Anyone ever successfully hunt a Bison? What caliber did you use?

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A bison hunt is on my bucket list. I'd love to hear from those that have successfully harvested one.

How did it go? Was it free range or one on a ranch? What caliber did you use? Were follow up shots required?

All told, how much meat did you walk away with?
 
never shot one but i ve been on few hunt free range ones ... calibers from 30-06 to 458 win mag.
the worst i ve ever met was with a 375hh and 260 grains accubond needed 6 shots.
better one with 9.3x62 and 285 oryx and 320 rn woodleigh each one shot, other success was with a 35 whelen and 250 grains corelockt.

never hunt alone too much work at least for me.
 
Nowadays probably more Bison are taken leaving Yellowstone than anywhere else, the rules there seem to be 30 cal rifle or 35 cal handgun with 150gr or heavier bullet.
 
we have open season with otc tags for resident and the mini caliber is cal .30 with 180 grains and 2800fps at the muzzle. it is 30-06 the mini but the 308 can reach it as well.
 
I have also wanted to hunt bison but haven't put in for the draws due to not having a good crew to go with.
My hunting partner has moved on to travelling and spending all his time duct taped to his girlfriend so I don't even call him about my hunts anymore.
I do know 2 guys that did a trip up near atlin years ago. If I remember correctly they had to drive to the yukon and then back down into the atlin area to access the bison.
They had a place to stay arranged so they went up there towing a suzuki samurai and that is what they hunted out of.
Rifles used were 338 win mag.... don't know what bullets. They shot thier animal in -25 to -30 temps , 3 shots I think it took.
It was so cold they had a real hard time with the field dressing and there was no way they were lifting quarters , they were too heavy. These are strong men too and it was tough for them.
They ended up doing somewhat of a field butchering , removing chunks of meat to a tarp inside the samurai. They got her as full as they could and headed for the place they were staying.
After a quick warm up and change of clothes they went out to remove the meat from the samurai and head back out to retrieve another load.
Well, that meat had frozen up enough that it was stuck in the samurai and they had a hell of a time unpacking it. The guy where they stayed went out and retrieved the rest with a front end loader LOL
I always remember that story well because I've always wanted to hunt... and eat .... a bison but I know that I'm not set up to handle the work that comes once one is down.
Easy 800 to 1000 pounds of meat. If you do go, don't shoot a small one thinking it will be easier..... the small ones don't have much meat on them yet and are all bone.
Pictures if you go!!!!
 
I took one a couple of years ago. Free range, reintroduced herd up here. 9.3x62 factory 285gn Norma Oryx. First shot would have killed it, but if it is worth shooting once, it is worth shooting a couple more times (4 if I recall). Rough estimate of 5-6yo bull. I would say around 5-600lbs of boneless meat. A moose I can handle by myself, not a chance with a bison.
 
The Yukon game synopsis (https://yukon.ca/sites/yukon.ca/files/env/env-yukon-hunting-regulations-summary_0.pdf) has some interesting statements about hunting of bison. Their regulations are written without shading the edges of probabilities.

p.23 - It’s against the law to hunt wood bison with a bow

p.26 - Under no circumstances can you kill a moose, caribou,
bison, sheep, goat, deer, elk or bird in defence of property

p.37 - Firearm requirements
X A centrefire rifle, .30 calibre or larger, with minimum 180 grain bullets (premium
bullets strongly recommended) and minimum 2,800 ft./lb. energy at the muzzle.
A .30-06 calibre is the baseline rifle.
OR
X A black powder rifle, .50 calibre or larger, firing an elongated bullet with a minimum
90 grain charge.
OR
X A black powder rifle, .54 calibre or larger, firing a round ball with a minimum
120 grain charge.
Hunters using a black powder rifle must have a centrefire rifle that meets the firearm
requirement for hunting wood bison as back up.
 
I shot a couple 400# calves on a ranch with a 30-06. 180 gr. Bang flop behind the ear. Lots of fully grown ones everywhere during that episode and also during road clearing. They are not invulnerable. Access in the wild is the expensive part.
 
45ACPKING said:
I have also wanted to hunt bison but haven't put in for the draws due to not having a good crew to go with.
My hunting partner has moved on to travelling and spending all his time duct taped to his girlfriend so I don't even call him about my hunts anymore.
I do know 2 guys that did a trip up near atlin years ago. If I remember correctly they had to drive to the yukon and then back down into the atlin area to access the bison.
They had a place to stay arranged so they went up there towing a suzuki samurai and that is what they hunted out of.
Rifles used were 338 win mag.... don't know what bullets. They shot thier animal in -25 to -30 temps , 3 shots I think it took.
It was so cold they had a real hard time with the field dressing and there was no way they were lifting quarters , they were too heavy. These are strong men too and it was tough for them.
They ended up doing somewhat of a field butchering , removing chunks of meat to a tarp inside the samurai. They got her as full as they could and headed for the place they were staying.
After a quick warm up and change of clothes they went out to remove the meat from the samurai and head back out to retrieve another load.
Well, that meat had frozen up enough that it was stuck in the samurai and they had a hell of a time unpacking it. The guy where they stayed went out and retrieved the rest with a front end loader LOL
I always remember that story well because I've always wanted to hunt... and eat .... a bison but I know that I'm not set up to handle the work that comes once one is down.
Easy 800 to 1000 pounds of meat. If you do go, don't shoot a small one thinking it will be easier..... the small ones don't have much meat on them yet and are all bone.
Pictures if you go!!!!
Click to expand...

I'd love to have been able to see pics from that story! Had to have been on of those funny now but not so much then type of situations.
 
I’ve shot them with the “minimum” 180gr 30-06 and as long as you’re within a few hundred yards and put the bullet where it belongs they fall over just fine. They taste very good too but man they’re a lot of work to pack out.
 
medvedqc said:
we have open season with otc tags for resident and the mini caliber is cal .30 with 180 grains and 2800fps at the muzzle. it is 30-06 the mini but the 308 can reach it as well.
Click to expand...

Interesting, which factory 180gr .308 loads can meet that energy criteria? Most I'm seeing are in the 2,500-2,700 ft-lb range.
 
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I've done the pink Mountain hunt a few times in BC. Filled our tags every time. Definitely a very tough hunt. Never had one standing on the side of the road. They were always at elevation on a fairly steep slope. A lot of hard work but the meat is worth it. .300 win mag
 
Hunter7 said:
In Manitoba if we shot a bison we’d go to jail. Considered penned hunting even if private owned bison shot on private land.
Click to expand...

So when a farmer needs to harvest a penned ....semi domestic....Bison. How exactly do you kill one. Show them a naked picture of Wendy Cukier would be considered cruel and unusual. Force them to listen to Trulander speak would drive them off a cliff.
 
I have shot two Bison in the Pink Mountain area of BC.
Both were taken with the 338 Win Mag and the 210 Gr
Partition. Neither required a second shot, even the one
at 450 yards. Dave.
 
Apparently as explained by a Manitoba CO, contradictory to the term, the bison can only be put down for slaughter IN a small pen and not in an open field or else it is considered penned hunting. Go figure. As far as I’m concerned you are basically buying a bison from a farmer for meat. What is the difference where it was shot.
 
Shot a Yukon bison with a 416 Rigby using a 410 Woodleigh.
Been on a few hunts with friends, a buddy shot a big bull with a 340 Weatherby and a 250 Partition. That one went down so fast it almost bounced.
Another buddy shot one with a 45/70, no idea on the bullet. Took 3 shots before it fell over roughly 1 minute after the first shot. Had to chase the rest of the herd away.

The bull I shot when we took the meat in minus head, hide, legs, and guts weighed 964 or 946 lbs.

My back still hurts.
 
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