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Linefinder
ModeratorPosts: 7,176 Senior Member
"Buffalo" (bison) hunting out West.
Linefinder
ModeratorPosts: 7,176 Senior Member
GunNuts' post about buff hunting here out west got me to thinking....I've done it twice so I do know a little about it, and thought I'd share what I know prior to any of you dumping big $$ coming out here to do this.
#1 - It 'aint hunting. Imagine shooting your grandfathers milk cow while in the company of strangers paying to do the same. And most of them are really bad shots and select (or don't) bullets of improper construction for the task at hand. I witnessed one young lady pester one to death with ~15 shots from a .223Rem. It was like watching something die from "A Death of a Thousand Cuts" that didn't deserve it. I witnessed enough poor choices/shooting that day that the memory is quite depressing. You won't get "charged" by a bison.
#2 - It 'aint cheap meat. If your plan is menu-driven, the best meat is from a 600 lb cow. That cow is going to cost you at least $1K just to shoot it. It will get gutted by the guide, but the rest is up to you. Local processing fees for a "skin on" buffalo is around $400. You're now in for ~$1400.
#3 - The "yield" on a buffalo 'aint great. By the time the head, hide, large bones and other inedibles
have left the equation, the final edible yield is about 25%, or about 125 lbs from a 600 lb animal, and most of it won't be steaks and roasts. (Think a lot of burger). You are now at over $11 per lb. If you actually have to transport it over a long distance....I don't even want to think about the costs involved.
#4 - You can tire of it really quick. Bison is pretty interesting the first couple times you have it, enough to possibly make you want to bag one yourself. But trust me, after eating 2 in 2 years.....beef is where it's at.
Mike
#1 - It 'aint hunting. Imagine shooting your grandfathers milk cow while in the company of strangers paying to do the same. And most of them are really bad shots and select (or don't) bullets of improper construction for the task at hand. I witnessed one young lady pester one to death with ~15 shots from a .223Rem. It was like watching something die from "A Death of a Thousand Cuts" that didn't deserve it. I witnessed enough poor choices/shooting that day that the memory is quite depressing. You won't get "charged" by a bison.
#2 - It 'aint cheap meat. If your plan is menu-driven, the best meat is from a 600 lb cow. That cow is going to cost you at least $1K just to shoot it. It will get gutted by the guide, but the rest is up to you. Local processing fees for a "skin on" buffalo is around $400. You're now in for ~$1400.
#3 - The "yield" on a buffalo 'aint great. By the time the head, hide, large bones and other inedibles
have left the equation, the final edible yield is about 25%, or about 125 lbs from a 600 lb animal, and most of it won't be steaks and roasts. (Think a lot of burger). You are now at over $11 per lb. If you actually have to transport it over a long distance....I don't even want to think about the costs involved.
#4 - You can tire of it really quick. Bison is pretty interesting the first couple times you have it, enough to possibly make you want to bag one yourself. But trust me, after eating 2 in 2 years.....beef is where it's at.
Mike
"Walking away seems to be a lost art form."
N454casull
N454casull
Replies
My experience was a decade ago, in Colorado, but I doubt much has changed. The current economics are likely much worse.
I expected to shoot a bison. I got what I paid for....
Mike
N454casull
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
Paul
Mike is spot on about selecting the right critter to eat....a younger cow or bull in the 600 - 800 pound range is about right....those magnificent old herd bulls? They are a nightmare to manage once they are on the ground....the wet hide is about 300 pounds...and the meat is tough as a boot. This is why even the native americans focused their hunts on younger animals.
Bison is extremely lean and really needs some help in the fat department...when I was working with bison burger, I would normally mix it with ground pork at a ratio of 1 pound of pig to 3 pounds of bison... For roasts I would tie a pork roast of nearly equal size with the bison roast and put them in the slow cooker...
Every now and then on the refuge, we would have to put an animal down because of injury...
The rifle of choice? A head shot out the feed truck window with an AR15 at about 20 feet...
There are lots of cartridges that will put a bison down humanely...the trick is understanding bison anatomy...the vital area isn't the same as a deer...I shot a young bull with my .45-70 using a 535 grain Postell over 68 grains of FFG at about 50 yards...complete shoot through..and the critter was down before I could reload.
The second on I shot, though, my butcher asked if I didn't want the hide could he have it. Said it was the nicest hide he'd seen in years. I gave it to him, but it didn't get me a discount on the butchering as it turned out.
Mike
N454casull
Mike
N454casull
The herd was a bit more wary than the year before. We couldn't get closer than ~125 yards. The "guide" assigned us the 2 designated targets and in less than 10 seconds 2 were dead on the ground with a total expenditure of 3 rounds. The guide had me shoot mine a second time while it was laying on the ground because I'd "hit it too high". I didn't think so, but fired another round just to not be argumentative.
Upon field dressing mine, the guide said, "Sorry....didn't need that second shot. I guess my viewing angle was bad". The 2 shots were an inch apart....right where they needed to be.
The Texan (can't remember his name) invited me down to his place to help him cull some hogs that were tearing the place up. My work schedule wouldn't allow me to do that, and I've always regretted that.
So, the second time out was much better than the first. But, still.....it wasn't a hunt by any stretch.
Mike
N454casull
Also funny that an animal that was shot in the 1870's as a money maker for the trigger man is now something the trigger man pays through the nose for.
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
ETA: Say what you will about the ease of buffalo hunting, it is no different than baiting deer and sitting in a tree stand.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
Mike
N454casull
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
Mike
N454casull
1) "Very cold climes" where browse is sparse during deep winter. Any food source will likely encourage deer to drop their guard somewhat and possibly make for "easy hunting".
2) "Fenced areas of Texas"...somewhat confusing. Fenced areas in Texas can be quite large, and cost a small fortune to erect and maintain. Anyone with the financial wherewithal to do this isn't likely trying to keep "his" deer in, as much as it is to keep "yours" out. I've hunted these places a few times in my life, and success is somewhat of a mixed bag. Somedays, when the feeder goes off, deer pour in from every direction like clockwork. You choose your target, bop it, then dress it over a cold beer. Other days, maybe a couple weeks on end...nothing at all.....the most exciting thing is making friends with the flying squirrel who has decided your stand is his new home. While success odds are good....they're far from guaranteed.
3) "Southern jungles"...Louisiana, southern Mississippi, etc....Feeders, bait piles, food plots, etc. make hardly any difference at all. Deer can browse honeysuckle, dried blackberries, and fallen acorns all hunting season long. Corn or rice flour aren't very attractive to them compared to their natural browse. In many years of hunting deer in this environment, I shot exactly one within 10 yards of a corn feeder.....and it had already walked past it without a second glance. About the only advantage you can gain in this situation is to clear shooting lanes and be on your toes. OTOH, "Camp work days" gets you away from the house in the middle of summer.
Mike
N454casull
Otherwise the medical bill will make the hunt fees look like chump change.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
"The Un-Tactical"
I think I paid about $800 for the 2 1/2 year old cow I shot in southern Colorado. That was probably 12 or so years ago. As I have stated earlier, I thought I would be getting cheap meat, which is the only reason I did it. By the time it was all said and done, though, the meat cost at least $10/lb., and we got tired of eating it before we finished it all.
There should be plenty of places in Texas that will sell you a Barbary sheep or Aoudad hunt. I'd be surprised if Zee doesn't know of a few.
Good luck with whatever you do.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
"The Un-Tactical"
"The Un-Tactical"