Fair chase bison hunting in NA?

[DaveC]

On a backpacking trip with my mom last week we got to talking about hunting plans, for my stepdad in particular. He's quite fit for nearly 70, but a limited supply of knee cartilage is moving a lot of hunts into the "do it soon or not at all" column.

One of those things is a bison hunt. Finding one which is an actual hunt and available in the next half-decade for someone without a ton of preference points is the challenge. Henry Mountains and Alaska are unlikely due to draw odds, and the Montana and Arizona hunts (read: wait for it to leave the park and shoot) don't really fit the bill. The winter wood bison hunts in Alberta sound good, but are expensive (minor objection) and tracking from a snowmachine, while challenging, doesn't really fit the classic image of a bison hunt.

What I'm wondering is if any of the private ranch herds in the lower 48 offer a legit hunt for bison. Everything I've looked at thus far is one day, guaranteed outcome, which will not do. If anyone knows of an exception to this, I'd appreciate the info.

 

[Poser]

There are ranches in Mexico that have free ranging Buffalo and there are a handful of outfitters in the SW that service them.
http://themeateater.com/2012/hunting-with-jay-and-darr/

 

[dieNqvrs]

State of Alaska gives 2 tags to monprofits to auction off yearly. I believe they do 2 Delta bison tags a year. If I remember right the last ones went for $8K and the other for 13K. Not cheap but an alternative to almost no possibility of drawing.

 

[Nick Muche]

Global Pursuits has some in West TX that supposed to be a hunt... More expensive than what I would be willing to pay considering if I did it I wouldn't be doing much other hunting the rest of the year.

 

[tuffcity]

There is also BC and the Yukon to consider. Don't know pricing though.

 

[realunlucky]

Ute Indians have one I believe if you have the cash

 

[sodak]

Custer State Park in South Dakota.

 

[IanF.]

Shot yesterday in the yukon by my best friend that lives there, no idea if you can hunt as a non-res

 

[DaveC]

Thanks everyone, lots of good options I had overlooked. Much appreciated.

 

[Wapiti_Harvest]

Vermejo Park Ranch in New Mexico offers fair chase buffalo hunts, $7500.

http://www.vermejoparkranch.com/dates_and_rates_hunting

 

[2rocky]

If by Fair chase, you mean you can enter it in B&C or P&Y, Private herds don't count.

Bison Locations

Alaska
1. Copper River
2. Delta Junction
3. Farewell
Arizona
1. House Rock Valley Herd - Coconino County
2. Ryamond Wildlife Area - Coconino County

Montana
1. Area adjacent to Yellowstone National Park - Park County
2. Portions of Crow Indian Reservation
South Dakota
1. Custer State Park
Utah
1. Antelope Island - Davis County
2. Henry Mountains - Garfield, Wayne, and San Juan Counties
3. Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation
Wyoming
1. Area adjacent to Yellowstone National Park - Teton County
Alberta
1. Northern
British Columbia
1. Pink Mountain
Northwest Territories
1. Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary
Yukon Territory
1. Aishihik Wood Bison Herd

That said, I think there may be still some challenging hunts that some buffalo ranches offer. It is going to take some direct questions on your part to determine if it will be truly fair chase according to your standards.

 

[realunlucky]

Antelope island is recognized as fair chase that's interesting. I know Utah has been working to establish a herd in the book cliffs

 

[Ray]

Shot yesterday in the yukon by my best friend that lives there, no idea if you can hunt as a non-res

Did Mac take the day off from school to pack that out for Mike?
If I recall correctly Mike told me years ago that the elk and bison permits up there are open for Yukon residents only.

Update: saw Mike's post over on duckboats. It was all packed out by friends using sleds and pack frames. What a beast of an old bull.

 

[tuffcity]

If I recall correctly Mike told me years ago that the elk and bison permits up there are open for Yukon residents only.

As are sheep. Guide Outfitters an obvious exception.

RC

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Or you can do what I did...have a bison rancher release a lone bull onto private property and hunt it down. It's one way to go that can be challenging (if you have it released well before you begin hunting) and you basically buy the bull prior to release. I love eating bison and have not eaten much beef since 2009 when I shot my 1st bull. Last December I took another cuz I ran out of meat from the first one. Costs range from $3K-7K depending on size. Plan on several weeks of aging. I like winter hunts so the robe is beautiful and weather is conducive. PM if interested...hunt is in Utah. Here's the old thread: http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?12861-Filled-Multiple-Freezers&highlight=bison You can see a horse pasture in the background about 800 yards away in the clip (I wasn't trying to hide the nature of the hunt) but after a week in the snow, was grateful to see him down.

Expect some blowback from people who think all canned hunts are the same with HF. Bison don't jump but can pretty much knock down any non-steel fence there is. If you opt for a "herd hunt" there are spot and stalk hunts available in CO however you do not want to hunt a trophy bull in a herd cuz the other bulls will pulverize it after it goes down...payback for being the bully. Painful to watch as your bull turns to ground beef.

If you can, go to Utah or Colorado. They have plenty of hunts at a variety of prices (based on size & gender) plus they have the purest N.A. bison strain in existence (97%). That's about as pure as you can get these days. In the 1800s the wagons could not get into the canyon country here so the bison herds that occupied them were largely safe from the commercial hunters who nearly wiped em out by U.S. Government decree. (It was a ploy to win the Indian wars by removing their most important resource). Forget hunting Cowfalo. Boo! Some hunts are 50-60% bison. Not the same critter. Always ask about the bison's bloodline. Some places sell Cowfallow and Beefallow and all kinds of weird looking stuff.

Also know that true grass fed bison has yellow fat and tastes sweeter and is better for you whereas grain fed bison has white fat. Since most of the fat is on the outside of the meat (no marbling) you can age it longer than most meats w/o a lot of loss. I aged mine for 5-7 weeks.

I also know a cattle rancher in N. AZ that offers bison hunts but they may not be what you're looking for cuz the bison is released onto a sprawling cattle ranch and I can tell ya (cuz I did some ADC work there) it is creepy. The place is loaded with lions and bovine that seem to dislike bipeds and predator calls. Been forced to hide more than once and walking out after dusk knowing there are steer and bison horns in the darkness and plenty of trees for cover will keep your head on a swivel and your ears open. When a 3/4 to one ton animal appears within 50 yards it'll tighten certain private parts.

 

[huntaholic123]

South Dakota, Custer State Park offers both trophy and non trophy bison hunts. Not sure on availability for nonresident. Will do some checking and get back to you.

 

[HuntHarder]

You can always get lucky and draw an Arizona tag for the House rock herd. With the new structure, obtaining a fail tag has become better than 10% draw odds. I do not know if this % will maintain, but the herd is getting out of control. These Buffalo go into the grand canyon national park when hunting pressure starts, and they are SAFE in there. USF&W and AZGFD are trying to get some legislation passed to allow hunting the national park. I do not see this happening in a large tag quota kind of way, but maybe a few hunters a year get to smack a few inside the park boundaries. Best thing about AZ for a non- res, is that only 20$ of total tags go to highest bonus point, the rest are for the "lucky" guys. Non-res hunters are capped at 10% of the total tags being able to be drawn by a non-res. In other words, if 100 tags are available, a non- res has the right to those tags just as a resident does until 10 non-res guys draw. After that, the non-res applications are no longer considered for the remaining tags.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

You can always get lucky and draw an Arizona tag for the House rock herd. With the new structure, obtaining a fail tag has become better than 10% draw odds. I do not know if this % will maintain, but the herd is getting out of control. These Buffalo go into the grand canyon national park when hunting pressure starts, and they are SAFE in there. USF&W and AZGFD are trying to get some legislation passed to allow hunting the national park. I do not see this happening in a large tag quota kind of way, but maybe a few hunters a year get to smack a few inside the park boundaries. Best thing about AZ for a non- res, is that only 20$ of total tags go to highest bonus point, the rest are for the "lucky" guys. Non-res hunters are capped at 10% of the total tags being able to be drawn by a non-res. In other words, if 100 tags are available, a non- res has the right to those tags just as a resident does until 10 non-res guys draw. After that, the non-res applications are no longer considered for the remaining tags.

Never happens, at least not while Overlord Obummer is in office. He's close most of AZ's federal roads in retaliation. Don't expect any cooperation for a couple of years.

 

[DaveC]

Last month I was driving in to the N Rim to do some sight seeing and beer drinkin after a backpacking trip, and saw a successful bison hunter. Looks like he/she/they lucked into a ~100 member herd which had moved north out of the park a 1/2 mile in the big meadows along the highway. The hunters had truck, trailer and winch out in the grass loading the bison. It seemed like the bison had clipped the grass in the big meadows inside the park down to nothing before finally moving north, with poor timing.

This herd and hunt has potential, but just like with the Yellowstone herd, the wait until they leave the park aspect puts me off. Perhaps unfairly. It will be interesting to see when/if they disburse off the plateau.

I'm building points for the Henrys hunt, but that will take a while.

 

[huntaholic123]

Here is a link to the South Dakota GFP page with some information on the Custer State Park bison hunt. Hope this helps.
http://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/custer/hunting/non-trophy-bison.aspx