45-70 Bullet for Bison Hunt

[375 JDJ]

So I have a question for those who have hunted bison before, what did you do with the head and hide?

My plan was to get a shoulder mount done, have the skull cleaned and the hide tanned as a couch blanket but I wasn't sure how much of the hide a shoulder mount would take? Based on the pictures online it doesn't look like they use anything past the hump for the robe.

Also since we are on the post hunt side of the topic does anyone have any good recipes for bison?

Bison burgers are real good i would cook it and season it like you would beef

 

[aalyea]

Just tanned and about 7X6 feet.

 

[lilharcher]

My rug I had done…..super happy with it. Did a euro mount with beetles doing the dirty work. I highly suggest the bettle method with a bison head, as the naval cavity is super delicate and the beetles do it justice!!

 

[Bob Wright]

I'm going to the Dismal River Club in Nebraska which worked the best for what I wanted to do. I had looked around for a few years at applying to hunt some of the wild herds but in all honesty with the tag cost, low non resident tag counts leading to long wait time, high pressure in small areas just outside the parks and no guarantee of a shot at a nice bull it just seemed like a lot of effort for very little benefit over hunting one on a ranch.

On the flip side I absolutely have no interest in hunting the equivalent of a fluffy cow where they are raised by people so you are just walking up to them at 20 yards and shooting which it seemed like a bunch of ranch hunts offered. Based on the research that I did the bison on the Dismal River only get human interaction when they are hunted so they tend to behave more like wild animals from what I've seen.

This also location also works out as they offer upland bird hunting as well so my Dad and Brother will come with me as observers on the bison hunt and then we will spend the rest of the trip hunting pheasants together.

Sounds like an awesome hunt for all.

 

[Bob Wright]

After reading all the comments about Paper Patched bullets in a 45-70, look at a reamer print/SAAMI Spec sheet. The 45-70 Government was not intended to use long heavy paper patched rounds (no freebore), so you should look at it to see if your chamber throat can handle the longer/heavier PP cast slugs. You may have a long throat, or not....
There are Dual Diameter molds available to produce a bore rider/drive band, but those may be grease groove only. So, do some homework and know what you're buying, be it bullets or molds and your chamber design.
I'm building a 77 Sharp's from scratch, and I'm kind of in the chambering research phase now.
I wish you success on your hunt!

 

[CMP70306]

Well since I leave for my hunt in two days I figured I would come back and provide an update.

Due to a busy summer and fall I ended up not getting a chance to work on any casting so I decided to skip the lead bullets and go with the 402gr Shock Hammer cruising along at 1800 fps. Gives me a flat enough trajectory out to 120 yards and should punch clean through the Bison.

Additionally my guide recommended a scoped rifle as back up in the event we cannot get close enough or require a longer range follow up shot. For that I am bringing my Mausingfield in .300 Win Mag shooting the 181 HH at 3260 fps.

The hunt itself will definitely be an interesting one, the day we get in they are getting a couple inches of snow and the temp is plummeting to -12 that night. On the day of the hunt the temp will reach a high of 8 with it possibly still being negative when we head out in the morning. Coming from the northeast it will definitely be the coldest hunt that I have ever been on since most of our hunting wraps up by mid December. Hopefully the FirstLite under layer stuff I got on Black Friday will be enough to keep me warm.

The two days of upland hunting however will be much nicer with temps in the high 30's and low 40s. With temps like that we will definitely be taking our rifles to the 1000 yard range plus take a couple cracks at the one mile target. Hopefully I'll be able to get my first hit at a mile on this trip as well.

 

[rustyshackleford]

Well since I leave for my hunt in two days I figured I would come back and provide an update.

Due to a busy summer and fall I ended up not getting a chance to work on any casting so I decided to skip the lead bullets and go with the 402gr Shock Hammer cruising along at 1800 fps. Gives me a flat enough trajectory out to 120 yards and should punch clean through the Bison.

Additionally my guide recommended a scoped rifle as back up in the event we cannot get close enough or require a longer range follow up shot. For that I am bringing my Mausingfield in .300 Win Mag shooting the 181 HH at 3260 fps.

The hunt itself will definitely be an interesting one, the day we get in they are getting a couple inches of snow and the temp is plummeting to -12 that night. On the day of the hunt the temp will reach a high of 8 with it possibly still being negative when we head out in the morning. Coming from the northeast it will definitely be the coldest hunt that I have ever been on since most of our hunting wraps up by mid December. Hopefully the FirstLite under layer stuff I got on Black Friday will be enough to keep me warm.

The two days of upland hunting however will be much nicer with temps in the high 30's and low 40s. With temps like that we will definitely be taking our rifles to the 1000 yard range plus take a couple cracks at the one mile target. Hopefully I'll be able to get my first hit at a mile on this trip as well.

Good luck. I was just hoping when I saw the notification you bagged one. Lets have an after action report

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Interesting that you've chosen the same 402gr Hammer bullet that I used on my moose. My guide was certain that the big bull would catch the bullet but when the skinning was done the exit holes were obvious.

I'd be curious to know what your load is. Only RE7 seemed to work for me in my 1895.

Good luck on your hunt.

 

[wdrjr]

Good Morning Everyone,

So almost a decade after I bought a Shiloh Sharps I have decided it's finally time to go on a bison hunt. The trip will be in January 2022 so I have until then to get my load squared away.

Coming from a whitetail background I'm currently on the fence in regards to the particular bullet to use, do I go modern with one of the hammers or do I go old school and run one of the 500gr Paper Patched bullets? I've heard they are incredibly hard to kill if not hit right so would it be better to take the lung shot or should I go for the behind the ear shot to drop them outright?

Still doing some research so any info you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Garrett Cartridges Inc. of Texas has a super line of 45-70.

 

[cvixx]

When first developed for the military for use in the trapdoor Springfield it started as the 45.55.405. The lighter bullet and load was due to the weakness of the trapdoor. Stronger guns were adopted and moved.to 45.70.405. The original name of 45/70/500 for this cartridge came. After yet stronger actions were made. . 45 cal, 70 grains of black powder and a 500 grain bullet. From Springfield using the 405 grain to Gattling guns using the 500 that was what was fired. Same for the original Sharps etc. The lighter 405 grain bullet was predominately a civilian option for lighter game and a bit flatter trajectory.but most of the Buffalo and large game hunters used the 500 grain.

45-55 was the carbine load, the others for rifle. Lee had a special run 500 grain trapdoor bullet a decade ago. Even in the rifle that load just hurts! but is accurate as I am.

 

[CMP70306]

Interesting that you've chosen the same 402gr Hammer bullet that I used on my moose. My guide was certain that the big bull would catch the bullet but when the skinning was done the exit holes were obvious.

I'd be curious to know what your load is. Only RE7 seemed to work for me in my 1895.

Good luck on your hunt.

I used 42gr of H4198 and it seems to work well enough, the 30" barrel probably helps a decent bit with the velocity. I only had 25 bullets and the first 5 shot well enough so that's what I loaded for the rest. Since I can only shoot so well with the irons I'm limiting my shots to a 150 yard max with the Sharps.

The .300 Win Mag on the other hand is if I can't get closer than that.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I used 42gr of H4198 and it seems to work well enough, the 30" barrel probably helps a decent bit with the velocity. I only had 25 bullets and the first 5 shot well enough so that's what I loaded for the rest. Since I can only shoot so well with the irons I'm limiting my shots to a 150 yard max with the Sharps.

The .300 Win Mag on the other hand is if I can't get closer than that.

The 30" bbl would explain the relatively high velocity you're getting and probably with less pressure than my RE7 load. Best of luck on your hunt.

 

[CMP70306]

Bison Hunt at the Dismal River Club

So after almost a decade I finally got to use my 1874 Sharps to take a bison and I will say that it was quite the experience. Our plan was for my Dad and Brother to go with me as observers for the bison hunt and then the three of us would pheasant hunt for the remaining two days. To start our...

www.longrangehunting.com

I put a write up of the hunt over in a separate thread so it is easier to find in case anyone else is looking for information on that hunt.

 

[Nomosendero]

Saw this thread.
I have a Cow Buffalo hunt in February, I have purchased Qty, 200 Cast performance 405 Grain GC bullet. I don't have any 4198 but I have a lot of Varget.
I plan on 1750-1800 FPS.
Has anyone used that bullet ?
Thanks