Bison shot placement

[blackdirtdiaries]

A buddy of mine runs a game preserve and needs to cull some animals (i know i know a preserve isnt really hunting)

He's offered me the opportunity to shoot a "problem" bison he has on his ranch. Considering I'll probably never be able to afford a REAL bison hunt, Id like to preserve the head and hide for a mount.

So my question is, as far as shot placement on such an animal...best place to put a bullet to get the most meat and preserve the head and hide?

 

[Opah]

Can you get up close to it, or are you going to have to take 100, 200 yard shot ?
I mean if you could walk up and put a bullet in it head you would be styling.

 

[ODB]

A family friend used to raise Buffalo in Virginia. When it was slaughter time he put his pre-64 .338 win mag in the rack on his tractor and hit the fields. He shot them high up on the neck. He said it a)dropped them and b) made it easy to get the head off.

he also said that if in a herd of the other Buffalo were around they would often ram the dead bull and it could get very dangerous.

 

[wysongdog]

Head. With a big caliber. They are tough as hell

 

[Bighorner]

I will second the tough as hell statement. I had a wild bison soak up 5 rounds from a 300 WM. I would go for a neck shot off the field truck bed. Your buddy should be able to tell you exactly how they typically do it. I'm jealous that will be a ton of great meat!

 

[Buckshotaz]

A family friend used to raise Buffalo in Virginia. When it was slaughter time he put his pre-64 .338 win mag in the rack on his tractor and hit the fields. He shot them high up on the neck. He said it a)dropped them and b) made it easy to get the head off.

he also said that if in a herd of the other Buffalo were around they would often ram the dead bull and it could get very dangerous.

I can say that it is true about other buffalo goring the dead one. I shot a bull out of a group of 4 bulls. When my bull went down, the rest went to goring the crap out of by bull. It took a look time to get the others to take off.

I the winter the buffalo have super long thick hair, and you can fix any large holes very easy.

 

[ODB]

I can say that it is true about other buffalo goring the dead one. I shot a bull out of a group of 4 bulls. When my bull went down, the rest went to goring the crap out of by bull. It took a look time to get the others to take off.

I the winter the buffalo have super long thick hair, and you can fix any large holes very easy.

Yup. Sounds exactly like the stories I heard. He said they get the scent of blood on them and it’s like a frenzy.

He also slaughtered in winter for the thick hides.

I’m glad this subject came up. Nice to think about that man a little bit...

 

[amassi]

A buddy of mine runs a game preserve and needs to cull some animals (i know i know a preserve isnt really hunting)

He's offered me the opportunity to shoot a "problem" bison he has on his ranch. Considering I'll probably never be able to afford a REAL bison hunt, Id like to preserve the head and hide for a mount.

So my question is, as far as shot placement on such an animal...best place to put a bullet to get the most meat and preserve the head and hide?

Do you have a bow? Slip a cut on contact heavy foc through its lungs. Waste no meat nor skull

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[Milestone522]

I had a ww2 veteran friend that killed a buffalo on antelope island in Utah in 1968. He killed it at 100 yards with a bronze tip 300 savage hand load. One shot, low behind the front shoulder/leg. Waited a few minutes and the bull stumbled and toppled over. Heart shot. It made an impressive mount as it was a large bull with a long beard.

 

[blackdirtdiaries]

Can you get up close to it, or are you going to have to take 100, 200 yard shot ?
I mean if you could walk up and put a bullet in it head you would be styling.

probably gonna be at least a 100 yard shot...I was told its a rather aggressive bison and thats why he wants it gone.

i was thinking of a 45/70

 

[Billy Goat]

probably gonna be at least a 100 yard shot...I was told its a rather aggressive bison and thats why he wants it gone.

i was thinking of a 45/70

Creedmore, definitely creedmore.

 

[wildwilderness]

45/70 would be neat on a bison. My take is there is a ton of meat so a little bit bloodshot won’t be noticeable.

Open sights you should probably be lungs, if scoped and can surgically place the shot I’d go high neck. Any way it sounds like fun

 

[Zbot]

Just shot one with my 270 last week. Straight up the shoulder, lung shot and it went down within 15-20 seconds at the most.

 

[realunlucky]

I'd be careful with a neck shot because the front end of a bison can be pretty deceiving. I shot mine 1/3 way up and behind the shoulder with a 30/06.

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[elkguide]

Chest shot all the way. Yes a head shot will drop it but if I had the opportunity for a buff skull, I wouldn't want to take a chance at cracking it or even having a hole in it. Yes it may take a few minutes to have the bull to drop but that's where I would go, behind the shoulder.

 

[wytx]

A shot 6 inches back from base of horns will drop it in it's tracks, my 1st cow was taken with that shot. My last and spouse's cows were taken with shoulder, lung shots. My cow was a shot right through the ball joint of the shoulder, she went right down and never moved. Spouse's lung shot let her go about 150 yds before collapsing.
Avoid a head shot.
My shoulder joint shot really only messed up very little meat. Even the ribs were salvaged and eaten.
Bison are tough bit a well placed shot will do them in quickly.
And yes the herd will surround the downed bison, but they will move off at their leisure.

 

[Packin_packout]

Chest shot...but I will say can soak up bullets like nothing I have ever seen before. Put three accubonds 30-06 180 accubonds at about 150 yds in one in Arizona and it just start moving off with rest of herd just a little slower and woozy. All three stopped on the off side good expansion. Just may take it a minute for it to realize it's dead. I will say this one was already spooked when I shot so it probably had some adrenaline going. Finally just said screw it and put one in neck to stop it from going off the the side into a hell hole.

 

[jmav58]

Literally just was around a dead one in West Yellowstone, MT on Saturday. Young gal shot it twice in the head and once high in the “spine”. The two head shots put it down and the spine shot turned out to be right in the back strap. She had to get another rifle and heart shoot it. Turns out that heart is like the size of a football or volleyball. So to surmise, be sure of your head shot or put low and behind the shoulder. Those lungs are HUGE.


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[Packin_packout]

Yeah...that's one thing you don't realize until you carve one of these up...the hump is 12" of meat! The spine is lower than you think. Wytx made the comment about herding up...that happened to me as well...you've got be really careful about that because you can lose track of the animal you shot. Having a buddy to help spot or have your scope dialed out so you can make sure you keep track of it is critical. I was lucky in that I had been warned about that prior to the hunt by AZGFD official, otherwise I would have potentially lost track when I made me shot. I chose one on the edge of herd that way I was able to get my first couple of rounds in before the herd started moving. Not sure if that is applicable to your situation but just as a PSA to others.

 

[tuffcity]

YT puts out a guide, this shows preferred shot angles. https://yukon.ca/sites/yukon.ca/files/env/env-hunt-wisely-bison.pdf