Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire To Kill a Bison...

Take all the time you need KG. Nobody's going anywhere.

Exactly and dark winter is closing in fast. I have the time and I am enjoying this, even the bantering, especially the coffee shop gals!

This is a hunting forum equivalent of The English Patient.

It must be painful knowing some guys actually have friends willing to take them hunting. Sorry.

We wanted of course to get as close to the animal as we could, but we were made right away. I was worried that they would wander off, or worse, bolt, but our bull for whatever reason was about the last to stand. While the herd was obviously getting a little nervous, one by one they just sort of stared at us. As we continued getting closer, some started slowly moving away from us, but our bull was content to just lay for another maybe 30 seconds as we continued to close on him. When he looked directly at us and stirred, looking like he was ready to rise along with the others, I asked Rost495 for a range, and he said "I have 257". Close enough, I figured, happy that the bull had let us get a hundred yards closer to him than we were in the tree line. I put up the sticks and got the 700 nestled in the rest.

"I've got him. When he stands up completely, I'm going to kill him. Watch your ears, bud." And with that, the bull stood. I chose my target spot carefully, in the high shoulder, as I'd been advised, and touched the trigger. I lost the sight picture in recoil but when I got him back in the scope, four legs were literally pointing at the sky. I hadn't expected that reaction. The bull reacted as if he'd been brained by a captive bolt gun in a pen. "Keep on him, and shoot him again if he gets up", Rost495 said. "Yes, thank you sir, though I'm quite certain he's done for". And so it was.

We walked up on him at the ready in case he did rise, but there was no need for another shot from me, or one from Rost495. The only movement I saw after the shot was the tail weakly flicking once or twice. We approached with a little caution, but could see at we got up to him that he was stone dead. I touched an eye with the rifle barrel just in case and got nothing.

You can see him here from about where I originally shot from (yes, the pic was taken zoomed in with my camera after we checked him and made sure he was dead). Not before a little noisy celebration occurred between the three of us. SD had seen the whole thing, got video of the killshot and had come out to us with the gear we'd left behind. Teamwork is a thing...



Inside joke here with the hand, but the lads were pretty damned happy and excited, just as I was. In fact, I was pretty much over the moon.



As he lay when we first came to him from the other side. The tree line in the background is where we glassed from and Rost495 and I began our final stalk. Some might recognize a certain hat in the pic.







After getting the animal set up for a few pics and the processing. Not exactly a small critter.

Wow what a great hunt! Congrats on sharing it with us!

Now the work begins.

congrats



how are you getting meat back home?

👍

Great read and pics. Congrats on such a fine adventure. Thanks much for sharing!

And...

Excellent. Good shot!!

Hope there's a few more pics of the field dressing etc.

Terrific!

Osky

Fantastic, congratulations on a great adventure with good friends, in a cool place.

Yeah.

It’s a Campfire first. A real trailblazer.

LOL

Congrats and thanks for taking us along !
Great write up

Very nice, congrats.

At some point I saw Rost495 do something that I like to do; he tucked a bit of barley stubble in the bison's mouth, giving the noble beast a ritualistic last bite. Classy dude. I thanked the animal for its life in my own way, deeply grateful for him and to be a part of this hunt. I was humbled and grateful for a wife I adore who's suffered me my outdoors passions for the last couple decades, having the health to be able to get out to do this hunt and for good friends. Some of them new ones without whom I couldn't possibly have come away with this caliber of experience with have my deep gratitude. They all know who they are. My bison hunt was a total and rousing success.

Headed into the property before ducking into the tree line. Both shots immediately below courtesy of Rost495.







Rost495 said that he'd head back the couple miles back for the truck while SD and I got to work.

A shot of the three, er, four of us before the work whistle blew.



Getting ready to start cutting. Wish I had me oilskins along that day.

Thanks Leighton, Great write up! What are you saving? I had a shoulder mount done skull bleached, and a couple of ft. Of the hide tanned hair on was going to make a Trad .back quiver. But just use it for gun shows now.i wish I'd had the hole hide tanned hair on, and pass on the shoulder mount. Iv since moved to a smaller place and sold the mount.

The real challenge I'm patiently waiting to hear about is how you got a Buffalo back to Massachusetts.