Got my Bison hunt.....

[saintsix]

i got real lucky and got my bison and was looking for anyone who got theres in the past and could give me any helpful advice. dates they went out, how easy was it to find tracks/animals how long it took them to find there bison, was it the first one you saw? what was the weather like? anything at all would be helpful, i know its once in a lifetime hunt and dont want to go home empty handed.

[Donny Bear]

Congrats to you and all the best more than willing tell what I've learned in the past two years.

Snow machine and warm clothes is a start

[Rackmastr]

Congrats!!!!

[patcha]

i was drawn for the first hunt.went up for opening day jan 1 2009.took my 14 year old nephew.shot my bison at 10 am jan 2 in minus 43 weather.took us 4 hrs to gut,skin and load into truck.ive never been so cold,but it was an awesome hunt and i would do it again in a heartbeat.dress warm and bring a big gun.youll have fun.

[saintsix]

well ive got tons of warm gear we have 2 snowmobiles and a large quad(to much snow or worth to bring to?) it'll most likely be me and my dad. i was planing on bringing a 7mm wsm 180gr nosler partitions. is that big enough...? ive got tons of shooting experince with that gun at long range, last year taking my mulie at 322yards 1 shot. so shot placement isnt a issue that im worried about. From what ive heard there usually very close shots, 150yrds or less.

[rm206]

I was up there last year and took a younger bull on opening day. It was actually a nice day if I recall it got to a high of minus 28 that day but the weather sure can change in a hurry. That evening the wind was howling wind chill of about minus 40 which still isnt to cold. Snow machines are a definate must. As for rifle Im really no expert but I just used a 30-06 with a good quality bullet it knocked him down in his tracks. It is definatly a once in a lifetime hunt.

[Donny Bear]

Lots of gun other than they may still have a 30 cal minimum I would have to look again you will see the requirements for your package no doubt the 7 wsm would do the job, That said My sons bull was estemated by the Biologist at 2700 lbs my 2.5 year old bull harvested by my friend 13 year old Shara was about 850lbs BIG differance in size.

[mooseslayer]

I got my bison draw as well. I live right here in Rainbow Lake so the hunt will be a bit easier for us than most. We have access to snow cats and pickers trucks if we need them.
In January or Febuary it can range from -40 to +5 on any given day. We always get lots of snow with the exception of last winter when we only got about half the normal amount (2-3 ft). There are many roads, ice roads and trails that are available for the adventure. Google Earth is a good place to start looking then you may want to contact the ERCB in High Level for some maps that show lease roads and such. You can always PM me if you need to ask questions. TTYL

[saintsix]

awsome guys thanks for the info. its all really helpful and moose ill definitly be sending you a pm little later down the road once it gets a little closer to the time

[walking buffalo]

I posted this in a previous thread. Shoot tight to the shoulder.

I have shot and butchered many Bison. Info for those who have not shot a Bison before.....

On several occasions, I have witnessed other shooters aiming too far back on the Bison, shooting them like they were deer, moose or elk. They are not! Bison have a different skeleton structure than other ungulates, in particular an additional front leg bone that runs almost horizontal from the scapula.

The rough sketches in the pics show the location of the diaphram in yellow, lungs in pink, heart in red. Take note how a shot "Behind the shoulder" actually hits in the liver or gut.

Like African game, you have to shoot farther forward than usual on other game.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy10/keetspics/BisonSkeletonVitals.jpg
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy10/keetspics/bisonvitals1.jpg

[BigJon]

Talk to the wildlife biologists (with SRD - fish and wildlife) in the Peace River office and maybe some guys in the High Level office as well. They'll give you some good info.

[saintsix]

wow thanks for the diagrams, i wouldnt have thought any different for shot placement and nothing like that came up in anything ive been reading.