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

medvedqc said:
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.
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We had a bison hunt in northern Alberta not so long ago, mid winter, cold and lots of snow. Bagging the beast was the easiest part. :)

Grizz
 
nowarningshot said:
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.
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I've got a skull hanging in my cabin, I got from my neighbor who raises bison. It's got two .45 caliber holes in the face of it, one obviously a little low. :)

Grizz
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
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.
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Very interesting. I know a rancher whose land I hunt for waterfowl and he has Bison and Elk hunts on another property he owns totalling six or 8 quarter sections as one so a fair chunk of land. It's all mixed bush, pasture, sloughs etc and pretty gnarly land to access. He says the success rate is quite low even though they are fenced in as they see so little human activity on his land they have pretty much become more wild than domestic. He allows guys to bow hunt but not without lessons first on shot placement, where and how. He said even with a rifle you must understand Bison anatomy in order to achieve a clean kill shot. He won't let anyone hunt without lessons beforehand and asks to see proficiency with your weapon of choice and that you have it zero'd in properly. Seems like a pretty reasonable request.
 
It’s all about shot placement. I boom flopped mine with a 180gr copper bullet out of my .300wsm at about 200M. I worked mine alone while buddy helped my wife with hers, it’s doable. 3 of us shot 3 that morning in Alberta, we were loaded up and on the road by 2pm.

The hardest part was keeping an edge on my knife, their hides are TOUGH. Havalons are useless on them, you can’t put enough pressure on them to cut around the vent without them snapping. You need a good fixed blade and a sharpener along to make it happen.

Gave me a whole new appreciation for natives that used to butcher bison using stone tools, unreal.
 
pipeliner said:
It’s all about shot placement. I boom flopped mine with a 180gr copper bullet out of my .300wsm at about 200M. I worked mine alone while buddy helped my wife with hers, it’s doable. 3 of us shot 3 that morning in Alberta, we were loaded up and on the road by 2pm.

The hardest part was keeping an edge on my knife, their hides are TOUGH. Havalons are useless on them, you can’t put enough pressure on them to cut around the vent without them snapping. You need a good fixed blade and a sharpener along to make it happen.

Gave me a whole new appreciation for natives that used to butcher bison using stone tools, unreal.
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I watched a documentary once where a guy skinned a deer with flint tools. I was surprised how well they actually worked. Obsidian might even be better. Still, a ton of work on bison. - dan
 
Tom Orr, on tv's Mountain Men, prefers to use a stone for skinning.
Says it is slightly slower than sharp knife but less chance of poking a hole in the skin.
The guy's been at it for quite a while and seems to know his stuff about the "old ways".
 
pipeliner said:
It’s all about shot placement. I boom flopped mine with a 180gr copper bullet out of my .300wsm at about 200M. I worked mine alone while buddy helped my wife with hers, it’s doable. 3 of us shot 3 that morning in Alberta, we were loaded up and on the road by 2pm.

The hardest part was keeping an edge on my knife, their hides are TOUGH. Havalons are useless on them, you can’t put enough pressure on them to cut around the vent without them snapping. You need a good fixed blade and a sharpener along to make it happen.

Gave me a whole new appreciation for natives that used to butcher bison using stone tools, unreal.
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I just watched a show of exactly that recently, I forget if it was on Meateater or Jim Shockey's Uncharted. They processed the entire animal using stone tools that would have been used of that era.
 
Northern Shooter said:
I just watched a show of exactly that recently, I forget if it was on Meateater or Jim Shockey's Uncharted. They processed the entire animal using stone tools that would have been used of that era.
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it was steven rinella but i would say if you do not know what you re doing it might take a whole longer process ...

you have to see by yourself when it is on the ground to understand the task you re in if you want to salvage properly the meat, nothing to compare with a moose that is a given.
 
I used my 9.3x62 for my only bison. Worked well though I'm a believer in shooting until it stops moving. They're not an animal that you want to let run off to die in some alder-choked hellhole.
 
Ardent said:
Hunted a few, .30-06 and .375 H&H, both worked equally well. Shots are close and the work is heavy, they can be tough.

OfUrbEe.jpg
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Always so eloquent and polite despite the massive experience and knowledge. Truly respected and a great contributor here on Nutz. Kudos and thanks for your sharing. Great pics. Beauty SXS
 
Longstud said:
Always so eloquent and polite despite the massive experience and knowledge. Truly respected and a great contributor here on Nutz. Kudos and thanks for your sharing. Great pics. Beauty SXS
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Too rich for me I’m afraid, you’ve got the wrong guy. I’m very sincerely just a dude functionally on some spectrum. I personally know guys here who do more impressive things by far in hunting. If I have a skill it’s only taking risks.
 
If I get my LEC draw this year I'll be using my 375hh with some 300gr Interlocks. Or possibly if I want to go over the top and call them buffalo opposed to bison I'll bring my 500 Jeffery with 600gr Barnes round nose
 
My first was a large bull (2500+ lbs on the hoof) with 180 gr Partitions in a 300 Win mag, starting at 120 yards. I ran out of ammo despite most shots hitting in the vitals. He did not want to give up the ghost! Friend finished him with shot behind ear.
Next bull was with the 210 gr Partition in the 338 Win Mag at 120 yards. First shot in the vitals had him be down and finishing shot in neck behind ear.
Last bull was a one shot kill with 260 gr AccuBond from 376 Steyr at 100 yards.
Looking forward to using the 9.3x62 with 250 gr AccuBonds on next bison hunt.
Larger diameter bullets at medium to higher velocities definitely impress these critters, hence the minimum bullet weight and energy requirements.
And yes, big animals that requires the assistance of a few to field dress and pack out. lots of meat, but less than 1/2 of live weight when cut and wrapped. Large heavy bone.
And yes, the anatomy is different from all other animals. Vitals are lower and further back then might be expected. Spine curves low in front end and large hump has long spinal points and no other vitals/major arteries. Do not hit high!
 
Evanguy said:
If I get my LEC draw this year I'll be using my 375hh with some 300gr Interlocks. Or possibly if I want to go over the top and call them buffalo opposed to bison I'll bring my 500 Jeffery with 600gr Barnes round nose
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A Bison with a 500 Jeffery sounds like a hunt to remember.
 
BlackRam said:
My first was a large bull (2500+ lbs on the hoof) with 180 gr Partitions in a 300 Win mag, starting at 120 yards. I ran out of ammo despite most shots hitting in the vitals. He did not want to give up the ghost! Friend finished him with shot behind ear.
Next bull was with the 210 gr Partition in the 338 Win Mag at 120 yards. First shot in the vitals had him be down and finishing shot in neck behind ear.
Last bull was a one shot kill with 260 gr AccuBond from 376 Steyr at 100 yards.
Looking forward to using the 9.3x62 with 250 gr AccuBonds on next bison hunt.
Larger diameter bullets at medium to higher velocities definitely impress these critters, hence the minimum bullet weight and energy requirements.
And yes, big animals that requires the assistance of a few to field dress and pack out. lots of meat, but less than 1/2 of live weight when cut and wrapped. Large heavy bone.
And yes, the anatomy is different from all other animals. Vitals are lower and further back then might be expected. Spine curves low in front end and large hump has long spinal points and no other vitals/major arteries. Do not hit high!
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Really illustrates the benefits of opting for the larger medium and big bores on an animal of this size.

There can't be much game that would be still standing after receiving a full magazine of 300WM.
 
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