Strategy for a buffalo hunt

[Jdd2035]

So right. If yall can't tell I'm a novice hunter. I'm getting better but still I'm new to the sport. But upon reading hunting magazines and eating meat I have decided I would like to hunt a buffalo/bison just once. There are no opportunities here in New Mexico so it would have to be out if state. Could any of yall maybe help me devise a strategy for drawing out for a good buffalo hunt?

 

[JimP]

Hope that you are very young and have 20-30 years to put in for hunts that are in states that have hunts for them. Usually by the time a non resident draws he could of paid for a ranch hunt.

Or go to a ranch where they sell bison hunts and pay them. If you go this way you can decided on which hunt fits you. A meat hunt or a trophy hunt. The meat hunt is around 1/2 the price of a trophy hunt. There used to be a ranch in New Mexico down on the border that sold bison hunts but I can't remember just who they were. I think that they were out of the Deming area.

A lot of these ranch hunts will range from shooting one as it comes out of a stock trailer to a actual hunt, it all depends on just what you want. There is one in South Dakota that has what they call a 3 day hunt. You show up on day one, shoot your bison on day two, and go home on day three.

 

[wy-tex]

Wyoming has a random draw so you have as much chance as anyone else to draw. Tags are going way up so odds will get better. Cow tags are down this year because they hit their population objective for Grand Teton but I would suspect the tags numbers will go back up every year.
These are wild, free ranging bison, if that matters. A ranch hunt will be a ranch hunt. They will be cheaper for a meat hunt but make sure if you book a ranch hunt it includes the meat, some do not.
The Wyoming bison hunt is very challenging for DIY hunt.
I would check drawing odds for Utah and Wyoming and tag costs to decide which state offers the better chance at a tag.
There are some great looking ranch hunts out there too. Colorado and South Dakota come to mind.
Depends on how much you can spend and whether or not free range matters to you. For a NR I suspect a ranch hunt for a 2 year old cow would be considerably cheaper than a state tag. However on a state tag you could possibly take an older trophy . An winter robe is very nice on a large cow.

 

[Hilltop]

You can hunt free range buffalo in Alberta if trying to draw a tag in the states seems too difficult- https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiyl_qGr_fTAhUDLmMKHe4cDUUQFghFMAc&url=http://www.truenorthoutfitters.net/?page_id=5&usg=AFQjCNFhOCsuLVqbvDegT8eNgRw4cRRsMA

 

[JimP]

Utah's hunts are on a bonus point system. If you are lucky you can draw a tag with 0 points or you can wait for over 30 years to draw one. It is as Clint said in the old Dirty Harry movie "Do you feel lucky punk". Right now the tag for a NR is $1500+a hunting license which is needed to enter the draw which if you work it right can be used for 2 years in the draw.

Utah bison herds are also free ranging and are one of the pure strains of bison left in the US.

I personally if I really wanted to hunt them would be to head to a ranch hunt.

 

[Jdd2035]

I cannot tell you all how much I appreciate the advice and I will look into a ranch hunt when I scrounge enough money as I'd like to get me one before I turn 50. Thank you all.

 

[MikeBerg]

I think, you should definitely have 3 or more members to hunt a buff. Large animals need compound bows with great speed so choose your equipment wisely.

 

[gonhunting247]

A couple of the Reservations in Montana actually have fairly reasonable prices if you want a cow or young bull hunt. The trophy bull is more as is expected. A couple that come to mind are one on the North side of Fort Peck and the Crow Land on the Montana/Wyoming border.

 

[6mm Remington]

Too late to apply for a Montana bison this year through the regular drawing, but you can go to the Montana FWP website on-line and purchase $10.00 lottery chances for the Supertag for a bison! You can purchase as many as you want and not only that but you can put in for the elk, mule deer, antelope, moose, goat, sheep, and mountain lion Supertags at the same time. I'm not certain but I think you can purchase those for about another week.

 

[HuskyMusky]

You can find private ranch hunts priced reasonably...

Apply for Utah's antelope Island... better draw odds I believe, although not much of a hunt from what I understand. They have some more options/more units too.

 

[JimP]

To draw a Utah AI tag for a bison your odds are not that good around 1:1000 and the $2600 price tag doesn't look that good either when you can do a ranch hunt for a little bit more. AI is also quite a large island but no one has much trouble filling their tags out there. I know a couple of handicap hunters that have gone out there to shoot their bison.

The other hunts on the Henry Mountains and Book Cliffs will depend on if you are after a cow or a either sex tag but they range from 1:700 to 1:100 depending on the time of the hunt. Most non resident tags are limited to only 1 or 2 tags for each hunt.

So unless you are lucky or have years to possibly wait go to a ranch hunt.