Custer State Park SD Bison Hunt

[LopeHunter]

How many tags are allocated to non-residents? I was reading at the F&G page and says residents get tags then IF LEFTOVERS can go to a non-resident. Looks like two of you in this thread drew as non-residents so must not be much resident demand. Or, am I missing a key sentence when reading about trophy and non-trophy bison draws in SD?

 

[TRS_Montana]

"License Eligibility: Both residents and nonresidents may apply. There are 15 non-trophy bull bison licenses available. Seven of these licenses are set aside for residents only. The remaining 8 licenses are available to both residents and nonresidents. There are 5 cow bison licenses available. Two of these licenses are set aside for residents only. The remaining three licenses are available to both residents and nonresidents."

 

[Halo]

My Custer bull.

 

[duckhunt]

Thats awsome. Alot of good eating right there.

 

[Steve O]

Halo,

Great bull. As usual I am one point behind. What was your weapon of choice? How far was the shot and what happened. I was hoping to do that hunt with my flintlock .54; any idea how the park rangers would feel about that?

Would love to hear more details about the hunt. I know the park gets it out of the field for you but did you have it processed? Are there better options than others for processing and hide tanning/head mounting?

 

[Halo]

Weapon of choice was my 30-06 I planned to use my .338 Win Mag that I used for my Wyoming bison but I kind of wanted to add another species to my 06 list. The shot was only 42 yards and the dial on the scope on my 30-06 goes down to 100 yards and the .338 only dials down to 200. I wanted to do another neck shot so I wanted to be as accurate as possible and I'm more comfortable with the 06 at that range. It went right down but was still trying to move a little so it got an insurance shot just to be on the safe side. We brought the meat back in quarters, actually 6 pieces as the front shoulders were removed to allow it to cool quicker. It's at the butcher near my home now, 950 pounds hanging. I usually cut up my own deer, elk, antelope etc. but a buffalo is a big job and I'm not a very good butcher. I left the head & hide at a taxidermist over there. The taxidermist in Wyoming that I used on the last one is no longer in business so I used one over there that a friend has used for years. When I dropped it off at the taxidermist he was working on the hide from another big bull from a ranch hunt that had badly injured the hunter when it got back on it's feet and ran over top the hunter breaking ribs and puncturing a lung and resulting in a life-flight ride to the ER. I guess where a lot of problems arise is from the way the spine runs, it's very deceiving. The bones on the top of the spine that support the hump are up to two feet long and heavy bone. If the bullet hits that, it's connected to the spinal cord so the animal goes right down. But because no damage was actually done to the spinal cord a moment later it's up and may not be in a good mood.

 

[wytex]

Awesome!!! Enjoy the meat. We aged our 7 1/2 year cow 14 days at home and she was very tender.

 

[JohnCushman]

Congrats!! That hunt is definitely on my bucket list!!

 

[HUNTNNW]

I am pretty sure I read on the site you can ONLY use a firearm .24 cal and providing atleast 2,200lbs of energy at the muzzle on this hunt

 

[tim629]

curious: how much of a hunt did it feel like?

bison are an intriguing species to me, but don't like the looks of a lot of the ranch hunts where it appears as though you drive out, walk over 2 hills make a stalk and shoot.

i know the odds are not in my favor with SD or some of the other limited draw bison hunts but worth it if it's more exciting than shooting an angry beef cow in the pasture

 

[BBwheelgunner]

Congrats to both of you! that is an iconic species of game animal that not many people can say they have hunted. Pretty darn cool. Not to mention the plethora of excellent meat!

Hope I can join the ranks of wild bison hunters some day!

 

[jzeck2]

Just finished my Custer State Park (South Dakota) non-trophy bull bison hunt as you can see. Had some meatloaf from it this evening in facts and the best thing I can say is that the wife ate it, she doesn't usually eat wild game.

It was fun and I would do it again because it is a great way to fill the freezer with some grass fed nearly organic red meat. As far as calling it a hunt i think you need to understand bison. The trick has always been finding the bison. I think our native brothers from centuries past would tell you the same thing. Once found it is more of a shoot than a hunt since bison have no reason to be afraid of much.

If I do it again I would choose a rifle with open sights either a muzzleloader or lever action with open sights. I would try to get within 50 yards and put the animal down with a shot to the head. I did shoot mine in the neck but at 150 yards since my 300 win mag is sighted in at 200.

The non trophy bulls are 2 1/2 year olds, the herd manager estimated mine at 1050 lbs. A friend of a friend shot one a couple days later and they thought it was about 1300 lbs, the herd manager thought it was a late calf and actually 3 1/2 years old that didn't show up on their census until it was a year old.

 

[jzeck2]

Dropped the hide off yesterday to get it tanned into a robe and today worked on the skull myself. I got the biggest galvanized tub I could find at the local hardware but can't get the whole head in it. Did manage to get the horns off. May make a quick trip tomorrow to another store to see if I can find a larger tub and do some boiling. I have a bear skull from this fall I need to throw in the pot as well.

These young bulls have what they call goal post horns as you can see in the previous post, they take up a lot of room.

 

[1_pointer]

View attachment 68156
Just finished my Custer State Park (South Dakota) non-trophy bull bison hunt as you can see. Had some meatloaf from it this evening in facts and the best thing I can say is that the wife ate it, she doesn't usually eat wild game.

It was fun and I would do it again because it is a great way to fill the freezer with some grass fed nearly organic red meat. As far as calling it a hunt i think you need to understand bison. The trick has always been finding the bison. I think our native brothers from centuries past would tell you the same thing. Once found it is more of a shoot than a hunt since bison have no reason to be afraid of much.

If I do it again I would choose a rifle with open sights either a muzzleloader or lever action with open sights. I would try to get within 50 yards and put the animal down with a shot to the head. I did shoot mine in the neck but at 150 yards since my 300 win mag is sighted in at 200.

The non trophy bulls are 2 1/2 year olds, the herd manager estimated mine at 1050 lbs. A friend of a friend shot one a couple days later and they thought it was about 1300 lbs, the herd manager thought it was a late calf and actually 3 1/2 years old that didn't show up on their census until it was a year old.

Congrats! I agree on the quality of tablefare. My wife really would like to see me shoot another. That pic looks very much like the area I shot mine in last year...

 

[jzeck2]

Shot it in the Southeast corner of the park, where it borders Wind Cave National Park. The bison are still in that area from the round up in October.

 

[1_pointer]

Not exact same place, but they do resemble...

 

[jzeck2]

within a mile I would say, beautiful prairie.

 

[robie]

I just found out I drew a non-trophy bison tag. I'm very excited and curious about what the cost ended up being to use their butcher and taxidermist?

What did it run you to have the hide tanned and shipped? What about having the meat packed up and shipped?

I'm coming from Houston so trying to figure out if I can fly up and have it done shipped back to me or if driving up is a must.

 

[cgarner]

Those pictures make we want to start building points for a future application. Need to start saving up.

 

[1_pointer]

I just found out I drew a non-trophy bison tag. I'm very excited and curious about what the cost ended up being to use their butcher and taxidermist?

What did it run you to have the hide tanned and shipped? What about having the meat packed up and shipped?

I'm coming from Houston so trying to figure out if I can fly up and have it done shipped back to me or if driving up is a must.

Unless things have changed since I went a few years back, the park doesn't have a "butcher" or "taxidermist". They will transport them to a nearby processor and/or taxidermist of your choosing for a fee, which varies depending on how far away it is. IIRC when I checked with the local processors, they were running about $3/pound for a cut/wrap of a skinned carcass with shipping on top of that. At least for me, it didn't pencil out especially once I found a guy to cut/grind/wrap the whole shebang for $150!