Caliber Choice for a "Meat Buffalo" Which of these three????

[mayor al]

Yeah I will do as much photo reporting as I can...With the size limits here on the site, it will have to be a link to another site where I also will do a report...Roadfood.com , where I am a Moderator and can post all the details. Got about 2" of snow here this morning, but the roads are fine.. We leave at Midnite when my hunting buddy gets home from his shift at Brown-Foreman !

 

[mayor al]

Well It was a successful hunt and a great, relaxing weekend for us. I got my Bison and Charlie, my neighbor and friend, took a large hog, both now safely in our respective freezers.

We drove over to South-Central Missouri last Friday night, arriving in time for Breakfast Saturday morning. A group of hunters were finishing up their stay, packing up their meat and gear and clearing out during the morning, while we unloaded our gear and moved into the lodge. We had the main lodge ( Sleeps 10-12) to ourselves during our stay. There were two other pairs of hunters, one a guy and his girl friend after hogs, and older gentleman and his son taking a Elk and a Red Stag Hind (Doe) and a couple of hogs. After the departing bunch left we got together with Jason, our Guide, to fill in the license forms and discuss the details of what we wanted and how we wanted our 'take' processed.

After a great lunch of Pulled Pork and Buffalo Chili (yeah it was cold there too!) we went out to scout for the Bison. Using the game roads (like firebreak roads out West) around the ridgelines for an hour or so, we finally spotted a small herd in a meadow near the woods that we were in. We had decided to use the Ruger GSR in .308, as I am very comfortable shooting it and had more confidence in my capability with it than with the .338 win mag. We got within about 125 yards (by the rangefinder) and leaned on a tree til the Bison we had selected moved clear of the others for a shot that would not cause damage to another animal. That took a few minutes. Using the 180 gr SP Core-loc Remington ammo, one shot and the Bison dropped like a stone (in Place). The herd started milling around it, nudging it and checking it out. The guide ran to his truck and headed down the hill to clear the onlookers away before they damaged the hide on the downed animal. While that was going on, the 'victim' tried to get up a couple of times, but couldn't, and then he died, all within a minute or two of the initial hit.

Once the guide cleared the area, he and Charlie headed out to find Charlie a hog of decent size, while I remained with my Bison, waiting for the shop crew to come out with a bucketloader to haul it back to the processing shed. I got some photos of that butchering process. Man those guys were quick. They had the critter (Hanging weight about 700 lbs, skinned and into major cuts in about an hour.

While they were working on my Bison, my neighbor came back in with his Hog and the guide started working on it as well as a second one for another hunter. The other hunter had bagged an Elk and the hog. He had thought he wanted to 'cape' the elk for a large trophy mount, but changed his mind to just taking the skullcap and antlers (5x5) and the meat. When he saw me checking my Buffalo Hide for damage, he asked me if I wanted his Elk hide. I thanked him very much and accepted it with thoughts of some nice soft leather goods in mind.

Then, while the crew finished up the processing, we headed down for dinner, enjoying some roast Bison and Red Stag with excellent side dishes that evening. It had been a long day, so I passed on the evening story swapping in the 'rec-room' and hit the sack. Sunday morning the place was really quiet. Only two others in the whole place with the meat-cutters working on our final cutting and wrapping, and those two hunters out getting their turn at chasing the game, It was time for us to kick back and read and relax while watching the animals wander the meadows around the lodge. The pond was iced over , so the fishing option was not too inviting at the time. Watched a little footbal, downed some great SPRECHERS Black Bavarian Ale and walked down to the dining hall for another fine hunters lunch. Afternoon was a pleasant repeat of the morning. We did take a ride around some of the ranch we did not see the first day.

Monday morning the crew loaded up our coolers and we checked out and headed for home. Except for the low temperatures, it was as pleasant as our Summer visits have been. My take in this event is 2 large coolers full of butchered and vaccum-sealed Bison meat, One cooler of Rbs and Leg-bones for soup and marrow, and one cooler with the two hides (Bison and Elk) PLUS the head in a trash-bag, now hanging in the barn waiting for me to do the skull-boil treatment for a European Mount trophy, The hides are ready to go to my local taxidermist here in Floyd County. All in All a good trip and we are pleased with the quality of the service at the "HIGH ADVENTURE RANCH", Plus the Bison we have sampled tastes Great !!

The Elk act as a picket line below the Buffalo on the hill.

One of them wandered off from the herd.

Here the guys are skinning and butchering the Bison and Hogs we brought in that day

Here is the .308 bullet that did the job. Lodged against the opposite side skin from the entry point, after taking off a chunk of the heart on its path thru.

And finally my Bison Meat coolers.

 

[mrjarrell]

Wow, mayor al! That's a load of meat. Should keep you well fed for a while to come.

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

sounds like you had a good time!

 

[walleyepw]

Sounds like a wonderful weekend hunt / vacation.