# Wyoming Cow Bison



## Greenhead_Slayer (Oct 16, 2007)

I’ve always applied for a bull bison tag in Wyoming around the Tetons. Odds are dismal, at best, and with as expensive as the NR tag is, it almost makes more sense to go buy a reservation or Ted Turner ranch hunt. But, that’s a discussion for another thread I guess. Fed up with the low odds I applied for a cow tag this year and drew!

If you draw a bull tag you can hunt National Forest land and realistically harvest there, but the cows very rarely venture onto the National Forest, limiting a realistic chance of harvest to the National Elk Refuge. It is totally a migration hunt, which hits a little different when there are 7 days til the end of the season and a cow hasn’t stepped foot on the refuge yet, which is exactly what happened this year. On Sunday I finally got word a large herd had crossed the boundary, and roughly 30 cows had been taken that day. I drove up that night and found a small herd of about 8 yearlings a few hundred yards from the parking lot. We got within a couple hundred yards and looked them over and decided to look around to see if we could see any bigger cows. 2 other hunters harvested out of that little herd. After about 6 miles we hadn’t seen another Buffalo, so we backtracked and found the herd of about 6.

We got within 100 yards and noticed one that had some frozen blood on her, with what looked like should have been a fatal shot, but she wasn’t showing any signs of being wounded. We decided to take her, although she was fairly smaller than some of the others. I shot her twice, although the first shot would have done it I think. We gutted her and called the retrieval outfitter to come drag her about a mile to the truck. She still weighed 700 pounds after being gutted, which is absurd to me! I look forward to the tanned hide and back straps.Hopefully a bull tag is still in the cards at some point.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Congrats on the hunt! It's on my bucket list for sure!


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Now that is gonna be some fine eating right there! Wild bison are a privilege to hunt, glad to see you were able to make it happen!


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

Nice job !!

I'm in the same boat in Utah. I'm about ready to put in for a cow tag before I get too old to do the hunt. 
I have enough points to get any cow tag I want.


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

So what about the frozen blood? See anything when you cleaned it? Super cool hunt.


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## DIRTYS6X6 (May 19, 2021)

Very nice job.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

A bison hunt is my dream hunt. One day...

Really cool! Thanks for sharing.


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## Greenhead_Slayer (Oct 16, 2007)

caddis8 said:


> So what about the frozen blood? See anything when you cleaned it? Super cool hunt.


Oddly enough, no. It was plain as day on her before we shot her, but when we gutted and skinned her we never could see anything. Maybe I’m just losing my marbles, but it was pretty obvious on her through the glass.


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## DIRTYS6X6 (May 19, 2021)

Nevertheless it will be awesome chewing.


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Congrats! Seems like that is quite the adventure.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Greenhead_Slayer said:


> Oddly enough, no. It was plain as day on her before we shot her, but when we gutted and skinned her we never could see anything. Maybe I’m just losing my marbles, but it was pretty obvious on her through the glass.


She could have rolled in bloody snow from another kill, or something similar.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Way to go!!!


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## tweedmadsen (Nov 16, 2007)

Well done!


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## callofthewild2 (May 10, 2021)

they are an impressive animal for sure. nice job and enjoy the meat. very tasty...


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## katorade (Sep 23, 2007)

The meat will be amazing! Congrats!


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