Recent Bison Hunt (Photos)

[mwpslp]

I took my 10 year old daughter on her first hunting trip this week and just got home tonight. We went hunting for a Bison to have processed for meat. Went for a 2 to 3 year old cow and that's what we got. Not the biggest but should be tasty I hope. Weighed about 1,000 pounds. Shot at about 100 yards. The bullet went through both lungs and removed about 1/3 of the heart before exiting the other side. Buffalo went about 5 to 7 yards, stumbled and dropped over dead in about 15 or 20 seconds. My daughter had a great time and wants to go hunting again which is the best part for me.

 

[eliphalet]

What did that cost ya?

Quite a bit is not quite right or so it seems.

First picture you have now deleted has a old tire laying on the ground behind you and the buffalo makes it look like in a farmers trash in some field and not fair chase,

Second how did you manage to have the critter all hung up and not even gutted yet?

And that posed picture how many guys or equipment did it take to pose the animal so well?

Was this really hunting or one of them canned affairs?
Tell me I am wrong please.

 

[marksman13]

Canned hunt or not, the man said he shot the buff for meat. Can't argue with that. Glad she had a good time. Lighten up, E. Not everybody does things the same way.

 

[mwpslp]

No offense taken oregonhunter. OK to answer eliphalet's questions.....The photos were taken when the animal was brought up to where it was to be gutted and skinned, that's why you saw a tire in the one photo because it was for his tractor. Yes he had to use his tractor to bring the animal up there. The hunt took place on a little over 10,000 acre ranch in Oklahoma. I don't know exactly how big that is but since we were on foot it felt like a lot of land. The animals are free range I guess about as much as you can on 10,000 acres but to me that's a lot of ground to cover, and since I haven't seen any running around the streets of Dallas, TX lately I had to go elsewhere. We set out that morning hunting shortly after sunrise and by the time we caught up with a small group of about 12 or 15 where this one was shot it was probably around 1 pm that afternoon. We hung the animal and took a photo or two and it was gutted just a few minutes there after and then skinned and put in the cooler you see behind where it is hanging. It was then picked up by the processor that evening. Cost a little over $1000 but to me that's cheaper than going to the store and buying that much steak, hamburger, and roast.

 

[eliphalet]

Mwpslp,
Didn't mean for this to be a personal attack.
I have not one thing against buying a critter and killing it for meat.
I guess my definition of hunting differs from some.
I was a jerk and ruined or at the least put a dent in some of your hunts enjoyment.
For that I am sorry

 

[redneck2]

He is in Texas so fair chase is probably out of the question.

That's totally out of line.

10,000 acres seems pretty free ranging to me. Sounds like a good time for $,1000 and you get lots of meat. Best thing is taking the daughter.

What caliber? Love to try my .45-90 on one.

 

[cobrian45]

This will be coming from someone with a lot of experience in this field and more knowledge than most of this particular situation. In case some don't know, I did this professionally for years. I can tell you that if you use the word "canned" for a hunt, you had better be specifically referencing one hunting scenario that you know the details of personally. Otherwise, you are speaking from ignorance and I know people here don't like that. In my years as a guide, I guided many I would consider an easy hunt. Others would not. In the same time frame, we hunted Axis deer for days under 1500 acre high-fenced areas, by your definition "canned", and never got close to anything shootable. That said, mwpslp clearly stated his intent for taking this particular animal. He and his family very much enjoyed themselves and I, for one, as a connoisseur of game meat envy him on this one. With the acreage involved in the hunt most of the time is spent finding the animals. I say congratulations to mwpslp and good luck on that next venture. I know you'll be extra proud on the next hunt.

 

[justice4all]

It's got to be healthier than fatty beef, and the price seems reasonable for a lot of meat. It's not like cows stand any real chance of getting away once the locomotive pulls into the slaughterhouse.

 

[Liberty1776]

MWPSLP - that's a good price, and I'd like to do that. Does the ranch have a website or link?

Thanks...

 

[TehK1w1]

If by "canned", you mean blind-hunting deer on a 42,000 Acre low-fenced lease, then yes we texans do canned hunts.

Have you ever actually hunted down here?

Sorry for the hijack.

 

[john1911]

The smile on your daughter's face says it all. Good job introducing the next generation.

Don't mind the nay sayers, it's usually jealousy or ignorance.

 

[mwpslp]

No offense taken here. We had a great time and will do it again one day. I didn't mean to jump on you eliphalet, I just wanted to answer your questions. The rifle is a Sako 75 Hunter in .270 Winchester that I recently bought off of another forum member. I was shooting Hornady 150 gr. Interlocks. Before anyone screams "not enough gun" I can tell you that I pride myself on shot placement and the outcome here was perfect. One of the most fun parts for us is that we got a chance to see two large 2,000 pound bulls fighting. In their anger they were not paying much attention to us and probably pushed themselves to within 50 yards of us. When they would crash heads together you could literally feel the ground shake. Quite a sight to behold.

 

[eliphalet]

We're good as far as I am concerened but thanks,
Seems to me you have answered one of the most argued questions here and that is caliber and or bullet weight. Shot placement is numero uno in my book and looks like you've provided great proof. Enjoy that meat it's good stuff.
Who knows by next time maybe the daughter will wanna do the shootin.

 

[mwpslp]

I hope so (to get my daughter shooting). I think I am going to start looking for a little .243 for her to get her started on deer. All she has at this point is a scoped Remington .22, but it's cheap to practice with. Here she is getting ready to take some target practice with a .223 out at that same ranch the prior day. (yes she has ear plugs in and shooting glasses on the table)

 

[cobrian45]

mwpslp, sorry about the earlier rant.

Is that Mini 14? When you said .223, I didn't realize that was the gun. That's a fun one to shoot. My first gun was a .243 and I loved it. Either one seems like it would be perfect. The .243 might have a little more longetivy. I got a full size and grew into it. That's just the way things were done back then. Now, they have so many youth and smaller models like the Model 7 that you can get a comfortable gun that will still be fun to shoot when she's older. Can't wait to see her pics on here for the first hunt.

 

[NickEllis]

looks like a fantastic hunt. Any information you can give out on the location/operation?

 

[oregonhunter]

I love to see hunters focus on shot placement rather than super super short fat magnum cabammers. My earlier statement was a joke.....kinda. Nice shootin though.

 

[308win]

Is the yield of meat from a buffalo equivalent to beef? You dont' hear anything about preserve hunts for buffalo in Ohio; I don't know, may be against the game laws. I doubt if there is a 10,000 acre tract in Ohio other than the coal holdings and the National Forest.

 

[aguyindallas]

I too am curious about the place you went and how much meat you will net from it all (along with the cost to process this meat). I am trying to get a break down of how much per pound it costs to get it on the table.

 

[cobrian45]

Now, at the the risk of getting completely off topic, something to consider when you are doing the math on meat to cost ratio is the fact that it is Bison you are getting. Bison meat usually runs $5.00 to $20.00 per POUND. Ground Bison averages $5.00 a pound and if you buy the steaks, you're going to pay between $10.00 and $20.00 per pound. If your math brings you to about what you will be paying for normal everyday beef in the store, you're getting a great deal for free range Bison. On the low end, you might be paying per pound about what the ground meat costs, but you'll be paying the same per pound for the loin cuts, which will probably end up being about 1/4 the retail price.

Heres just one example:

http://www.blackwing.com/landing_full.php?cmc=1005

 

[308win]

From the Beefman Site

Beef Carcass Breakdown
With an average market (live or on hoof) weight of 1,150 lbs and the average yield of 62.2%, the typical steer will produce a 715 lb. (dressed weight) carcass.

The dressed beef (or carcass) will yield approximately 569 lbs. (further details below) of red meat and trim (take home meat - which includes the average weight of 27 lbs of variety meat: liver, heart, tongue, tripe, sweetbreads and brains) and 146 lbs of fat, bone and loss. This is roughly a yield of 80% from the dressed or hanging weight - this is for a VERY LEAN Beef. A High Quality, USDA Choice Beef will yield approximately 70% of the Hanging or Dressed Weight. The yield on the take home meat weight from the live weight of the (VERY LEAN) steer is approximately 50%.

 

[saddlebum]

i have a question, whens the cook out? mmmm. buff burgers

 

[mwpslp]

I am told to expect about 400 pounds of packaged meat. The processor charged me $200 for the job and I opted to pay an additional $50 to have it vacuum sealed. He said it could last up to 2 years that way. Therefore it cost me $250 for the total processing portion. The ranch owner provided a cabin for us to stay in on the property for $25 per person which I thought was reasonable. There was a $100 per day fee for the guide as he doesn't want someone out there wandering alone on the property. Our guide was excellent and I did give him an additional $100 "tip" as he made it very memorable for us. Oklahoma also charges $5 for a non-resident 10 day hunting permit. Also I am having the hide tanned but I am not sure what that will cost as of yet. My out of pocket total not counting gas, food, and hide tanning was $1,505.

 

[cobrian45]

That's an exceptional deal just for the meat. That's not counting the trip and the fun and the family enjoyment. You have to factor that in to the equation. Sounds like one heck of a deal all around. Great decision on the vaccuuming. If they offer that, it is definitely worth it. We vaccuum a lot of our venison that we intend to store longer.

 

[eliphalet]

I am told to expect about 400 pounds of packaged meat.
My out of pocket total not counting gas, food, and hide tanning was $1,505.

Less than $4 a pound for meat, hide and more. Cheaper that you could buy any other way I betcha without your extras included.

Had to skip elk hunting this year because of medical reasons and was tempted to pay $450 for a cow elk in a pen for the meat alone. We cut, grind and wrap our own, the last cow we did had over 150 Lbs. of wrapped meat. That would be about $3 a pound it was kinda tempting.

Better than beef at a less cost, win, win situation, Meat would taste as good.