Bison

[HSi-ESi]

APR recently put out their Bison Harvest applications and I thought I’d write up a harvest I did there in March of 2018. I know that there is controversy surrounding APR – especially with many native Montanans (although certainly not relegated to Native Montanans). It is very easy to jump into the “Don’t Buffalo Me” camp when you’ve grown up in a small community and people that you respect and look up to in the community express negative views to what APR is doing. I first thought APR was insane for having this vision and committing so heavily to work towards their goals, although now I view them in a different light (almost 20 years later). I have followed them since their inception – but didn’t really do any research on them, instead allowed myself to sit on the fence with my opinion. I don’t intend this thread to move into a divisive APR piece – rather I thought I would share what my experiences are/were with them.

I have always wanted to hunt bison – and have applied every year for a tag in Montana when the hunt is available. I have never drawn the tag. I know some who have drawn tags and they’ve had mixed reviews. I’ll still apply, if nothing else to support MT FWP – but the reality is an extremely low chance of ever having the tag myself. Fast forward to mid-2015 or so and through my involvement on Hunt Talk – or at least my lurking on here – I started to see some other folks have hunts in other States which only stoked the fire.

In late 2017 I was just wrapping up a great hunting season. I had drawn a Moose tag and had been able to really enjoy that tag throughout the season with family and friends. I filled an elk tag at my in-laws ranch, which is amazing to me in that elk hadn’t been on their place in over 100 years. That wasn’t a “hunt” – as I was butchering my moose in their shop and when I went to have dinner saw elk in the field. So I “snuck” out and had a cow on the ground (which we gutted and skinned with the aide of a tractor, my first try at that one). Add in an archery doe that I gave to a friend – by the time December came around I was gearing up for skiing with a freezer packed to the gills.

We spent Christmas at my family’s house in Billings – and had some discussions with my brother’s about APR and their bison harvest. Our dad had been having a rough go for a couple of years, involving a stroke and complications from diabetes. We had really tried to get him out on some hunts but it had been pretty tough. We thought that a Bison harvest would be a great opportunity to spend time with him – in a setting where we could keep him involved and safe. In January of 2018 I bought (or won) one of the auction tags. I chose the later hunt of the year (mid-March) in the hope of “Spring” where we could get my Dad out on the hunt, wheeled walker and all.

My older brother lives in Sweden – and he decided that it would be great to be involved in the hunt. Which would help with another set of hands and simplified the logistics since he could fly into Billings and drive Dad up to Malta saving road time for me and my younger brother.

APR has a requirement that copper only ammunition be used. My .338 load I used for the moose was a 250 gr Accubond but I had some Barnes 210 gr bullets. So I worked up a load for that bullet with the minimum powder charge. First test at the range was positive.

 

[HSi-ESi]

I wasn’t going for max velocity and didn’t have much time for load development. The minimum charge was pushing around 2600 fps which I knew would be plenty. I like max accuracy anway.

We had to take a 2 year old or younger bull. I spent time researching how to field judge Bison – I was confident going in that we would choose wisely. It was a little nerve-wracking – a big Bull or cow is easy to identify – but when you get to the younger animals it can be a little tricky. I knew we would have plenty of time to watch the animals – so it was just a matter of being 100% positive. I had purchased the “A Field Guide to Plains Bison” by Wes Olson. It was very helpful with the age classes and things to look for at different times of the year. Some of the States also have some on-line quizzes / study guides – so those are useful as well.

We decided on staying in hotel in Malta. I had wanted to bring down a wall tent and really make a week of it – but with Dad coming the best move was to be in a hotel. March that year was also cold and had lots of snow. At the last minute I called a friend and borrowed a snowmobile. There was some last minute scrambling, grabbing a trailer for the snowmobile, an Otter sled to pack stuff with – the list kept getting longer. Needless to say, I left town later than I wanted and pulled into the hotel in Malta around 4 AM. Here’s an example of the drifts that year:

We left the hotel at 6 AM – and had a meeting with a staff member from APR. I had talked on the phone with him a few times in preparation. They have easy check-in and check-out procedures. The real gist of the procedure is to make sure you know what you’re getting in to, that you can properly identify the age class and to cover general details. I had already downloaded the sections into OnX – but we covered ownership and where we’d probably find the herd(s). The snowmobile was fine – we just needed to keep it on established roads.

The end of the road for the rigs was where the county quit clearing the road, about ¼ mile from APR’s boundary. It was still cold (single digit temps) – so we thought it best if Dad and my older brother stayed with the trucks. My younger brother, his wife and I would head down to see what we were getting into first. We had been told that the snowmobile would push the herds further from the road – so we put on some ski’s and snow-shoes in the packs.

 

[HSi-ESi]

We moved down the road about a mile and spotted about 15-20 head down in a creek bottom. Once we were off the road, the ski’s weren’t helpful – so we switched to the snow-shoes.

We snuck down the creek keeping out of sight from the group. We got within 150 yards of the closest bison but could soon tell it was a group of bulls and none was young enough. It was fun to watch them use their heads as a plow / shovel to get to the grass under the snow. Knowing that none of these was what we were looking for, we started off to the north-east where we had seen some other groups. Crossing the drifted creek was not fun, even with the snow-shoes. I had forgotten the tails on my MSR’s and my floatation was terrible (knee deep at best). I ended up switching with my brother who is about 40 pounds lighter and his Atlas shoes had better float.

We could not be completely on the east bank of the creek because we were then visible. So it was a game of being far enough down to be hidden but not too far down and struggle through the drifts. The way was slow – but we came to about 100 yards or so to a group of 3 bison and they hadn’t seen us. We had plenty of time to look them over. We aged the middle one right at 2 years old. The other 2 were older bulls and the 2 year old had a small but visible sheath, so I was confident the 2 year old was a bull.

 

[HSi-ESi]

We discussed timing – and trying to get my Dad over to where we were. We were only ¼ to a 1/3 mile from the road – but to get Dad down the road we’d have to use the snowmobile. Firing that up would move the bison further from the road. We decided that now was the time to put the bison down – then we’d work through the other details.

I wasn’t able to use the tri-pod for a rest as it wasn’t tall enough to see over the contours of the hill. It was a short shot (about 100 yards) and I was confident in an off-hand shot.

The first shot went through both lungs – but none of the bison moved. After a few seconds, the larger bull took a step forward and was partially blocking the 2 year old. A couple minutes later mine cleared and we thought it best to put one more round through it. This time I held for the heart, he stumbled on the impact but stayed standing.

The stumble made both of the other bulls turn and face the young bull. When it fell to the ground the other bulls paced around it, horning it up off the ground. There were a couple of times the dead bull was fully in the air. The APR representative said that sometimes they do things – and the best was to let them settle down. I think it was a dominance display – not a “get up” action. But with the bull down – we went back to the truck and give a little time for the other 2 to depart.

There was now the logistics of everything ahead of us. We unloaded the snowmobile, hooked up the otter sled and loaded it with some gear. The plan was for my older brother, sister-in-law and me to get out and start the skinning / butchering process. My younger brother setup a little camp on the road for my Dad. He had chairs, coffee, a fire, snacks, and the spotter where he could watch from. I really wanted to get him to the kill site – but the drifts in the creek bottom would be too much for him. He was comfy, had a great perch to watch us from and spend a day on the prairie. He was more than thrilled.

 

[HSi-ESi]

The older bull was still hanging around when I got back – but moved off when we got under 100 yards. The butchering was fun. Even with the younger bull – I was surprised how much meat was on the front shoulders, ribs and hump. I was very surprised at the mild, sweet smell of the meat. Field butchering time was probably 3-4 hours although I didn’t really keep track. By the time we were done there was only the spine and gut pile left on the ground. I did slit the stomach open as requested by APR – and was very surprised at how much rumen was present. Even in the harshest part of the winter for them, their bellies were full.

Once we got to the front quarters, my younger brother would put a quarter or so into the sled and ferry it back to where Dad was with the snowmobile. The final step was cutting the head from the spine and packing it out.

 

[HSi-ESi]

One last late day shot of our tracked up trails heading back to the road.

Once everything to the road, it was an easy ferry process to get everything back to the trucks. We headed to town for a nice sit-down dinner and a couple of stiff drinks. I slept well that night.

We had breakfast the next morning and scheduled the “Check-out” procedure. We met in town and the process did not take long. We had been prepared to spend more days – but things worked out and we were ready to head our separate ways. We probably spent around 500 dollars in Malta – between the meals, hotel and gas for 3 rigs and 5 people. I’m not saying it is a huge economic driver for them, but it is something in a slow time of year.

I butchered the rest over the week (since I had the time off work). Final tally was 330 lbs packaged meat that we split between us (this did require us buying Freezer #2). The heart and liver were consumed the first week and I still have the tongue (saving up for a bigger batch of lenqua tacos for a dinner). I saved all the leg bones and made stock, all shanks were cut for osso-bucco. The skull is euro’d and hanging in my office.

The hide was pretty torn up from the other bulls. I did put it in a friend’s freezer and we were going to tan a smaller section – but the freezer died and the hide spoiled. I did cut-off the hooves for another friend’s dog as a chew toy – they were a hit.

My two kids were very excited.

And they love to decorate some of the packages.

You have to try some out while butchering to get a feel for what it tastes like.

I would encourage folks to take advantage of applying for tags (at the detriment of my odds of getting one). I know I’ve heard that “APR just wants to sucker hunters in, then take away the right to hunt when they see fit” – and while it would be their right as land and livestock owners – I have not seen any merit to such an argument. Acknowledging that man has been a predator of bison for thousands of years is something APR does not shy away from.

While this was a “harvest” and not a hunt – it was still quality time with family and lots a meat in the freezer. Something I am willing to do again.

 

[TN_Rifle_Junkie]

What an excellent way to have a family get together in the wilds. Congratulations on the hunt and thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[MThuntr]

Great story and pics. I was wondering who ended up with those auction purchases. Glad your dad was able to participate.

 

[JCS]

Thanks for the great write up

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Awesome right up, and good timing with the other thread.

How hard did you find it, identifying 2 year old or younger bulls, and did you have previous experience aging bison?

 

[djvdoc]

That sounds like an awesome hunt! Little disappointed I didn't get to go along. Your brother did help me look for mine(in gardiner) and you were invited. Nothing like a good family hunt. Just put in for a buffalo hunt with APR today myself. Been way too long buddy- you always have a friend in Columbus!

 

[Big Fin]

Very interesting to see how you did all of that. Thanks for sharing here.

 

[buffybr]

Nice report and pics. but I didn't read anywhere what APR stands for. Do you work for the government?

 

[Id-Dave]

Great write up & pictures. I would love to get my 75 year old Dad on a Bison harvest.

 

[HSi-ESi]

Awesome right up, and good timing with the other thread.

How hard did you find it, identifying 2 year old or younger bulls, and did you have previous experience aging bison?

The aging made me nervous but we didn't find it too tough. The book and prep we did helped a ton, also we didn't have any real previous experience aging bison.

 

[HSi-ESi]

That sounds like an awesome hunt! Little disappointed I didn't get to go along. Your brother did help me look for mine(in gardiner) and you were invited. Nothing like a good family hunt. Just put in for a buffalo hunt with APR today myself. Been way too long buddy- you always have a friend in Columbus!

Great to hear from you, I thought about your hunt in Gardiner when I was writing, I can't remember why I couldn't go on that. I won't miss another one.

 

[HSi-ESi]

Nice report and pics. but I didn't read anywhere what APR stands for. Do you work for the government?

I work in the private sector. But APR is for American Prairie Reserve.

 

[DaveAZ]

Awesome memories, very happy for you..

 

[Straight Arrow]

Nice report and pics. but I didn't read anywhere what APR stands for. Do you work for the government?

APR = American Prairie Reserve. APR has a website with explanation, photos, and other information you may find interesting. BTW, APR has an office in BozAngeles. MT.


HSi-ESi, thank-you for the great story and accompanying photos. It was a real family event and certainly wonderful for your dad to enjoy.

 

[TakeABreakAndTouchGrass]

Really appreciate the great write up!