Bison

Has anyone here shot a bison?
I drew a bull tag for a Sioux reservation in South Dakota. The hunt is October 14th.
I'll be shooting my Lyman Deerstalker with 80gr of 777 under a felt wad and a 460gr No Excuses. Heart / lung only. Guide said we will probably be able to get within 70 yards this early on in the season.
We are driving out from NY. Got a couple of chest freezers and a generator for the back of the truck.
Stupid excited and counting the days!
Any experiences or advice would be great. Thanks.

I’ve shot 3 buffalo. Don’t count on them dropping like deer, a good solid lung shot can have a buffalo just turn around and stand there. It will fall if you don’t push them. Also the heart is quite low in the chest. Most important is don’t over cook the meat! Medium rear or rare is best, raw is OK too.

Why did you decide heart/lung only? A head shot will drop one as will a high shoulder shot. Either would require a quick study in Bison anatomy. Nothing wrong with the heart/lung shot, just asking why that was the only choice listed. I've taken several Bison and have guided clients to several dozen. Admittedly, none of these were with a muzzleloader. Modern rifles, handguns and several vertical and horizontal bows are my only observations. Nonetheless, of the "modern" group there have been several late 1800-early1900's BP cartridges used that will be similar to your load. Big bovines are interesting animals and really are unpredictable when shot. Including water buffalo and cape buffalo, yak and watusi I have probably taken clients on 100 big bovine. Every one is an experience unto itself. I saw one drop instantly and not move an inch after being hit with an arrow low in the chest. I've seen some with more than a half-dozen holes in the chest (that would appear fatal) take many minutes to even stop, let alone fall over. One thing that seems prevalent is that if they don't know where the shot came from they don't seem to go fast or far. If you are out of sight and quiet that will help. A lung shot will usually make them hang their head and eventually you will see blood on the nose. Your guide must have some experience and will be informative as to what to do and what is happening as it occurs. Another helpful idea is to shoot them on both sides if the animal is still standing and you can get into position to make that happen. In the event that your penetration is only getting one lung, shooting the other side will (theoretically) damage the other lung. Lots of bison are taken by folks emulating the old buffalo hunters with "buffalo rifles" that will have similar ballistics to your set-up. Advice would be not to sweat it. You know your rifle and your own capability. Make your best shot and reload if necessary. Best of luck!

The heart / lung is the largest target. I'm not comfortable with as small a target as the brain. I've heard of the shoulder shot, but again, seems like the lungs are an easier target for a first time bison hunter. I will look into it a little more. Thanks!

My dad was the first ever to use BP on buffalo at the Raymond ranch hunt in AZ. He used a .58 with 90 gr under a hornandy great plains conical. I was impressed at sign in when he had to target shoot for the head warden. One shot off hand bullseye at 100 yd! HE SO LUCKED OUT!

Anyway we got up close and the herd ran by us, he shot a yearling (2 yr old) running at 45-50 yds, it took 3 more leaps and was DRT, less than 20 yds. 3 HUGE bulls came by and tried to nudge him up but he was done. VERY effective. Dbl lung n Heart and we found the bullet under skin on opposite side. 5 more grains would have passed through. Warden was very impressed at the quick kill (he had never seen a BP kill before, said was as clean as any CF rifle he had ever seen).

Good luck. Dont sweat it at all, SHOT PLACEMENT

That sounds like some real fun there. There’s excellent eating at the Rosebud casino or down in Valentine at the steakhouse.

Take me with you !!

.62 smoothbore 80grs of 2FF behind a patched roundball. Complete penetration through ribs and lungs. Cow was down in 50yd's

Rosebud or Pine Ridge??

FiremanBrad said:

Rosebud or Pine Ridge??

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Lower Brule.

Here's mine:

Untitled by Sharps Man, on Flickr

5 shots 65 yards with Hawken .54 flintlock!

Leaving Saturday morning! Can't wait. Muzzleloader shooting well. Truck is almost loaded. Now just a quick 1375 mile drive, and we'll be there.

Best of luck to you!

My dad shot a big bull with his pistol, heart shot went 30 yards. Fantastic meat. If I had the money I'd shoot one a year.

Good luck and safe travels!!!

Don’t forget pictures!!

Best of luck to you 458 - shoot straight...

KTK458 said:

Leaving Saturday morning! Can't wait. Muzzleloader shooting well. Truck is almost loaded. Now just a quick 1375 mile drive, and we'll be there.

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Good luck, stay safe. We look forward to your post hunt report.

Bring back some buffalo wings!

Best of luck to you. I've thought about that hunt on the Lower Brule reservation ever since watching the Primal Dreams II video of Mark Mitten taking one there with a longbow and wood arrow with a stone head.

Saw another video of Roger Raglin taking a free ranging bull outside of Yellowstone with a 50 caliber sidelock loaded with a Buffalo Bullet. The shot was maybe 50 yards and he made a perfect hit. The bull did not even react. It just stood there and by the time Roger was done reloading for another shot it was starting to wobble and fell over right there.

And we're off! 3 hours down, 19 to go!