Wyoming bison

Are you using a guide service or DIY? Tag and Drag or Eli Hale are all you really need if you can judge them on the hoof, size and bull or cow.
If you wait until winter have some snow shoes and good cold weather clothing. Bulls can be taken much earlier in the season but you'll have to hunt them, then, on the forest. Grizz are a real concern then.
Good comfortable boots are a must. 375 will work great. I used a 165 gr swift A frame bullet in my 300wsm and it only took one shot, while the other guided hunters shot multiple times at their bison. No clue why, a well placed shot puts them right down. Range finder and good binos too will be needed.
Bulls can be bow hunted too .
I layered up with Sitka or Core4element pants over wool base layers and my King of the Mountain wool shirt and coat. It was cold when I hunted. Good boots for cold and walking are a must. We put in many miles looking for them on the edge of the refuge.

Good luck, the bulls are awesome and I would wait til winter for the best robe. You should get a very large , nice bull!!

I'm going to head out with Ralph Greene and Tag 'n Drag -- since its a once-in-a-lifetime hunt I want to do it right! I'm going to gear up with layers and I'm thinking the .375 will do the trick...

Thanks for the info!
 
Ralph will do a great job for you. He took me in Dec 2014. As advised above, be ready for the cold. PM me and I'll send you some pix.
 
Good choice. Just don't let the guide tell you to keep shooting when he goes down. Not sure if it was the guides or just folks not used to seeing an animal die but once they go down you don't have to shoot them every time they make a death move.
The processor will come out in the field and pick up your gutted bull. Send the hide to Moyle Mink and Tannery in Idaho, best price hands down and beautiful work.
 
I had a Wyoming NR any bison tag in 2012 and went self guided but had Ralph drag my bull out in Late December on my third trip over. Ralph is a great choice. December will be brutally cold, it was 17 below when mine was drug out. I drew another bison tag and killed a Boone & Crocket bull in South Dakota last winter. My Wyoming bull was a 1 shot kill to the spine, it blew up the first vertebrae and sent half of it into the brain. The South Dakota Bull was down with one shot to the spine but was moving a little and my guide said to shoot it again so I did hitting it in the neck again. The fist shot killed it and the second was just an insurance shot that at the time I thought was unnecessary. When I dropped the bull off at the taxidermist he was fleshing out the hide of another bull that had just sent the hunter to the hospital via life flight with broken ribs and a punctured lung. Study the way the spine runs, it's deceiving. I was told when the spine shot is high and hits the part of the vertebrae that sticks up, (which sticks up a long ways to support that hump and neck of bison) it will drop them but only briefly, and they may not get up in a good mood. If the guide says shoot it again, I would shoot it again if it was a spine shot. Wyoming bison is one of the funnest hunts there is. Good luck and enjoy.
 
What dates for hunt times does a guy want to concentrate on for cow on the NER? Mid december into January? Early Dec? Thanks
 
I'm excited for you. Your 375 should work perfectly!! Great cartridge for such a large animal. The meat is going to be fabulous. I love Bison.

I put in for a Montana bison and I am 1275 or there-abouts on the list for I think 25 tags. That's a lot of folks who would have to turn down the chance before I am called up! About like my moose and sheep permits as well. 39 years in a row for each of them and came up nothing again! Best of luck.

David
 
Call the Jackson office and ask them if they have any significant changes for the hunt this year. Apply for a NER hunt date in December, late if possible. Make sure you get one hunt date even if it's not ideal. You need a NER refuge permit hunt date to get a day pass later in the season.
Cows will move onto the NER when snow pushes them down. Some will move over early then move back off of the refuge. Last couple of years the hunting was late in December for cows.
Don't wait until the very end of the season as it may close on short notice.
Keeping weekly or semi- weekly contact with the Jackson office is key. They want you to call them regularly during the season for updates on animal movements. Last year we made 3 trips to Jackson, one to get to know the area, one when animals were close to the refuge and finally the one with a harvest. This past year we made one trip after we were notified the animals were moving over and the season would close early.

The neck shot behind the ear will drop them like a ton of bricks. We have taken 3 cows with single shot kills, one neck shot and 2 lung/shoulder shots. None required follow-up shots. Knowing where you hit it , have a shot caller, is key. One went about 150 yds to die but that was it. Bonded bullet with good shot placement.
 
Congrats. Hopefully one day I will have a similar picture. Already preparing the wife for a buffalo hide blanket
 
They are an amazing animal- you don't realize how big a big bull is until its on the ground. Trust me you had better be prepared. It took me and my buddy and two mules 8 hours to get it all out- we were about a mile from truck. This bull was number 8 for the season as of lucky Friday the 13th the day I got mine.
 
Congrats tree1. Hope you get to age him before butchering. They are really amazing animals.
Moyle will do a great job on the hide if you're not doing a shoulder mount.
 
Thanks. I’m going to do a pedestal mount- taxidermist says he’s the biggest he’s seen- he has one in there now that officially scored 124. Just picked up meat this afternoon- 509 lbs. Butcher had a steak beforehand and he’s fairly tender if u can believe it. I would say he’s prob 9 yrs old,
 
Awesome, he'll look great . The G&F lab will get the age back to you if you sent the teeth in. The processor in Jackson does age the meat if hunters give him time. Enjoy !!
 
Any updates on this year yet? My date is Dec 16. Is that too early? Also names of meat processor and the taxidermist that will send off the hide would be great. Thanks. Getting excited.
 

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