bison herds from inside the timber line. We, from inside the timberline, encountered about 100 wild Bison's that day out in the open, and it was, as an hunter, a special and rare experience to be among these majestic animals, as well as to be able to stalk and hunt these Bison's for food. The Canadian wilderness is one of the worlds big restaurants, in which everybody eats anybody :)

From inside the timberline, I watched a herd of about 30 Bison's grassing and coming closer to me, and because I wanted a "good shot", I also wanted the Bison's to get very close to me, before squeezing the trigger. However, at about 150 meters distance, the Bison's either got the wind of me or my one of my hunting partner made some noise, and the Bison's quickly moved further out, and fearing that I would lose the opportunity to bag, fill and cancel my extremely rare wild Bison tag, I simple and quickly rested my rifle on a branch, put my rifle's scope cross hair at a large enough Bison's lower front quarter, out about 250 meters, and squeezed the trigger. The Bison gave a jump and a shake when the lead free, "Barnes Triple Shock" bullet hit it about an inch from the heart, a good shot and hit by any hunters standard, but unlike so many other large British Columbia game animals, moose, elk and deer, I have hunted, shot and put in the freezer to feed my family, the Bison was clearly a different and much tougher critter, who was able to absorb a large amount of bullets, each leaving the gun barrel at 3 times the speed of sound, generating 3800 foot pounds energy (almost two tons) at the muzzle.

After being shot once, this Bison, as the last animal, went together with the herd, up and on top of an embankment and stopped, which gave me another opportunity to shoot it again, several times, in the lower front quarter, without dropping it, and then sensing and watching the anchoring effects from the many bullets this Bison had absorbed, which slowed the Bison down considerably, me and my hunting partner, while ready to fire, then separately walked slowly to about 100 meters from this Bison and watched the final and dramatic act this Bison, which included snorting, tail going up as an upside down "L" and aggressively scraping the ground with its front leg.
The mortally wounded Bison then slowly started to walk towards the herd, which had stopped 500 meters away in order to feed again on the grass under the snow. I shouted to my hunting partners not to shoot the Bison again, and let it "bleed out" instead from the many open wounds the bullet had caused, and several of bullet had exited on the other side of the Bison, creating large wound channels, that painted and colored the snow red. Eventually, the Bison dropped to the ground, rolled over with all its leg in the air, then rolled back on its legs, and expired.

With finger on the trigger, I then walked slowly towards the downed Bison, and touched one of the Bison's open eye's with the tip of my gun barrel, and when the Bison did not blink when I touched its eye, I knew for sure it had expired, and did not need another shot behind the ear.


This is a better description of the hunt. Have to find out how to post pictures.

[bigneily]

Looking forward to the pics.

[laredo318]

Looking forward to the pics.
X2
Congrats on the buffalo!!!!

[bisonhunter]

Congrats Snow, that is a heck of an accomplishment. You'll hear from the ill informed about how lousy a shot you are and how they could kill it with one shot guaranteed from their gun of choice. You experienced what I have, the wrong one on the wrong day shot in the heart with a freight train at 9000 feet per second won't drop him.

I'll get lit up for saying this, but you and I know it's true. The wild ones are tougher than anything that has ever seen a fence, and when you get the toughest one of the bunch, you're in for a ride.

My hat is off to you.

[Caveman]

As many on here, I too have hunted Bison. They are very tough. I hunted with the bare minimum for rifles. A 30.06 with 180 grain Barnes MRX. I placed two shots side by side low, just behind the front leg as your package would have described. I could see the blood pouring out, but it seemingly was having little effect. I then put a third through the neck and he dropped dead in his tracks. Maybe it is the way you first wrote about the shot placement, but after seeing their strength, I would never try to put a round through the shoulder. The bones are thick as hell and will take a beating. Congrats on you Bison and I look forward to the pictures

[300H&H]

It's too bad it couldn't have been shot from a keyboard while browsing HBC where everything is perfect.:mrgreen:

Oh...Good BURN !!!

He got you guys with that retort. :-)

[Caveman]

It's too bad it couldn't have been shot from a keyboard while browsing HBC where everything is perfect.:mrgreen:


Oh...Good BURN !!!

He got you guys with that retort. :-)

Maybe it can, There must be a game on line somewhere!

[One Shot]

We may have heard your shots the other day if you were there in zone a this past week. Every one in the area was curious as to the large number of shots. If it was a predator or a wounded bison on the run. Practice makes perfect as well as knowing the kill zone of your target animals.

[snowhunter]

My shots were last monday, November 5, around 10 am. Fired another shot about half hour later, over another two Bison's that came out of the timberline and towards my kill. Scared them off.

Sent two other ATV Bison hunters in the same general area next day, on foot, showed them my copies of my downloaded and color enlarged (Staples) satellite maps of that area that clearly showed openings that would be good for grassing, explained them never to expose themselves in the open and stalk through the timber. I advised these two two Bison hunters to hunt together, since Bison's are in herds, they went in alone, but were in walkie talkie contact with their helpers, and around noon time they shot a combined series of fast shots, I believe it was eight, and there was lots of excitements around the walkie talkies when we learned that had found a herd at one of the clearings, at the counts of 3, both fired at the same time at the Bison's.

These two Bison hunters told me later that they waited for about 20 minutes after their many combined shots, before pursuing their presumed and downed prey, which had walked out of view, inside the timberline after being shot. Only one was found, and I did hear a single shot later, which I guess was the killing shot. Then a group from both those two different Bison hunting parties went in with a couple of ATV sleds, and recovered and brought back the one downed Bison, all on foot. I tell you, it was hard work, lots of sweat, but the Bison was back at camp before dark.

It was a very proud fathers son, who shots this recovered Bison. The father had four years earlier received his LEH Bison, but was skunked, but this time, his son shot one the first day of his Bison hunt.

The other unlucky Bison hunter went in again the next day, in order to follow the blood trail in the snow, and search for his wounded or dead Bison. I went home before he returned, and have no idea if he found his shot Bison.

[Iltasyuko]

Congratulation's on your bison's hunt - look forward to the picture's.

[SHAKER]

I had the pleasure of capeing out 2 of them buggers this year... each of them took 3 rounds from a 300 short mag and not 1 exit hole! amazingly entry holes were even difficult to find. These critters are BIG, THICK skinned and TOUGH! I've never gone threw capeing blades like that on anything before! Good job on the Buff!

[One Shot]

Well we were lucky as well. We stalked a small group on foot in a large open area. I selected the closest bison as they were walking away from us as we approached. Our bison went down with one shot with a 400 grain lead pill from a 1874 45-90 iron sighted Sharps at 268 yards. The bullet passed straight thru with little or no blood shot. It was great to take a Tatonka with a traditional buffalo gun. Not to high jack this thread I will post later.

[325]

Congratulations!

[fearnodeer]

Congrats, they are one tough animal got lucky on one last year 250gn 338 1 shot.