# Goob's Wyoming Bison



## wyogoob

Finally, after a jillion years of applying I drew a Wyoming Wild Bison tag and killed a wild bull bison!! wow

And to top it all off when I turned my bison in at the Wyoming Game & Fish station they told me it was the biggest bison killed by a blind man with a handgun this month!! 

It was December 17. I had eye surgery December 12, a nasty cataract in my right eye. My left eye was a mess, not playing well with my "new eye" The lens in the left eye is scheduled for replacement December 30. My eyesight had been giving me fits for the last couple of years; so bad I had given up on using a rifle, open sights or a scope. I could shoot a handgun, arms stretched all the way out, using my left eye to aim.

Two guys in our party, about a mile apart, filled their cow/calf tags in a herd of about 200 bison. I didn't see any decent bulls with these cows but it was hard to tell, the herd took off running and ran over 1.5 miles, up and over some hills and out of sight. I think bison love to run; just amazing.

Shot (twice) with a 375 H&H at 150 yards this cow, guts and all, was drug to the road laying on a piece of rubber conveyer belting and was gutted and loaded into a pickup:




After the cows were all taken care of we went over to the Gros Ventre River and rode along the river bottom, a great place to put a sneak on a bison:


Seen a lone wolf, a few moose, a lot of bull elk, and even Whitetail Deer in the old cottonwoods along the way:


We found 4 mature bull bison resting in a patch of spruce trees. I got off of my horse and snuck off after them with my .460 S&W revolver, 5 bullets, a shooting stick and a knife. Hiding behind a spruce tree I set my shooting stick up. The biggest bison of the bunch disappeared. The 2nd biggest bison was broadside about 80 yards away. I aimed for his neck and fired. I could hear the bullet "thump" the buffalo and the animal spun 180°, obviously hit. He took off after the other 3 bison but stopped, broadside again, about 100 yards away. I shot, but I think I missed, shot over the top of the bull. It trotted away following the others and I shot again, a quartering away shot. I couldn't tell if I hit it or not, but "it felt good".

I got out of the trees and watched the 4 bulls as they ran down the river bottom. 3 of the bulls were close together and one of them was lagging behind, like he couldn't keep up. I looked for blood in the fresh snow and found none....not good, not good at all. At this point the bison were about 400 yards away and had run into 2 mature bull elk out in the meadow. The 3 bison paused, stood there and stared at the elk for awhile. This gave me a little time to catch up to them as I ran from tree to tree along the river. I spooked the elk and when they ran off the 3 lead bison went with them out of sight into another patch of trees. The 4th bison was obviously hurt and didn't follow the rest. It turned 90° and headed for the river, the bison hunt boundary, and disappeared in the trees. Sure that the bull bison had tipped over, I walked along the river towards it. To my surprise the bull popped out of the trees and stopped on the bank of the river, staring at me. I ducked behind a cottonwood tree 150 yards away (my guess), set up, shot, and knocked the bull down. The bull's body appeared limp; no legs were moving, but the head was thrashing around violently. With my last bullet I put the animal to sleep.

The bison died just a few yards from the Gros Ventre River, the boundary of the Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). If it made it across the river wounded I had to get a GTNP ranger to assist with any further pursuit or the recovery:




The head is massive and in mid-winter they have quite a "fro" on top:



They have beautiful coats this time of year. I'm having a blanket made.


The diaphragm was cut away, the windpipe severed, and the rectum ringed. A rope was pulled tight around the stomach and then a horse pulled the bison's guts out. The gut pile is enormous and it takes a long time to pick through it. :


We rolled the beast over onto a conveyer belt sled thingie and tied him down. The 10' x 4' piece of rubber was hooked to a single-tree and a horse collar and then a stout horse pulled the bull out to the nearest road:


Once at the road a winch truck lifted the bull up and loaded it into a 1-ton truck:




The owner of the locker plant guessed the bull would weigh around 850 pounds dressed out:


Looking at the teeth they figure it's 5 1/2 yrs old, minimum. Two teeth were removed and will be aged by the Wyoming Game & Fish Dept.:


About 1/2 of the "petals" opened up (and peeled off) these 275 gr solid copper projectiles:


I found the liver to be relatively small and the pancreas huge. The heart weighs 7.5 lbs, good grief:


We performed an amateur autopsy on the 4 quarters at the butcher shop. There was a bullet wound in the hump and a wound around the brisket, both about 10" away from the spine, my target. Another shot clipped the diaphragm, went thru the stomach and the bullet was found embedded up against the hide at the hind leg about 8" above the knee.
At this point we have no idea what knocked the bison down. 

I have all the guts with the exception of the tongue. So if the locker plant screws up, I'm good to go.


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## hemionus

Beautiful. I am assuming that was the hunt around Jackson since you mentioned the Gros Ventre River.


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## Nambaster

The 460 S&W is a beautiful gun. The biggest thing that I have killed with a 460 S&W is rock chuck, but that thing was a 150 yards away. Accurate as handguns come but with the muzzle brake you will lose your hearing after going through a box of shells. 

I can't help but to scroll through the pictures and the story multiple times.


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## ARCHER11

Man, that looks like an awesome hunt! Big congrats!


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## swbuckmaster

Cool as all get out


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## silverkitten73

Wowwwwwww!


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## wyogoob

hemionus said:


> Beautiful. I am assuming that was the hunt around Jackson since you mentioned the Gros Ventre River.


Yes. The Gros Ventre River made famous by the likes of Colter, Jim Bridger, David Jackson, William Sublette, Jedediah Smith.........hundreds of explorers and trappers from 1807 thru the 1870s.

The Gros Ventre Range between the Snake River and the Green River holds the largest elk herd on the planet.


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## longbow

That's awesome my friend! It couldn't have happened to a better man.


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## Al Hansen

You have done well Pilgrim.


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## Airborne

A wonderful write up and a great hunt! Thank you for taking us along and to do it with a handgun is really an accomplishment! Congrats!!


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## hemionus

I am jealous. To hunt free range bison is something many of us will never do. Congratulations, I would love to have a freezer full of bison! Must of been beautiful country too.


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## Springville Shooter

Goob! Stinkin awesome! Your post made my day. Couldn't have happened to a better old chap. Can't wait to hear about your upcoming bison specialty dishes. Any plans for the tripe?-------SS


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## wyogoob

Springville Shooter said:


> Goob! Stinkin awesome! Your post made my day. Couldn't have happened to a better old chap. Can't wait to hear about your upcoming bison specialty dishes. Any plans for the tripe?-------SS


Thank you sir.

No tripe, but I will do a bit on fried bison balls. I got my big nuts soaking in warm salt water as I type this...........uh wait a minute.


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## wyogoob

hemionus said:


> Interestingly those bison were extirpated from that area in the late 1800's. The herd that is there now is thanks to a private herd owned by John D. Rockefeller on lands owned by him and fenced in. Eventually those lands became GTNP and the bison eventually escaped the enclosure and were allowed to run free.
> 
> I knew this was coming, the moo cow thing. Actually that is debateable and we could have a Google war and end up no where.
> 
> Largest elk herd on the planet because it is artificially held over carrying capacity on winter feeding grounds sponsored by Wyoming fish and game and U.S. Fish & Wildlife on the National elk refuge. That is a whole story in itself, very interesting.
> 
> Again, debateable. Besides, haven't you heard? The wolves ate all the elk on the National Elk Refuge Feedgrounds.
> 
> I am jealous. To hunt free range bison is something many of us will never do. Congratulations, I would love to have a freezer full of bison! Must of been beautiful country too.


....


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## wyogoob

As everyone in knows, Wyoming is a petting zoo for tourists. During the winter there's animals along the roads everywhere. I seen probably 2500 elk out on the refuge; a lot of nice bulls. We cut a fresh wolf tract at daybreak Wednesday, looked up the hill and seen the devil dog that made the tracts. There were a couple hundred mountain sheep, one of which licked the mud on the box of our pickup:


And there was a nice bunch of mountain goats were spending the winter in the Snake River Canyon.

Moose, Whitetail Deer, Mule Deer, Antelope, Coyotes, Trumpeter Swans....more

There's wildlife everywhere and I'm thankful I live in such a cool place.

.


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## Catherder

Again, that is awesome! Wild buff is the one dream hunt I have. 

What would you estimate the live weight on that big boy to be?


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## Idratherbehunting

Catherder said:


> Again, that is awesome! Wild buff is the one dream hunt I have.
> 
> What would you estimate the live weight on that big boy to be?


For cattle, the estimate is that about cattle dress out to about 65% of their weight on the hoof. I would assume that would be similar with buffalo. Based on this, it would be about 1,300 lbs.


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## 2full

Goob, that is great. Would be quite the experience.
I'm there with points for a cow tag in Utah, but I don't have the network of friends or the connections to go hunt bison anymore.
The wife says that a buffalo is the one head I can't have in the house......we'll see.
I am soooo jealous.


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## ntrl_brn_rebel

Santa????? Jk

Hahaha so cool! Seriously that looks like a blast! Congrats goob! And with a handgun!!! Awesome!!!


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## wyogoob

Catherder said:


> Again, that is awesome! Wild buff is the one dream hunt I have.
> 
> What would you estimate the live weight on that big boy to be?


1100 lbs my guess. They say the big 10-year-old bulls can go 2,000 lbs. I heard they killed an 11-year-old bull this year.

I strolled through the cooler at the locker plant and checked out all the bison quarters; really neat. Bison have more bones per pound of meat than elk or deer. Surprisingly, there isn't much meat on the hump.

.


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## wyogoob

Idratherbehunting said:


> For cattle, the estimate is that about cattle dress out to about 65% of their weight on the hoof. I would assume that would be similar with buffalo. Based on this, it would be about 1,300 lbs.


The paperwork I have from the hunt says:

Beef cattle: 62%
Dairy steers: 59%
Bison: 55%
Hogs: 74%

It also said "Trophy bulls (five years or older) and cows (more than 8 years old), because they've lost muscle mass, yield less than younger animals".

Got me.


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## Fowlmouth

Fantastic! Congratulations on your success.


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## Idratherbehunting

wyogoob said:


> The paperwork I have from the hunt says:
> 
> Beef cattle: 62%
> Dairy steers: 59%
> Bison: 55%
> Hogs: 74%


So that would make it about 1500 lbs. Either way, that's a big beast!


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## wyogoob

Idratherbehunting said:


> So that would make it about 1500 lbs. Either way, that's a big beast!


Really? I got 1232.5#

I did 850# x 1.45. Am I doing it wrong? Listen I'm good at math; went to high school for 6 years. :smile:

I think we're looking at it wrong. The 65% (or 55%) is live weight minus guts, head, hide and legs. The butcher said 850lbs, that's the live weight minus the guts only. I think the guts weighed 200lb to 250lb.

Speaking of guts. We ringed the rectum, cut the windpipe, and then cut the diaphragm all around. Wrapped a rope around the stomach at the diaphragm and pulled all the guts out with a horse. 2nd damnest thing I ever seen.

.


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## Critter

2full said:


> Goob, that is great. Would be quite the experience.
> I'm there with points for a cow tag in Utah, but I don't have the network of friends or the connections to go hunt bison anymore.
> The wife says that a buffalo is the one head I can't have in the house......we'll see.
> I am soooo jealous.


You would be surprised at the number of friends that you would end up with if you ever drew a Utah bison tag. Heck, I would even show up to give you a hand and I haven't ever met you. I have been on a few of them and a couple of them were with complete strangers until I met them in the hunting camp. It is just fun chasing those buggers down on the Henry Mountains.


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## longbow

wyogoob said:


> Really? I got 1232.5#
> 
> I did 850# x 1.45. Am I doing it wrong? Listen I'm good at math; went to high school for 6 years. :smile:
> 
> I think we're looking at it wrong. The 65% (or 55%) is live weight minus guts, head, hide and legs. The butcher said 850lbs, that's the live weight minus the guts only. I think the guts weighed 200lb to 250lb.
> 
> Speaking of guts. We ringed the rectum, cut the windpipe, and then cut the diaphragm all around. Wrapped a rope around the stomach at the diaphragm and pulled all the guts out with a horse. 2nd damnest thing I ever seen.
> 
> .


200lb to 250lb!! For you Goob, that's a lot of good eatin'


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## brendo

Way cool! Glad it all panned out for you!


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## bugchuker

Awesome


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## 35whelen

congratulations goob! fine bull


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## 35whelen

gonna do anything intersting with the guts?


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## outdoorser

Thats the 12th damndest thing i've ever seen goob..


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## toppin

Great Buff Goobs! I was one of those guys everyone hates that drew a bull tag my very first year applying. I filled my tag a couple weeks ago on Nov. 30th. What a fun hunt! When I dropped the meat off at the butcher, just the meat (with bone) weighed 940 pounds (no hide, head, or guts....couldn't believe it). I'm guessing it was close to 2,000 pounds on the hoof; absolutely incredible animals. Again, great job on a great bull!


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## toppin

And one thing I forgot to mention.....it's hands down the best wild meat I've ever eaten!!


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## wyogoob

outdoorser said:


> Thats the 12th damndest thing i've ever seen goob..


Ah, ha, ha, ho, hee, hee

.


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## wyogoob

toppin said:


> Great Buff Goobs! I was one of those guys everyone hates that drew a bull tag my very first year applying. I filled my tag a couple weeks ago on Nov. 30th. What a fun hunt! When I dropped the meat off at the butcher, just the meat (with bone) weighed 940 pounds (no hide, head, or guts....couldn't believe it). I'm guessing it was close to 2,000 pounds on the hoof; absolutely incredible animals. Again, great job on a great bull!


That's a monster! And way2go with a bow; I'm humbled.

Those are nice pictures. Mine are lousy, camera chip was on the fritz.

The info below is per www.thebisonranch.com

No head, no hide, no guts and legs cut off at shank = carcass 
Carcass weight of bison is approx 55% of live weight. 940lb ∕ .55 = 1709lb!!! good grief

Bison carcass processed with bone left in will yield approx. 75% of dressed out weight. 940lb x .75 = 705lb 
Bison carcass processed boneless will yield approximately 55% of dressed out weight. 940lb x .55 = 517lb of de-boned meat!!!!

Thanks for posting.


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## brookieguy1

Congrats, friendgoob. It's just good ole' karma coming back atcha for all your fantastic wildlife stewardship.


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## wyogoob

brookieguy1 said:


> Congrats, friendgoob. It's just good ole' karma coming back atcha for all your fantastic wildlife stewardship.


Kind words, thank you my friend. And Merry Christmas to ya.

.


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## Huge29

Congrats Timbo! What was your backup gun? Literally 34 years wait?


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## scott_rn

Amazing experience, goob. congrats. I love that you used your handgun. 

I work with a huntress from Wyoming who harvested a bull in that same area this year. I would bet you've put in longer than she's been alive. Her bull was estimated around five, tooth data pending.


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## NHS

Very cool Goobster. I'm glad you were able to pick through the gut pile.


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## wyogoob

Huge29 said:


> Congrats Timbo! What was your backup gun? Literally 34 years wait?


My little Model 7 300 WSM was in the scabbard on the horse; too far away from me and the bison when all this happened.

Forever a Wyoming Wild Bison was a $5 to $7 application fee. Your app was entered in the system and a computer draw gave you a number, say number 1100 (about the best I ever drew). The G&F and the Park officials would decide they're gonna harvest 100 bison. So they would start calling names down on the list starting with #1. They'd call like 3 times and if no answer they'd call the next number, and so on, and so on. If you got called and wanted to hunt bison then you paid the full license fee. So the app was cheap and a jillion people applied for the 200 to 400 bison tags. My chances of drawing were about 1 in 4 trillion. I did this app thing every year and I can't say how many times other family members unsuccessfully applied through the years. :-x

The bison hunt was always a point of contention with the local, and national, anti-hunters. They would go out in the middle of the refuge or the bison herds, beat on pots and pans, carrying signs, just generally doing whatever they could to harrass the hunters. The story goes they would pool up and put in a boat load of bison applications. If they drew a tag the "association" would pay for it and naturally it would not get used. Usually this backfired because if the Department felt they weren't meeting their management goals they would put out some more tags, call some more people on the list. I think the inverse is true though. Sometimes the anti-hunters created such a stir, legal and illegal, the bison hunt was curtailed or even stopped. Finally Wyoming legislated a harassment law that pretty much put an end to their interference with the bison hunt.

For a variety of reasons (interest on fee $s my guess) in 2014 the G&F required the license fee, and the obligatory application fee, up front in January....Residents $400, Non-Residents $1,000,000.  Not too many put in for the tags and my chances of drawing were now about 1 in 1 million; piece of cake. They issued 300-400 (can't remember exactly) Bison tags and I got one. Those that applied but didn't draw would get a preference point.


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## Huge29

So, no bonus points then, just an evenly odds draw every year?


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## wyogoob

Huge29 said:


> So, no bonus points then, just an evenly odds draw every year?


I don't know what a bonus point is, we don't have them, we have preference points. You get a preference point if you don't draw. The more preference points you have the better the odds of drawing. They draw from the pool with the highest number of points first.

There's "cow/calf bison" tags and "any bison" tags, two separate application and draw systems. And I think a certain percentage of the total tags will be available in a computer draw thingie, same way the other Wyoming tags with preference points are managed to help deal with point creep.

.


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## wyogoob

Huge29 said:


> .........................Literally 34 years wait?


Now I'm not so sure. I figured I put in for bison every year that I lived here. Mrs Goob says they haven't had a bison hunt every year we've been here.

.


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## utahgolf

truly jealous, I'd love to kill a buffalo. Nothing epitomizes the west like one of those beasts!


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## COWAN

I believe the heart alone could feed a family of 6. How do you prepare it?


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## AF CYN

Very cool. Congrats!


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## CPAjeff

Congrats on the buffalo! Thanks for sharing the adventure with the rest of us, simply awesome!


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## wyogoob

COWAN said:


> I believe the heart alone could feed a family of 6. How do you prepare it?


It goes without saying heart can be tough. It's the muscle that is used the most. Doesn't take much to make a serving though; there's no fat or bone and the meat is super dense.

Prepare it a million different ways:
marianated and eaten raw
baked
fried
stew
stir fry
boiled and sliced for sandwiches
liver sausage (2 parts pork, 1 part liver, 1 part heart)
Cervelat and Sheboygan semi-dry summer sausage.

Bison tartare is popular in some high-end restaurants in Canada. I might do that.

I trimmed the bison heart, packaged it in vacuum bags, and put it in the freezer for now;
40% - for sausage
30% - sliced 1/4"
30% - for baking


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## GaryFish

Well Sheesh Goob! That is a heckofahunt right there! Congrats to you! As you described the hunt, I'd say it's the 2nd, 4th, and 7th darndest thing I've ever heard! Good for you! Love the pics, and story and recipes as well. GREAT for you! And thank you for sharing it with us.


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## middlefork

GaryFish said:


> Well Sheesh Goob! That is a heckofahunt right there! Congrats to you! As you described the hunt, I'd say it's the 2nd, 4th, and 7th darndest thing I've ever heard! Good for you! Love the pics, and story and recipes as well. GREAT for you! And thank you for sharing it with us.


I'll give a hearty second to that! Congrats.


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## silentstalker

Congratulations on a fine bull! Doing it with a handgun is awesome! That will be an incredible memory and an even better pile of meat!


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## goofy elk

WOW-----Congrats to both Wyogoob and Toppin...:!:.....

NICE BULLS.


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## wyogoob

35whelen said:


> gonna do anything intersting with the guts?


So far I've tried some heart stew, liver 'n onions smothered in white gravy, and a plate of deep fat-fried testicles. All were very good eating.

There will be more fried Rocky Mountain oysters on Christmas. The heart and liver have been packaged for future dinner meals and sausage making. Should have the tongue in a week. 

.


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## 30-06-hunter

Goob, my heart was smiling while reading the entire thread, for someone who does a lot for this forum there wasn't anyone more deserving of this hunt. I have never met you(yet) but anyone who reads your threads can tell you are a great guy, talk about one heck of a Christmas present!!


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## wyogoob

Got the processed bison from the locker plant. It hung in the cooler for 10 days before it was cut up. Here's the scope on the bison's live weight. The butcher said the animal weighed 850 lbs dressed out!!

So:
850 lbs dressed (no hide, head, legs or guts)
Normal bison dressed weight is 55% of live weight.
Live weight was approximately 1545 lbs. (what Idratherbhunting said)

I'm grinding all the trim for burger and sausage myself.


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## Dunkem

wyogoob said:


> Got the processed bison from the locker plant. It hung in the cooler for 10 days before it was cut up. Here's the scope on the bison's live weight. The butcher said the animal weighed 850 lbs dressed out!!
> 
> So:
> 850 lbs dressed (no hide, head, legs or guts)
> Normal bison dressed weight is 55% of live weight.
> Live weight was approximately 1545 lbs. (what Idratherbhunting said)
> 
> I'm grinding all the trim for burger and sausage myself.


That will fill a few shelves in your freezer.Neat that you got 10 days age on it.


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## Mr.CheddarNut

Congratulations! Great story and pics. Well done!


Cheddar


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## wyogoob

I'm making burger and sausage from the bison scraps. There was 247 lbs of trim for cryin out loud!!!

I shouda done the gutless method, so there wouldna been so much meat. 

.


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## DallanC

Goob, the picture of the truck you have it hanging from, in the bed it looks like a winch drum with about a mile of rope... is that what it is? Back in '90 there were guys up on the Manti with a similar rig to winch elk out of nasty canyons.

Oh and that horse that drug that thing out solo is a total brute. Really impressive.

-DallanC


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## Critter

wyogoob said:


> I shouda done the gutless method, so there wouldna been so much meat.
> 
> .


Bite your tongue. I used the gutless method this last year on a elk that I shot during the Colorado muzzle loader hunt just because of where I shot it at, a very long pack out. For the size of the bull I came up with about 100 lbs less burger than I should of had if I would of packed the whole thing out. You don't realize just how much trimming off of the bones that there is until you don't have it to grind up.


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## wyogoob

DallanC said:


> Goob, the picture of the truck you have it hanging from, in the bed it looks like a winch drum with about a mile of rope... is that what it is? Back in '90 there were guys up on the Manti with a similar rig to winch elk out of nasty canyons.
> 
> Oh and that horse that drug that thing out solo is a total brute. Really impressive.
> 
> -DallanC


Yeah, it's to winch out big game. There's guys around Evanston and Kemmererrererer that use them. Once I helped winch out an elk from a nasty canyon. The guys had a nice Warne winch on their front bumper and two pickup trucks full of spools of rope. I think the rope weighed more than the elk.

If there's no snow the rubber sled hangs up on the dirt or mud and they have to hitch two horses to a double tree to drag a bison, moose or big bull elk out.

.


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## wyogoob

Critter said:


> Bite your tongue. I used the gutless method this last year on a elk that I shot during the Colorado muzzle loader hunt just because of where I shot it at, a very long pack out. For the size of the bull I came up with about 100 lbs less burger than I should of had if I would of packed the whole thing out. You don't realize just how much trimming off of the bones that there is until you don't have it to grind up.


Yeah, but you do what you gotta do sometimes.

I rarely have my game cut and wrapped by someone else but I'm glad I had it done this time. The meat was packaged in small vacuum bags, just right for two people. I had the guy process all the ribs in 9" squares. They look really good, lean and meaty. I had them do both briskets whole and cut some nice pastrami roasts. They did an excellent job on the trim.

We ground around 350 lbs of elk, beef fat, pork and the bison rim over the weekend. Stuffin' a little sausage today.


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## wyogoob

I measured the bison horns using my standard margin of error; 6/8 plus and 0/8 minus. :smile:

unofficial score 106 4/8

Boone and Crockett book minimun is 115.

yeah

.


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## DallanC

The only score that matters is: Goob 1, Bison 0


-DallanC


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## wyogoob

wyogoob said:


> .....................................................
> 
> For a variety of reasons (interest on fee $s my guess) in 2014 the G&F required the license fee, and the obligatory application fee, up front in January....Residents $400, Non-Residents $1,000,000.  Not too many put in for the tags and my chances of drawing were now about 1 in 1 million; piece of cake. They issued 300-400 (can't remember exactly) Bison tags and I got one. Those that applied but didn't draw would get a preference point.


My chances of drawing the tag were 72 out of 2204.

And I was wrong about bison going to the preference point system. It is still the luck of a draw.

.


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## wyogoob

Picked up my skull from the taxidermist. Pretty cool and there was a nice bonus: got to meet bugchuker and his wife! I tried to tell him everything I knew about everything but the dang taxidermist guy out-talked me.

Another bonus: One of Evanston's resident urban monster muleys was hit by a vehicle and killed over by the Evanston Mental Hospital. The G&F gave the busted-up 7x7 rack to the taxidermist and he was in the process of glueing it all back together. I got t o check it out close up. I'll try to get a pic when it's finished.

There were 3 bison at the shop; a young cow taken off the Bear River State Park, a nice heavy-horned young bull buffalo off the wild WY hunt and mine. The other bull was younger than mine, still had it's baby teeth (they loose the baby teeth when they're five years old), but boy it's horns were considerably larger, a testament to good genes. The animal's skull was maybe 1/3rd smaller than my bull but those big horns really made for a nice trophy European mount.

They're all trophies....any critter, male or female, from a pine squirrel to a polar bear, if taken fair chase is a trophy.



Working on the hide now.

I couldn't be happier.

.


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## wyogoob

Hey, how 'bout that bullet hole on the top of the skull. jeepers

.


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## GaryFish

Cool skull Goob. though, I gotta say I'm a bit disappointed you didn't come up with some kind of bison horn and skull sausage. Slacker!


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## wyogoob

GaryFish said:


> Cool skull Goob. though, I gotta say I'm a bit disappointed you didn't come up with some kind of bison horn and skull sausage. Slacker!


I was gonna make salt and pepper shakers outta da horns but Mrs Goob said "no"

.


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## OldEphraim

Great job on the hunt Goob. Thanks for sharing and posting your pics. Don't know if I will ever get a chance at my own bison in Wyoming, fun to see someone else live it!


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## Longgun

8)

Cooler than the other side of the pillow! :grin: Congratulations Goob!


(forgive me if im repeating an earlier reply)


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## Size Matters

Congrats Goob looks like a great hunt thanks for posting the photos.8)8)8)


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## Solist

wyogoob said:


> They're all trophies....any critter, male or female, from a pine squirrel to a polar bear, if taken fair chase is a trophy.
> 
> 
> 
> Working on the hide now.
> 
> I couldn't be happier.
> 
> .


Well said Goob. Couldn't agree more with that statement. Congrats on the bison.


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## tallbuck

awesome trophy! Congrats goob! Looks like you have a great piece to add to the house and to the memory bank!


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## Dunkem

Tried any hump steak?Have heard that is pretty good,I know every buff I cut up they requested make sure you get the hump steak.Never got to try it.


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## wyogoob

Dunkem said:


> Tried any hump steak?Have heard that is pretty good,I know every buff I cut up they requested make sure you get the hump steak.Never got to try it.


No, dangit. I wanted a hump roast. But never seen a package of meat marked "hump" anything.

.


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## GaryFish

So you put that bullet hole in the top of the head there? In your hunt description, you said you weren't sure what killed that bison, based on the bullets you found. I'm no expert or anything, but this latest picture would suggest the bison died of a severe headache.


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## wyogoob

GaryFish said:


> So you put that bullet hole in the top of the head there? In your hunt description, you said you weren't sure what killed that bison, based on the bullets you found. I'm no expert or anything, but this latest picture would suggest the bison died of a severe headache.


ah, ha, ha, ho, ho, hee, hee, hee

Actually this is what I said *"At this point we have no idea what knocked the bison down."

*And:
_*"The bull's body appeared limp; no legs were moving, but the head was thrashing around violently. With my last bullet I put the animal to sleep."*_

* 
.
*


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## GaryFish

Sheesh. I just read your story about the cougar hunt in '07. After that one, I'm disappointed you didn't take that bison with fiberglass poking stick.


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## wyogoob

The tooth data report from the Game & Fish says the beast was 6 1/2 years old.

.


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## GaryFish

Cool. Don't you have some kind of cured meats hanging in your basement that are that old? 

BTW - nice top of page!


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## Dunkem

wyogoob said:


> The tooth data report from the Game & Fish says the beast was 6 1/2 years old.
> 
> .


How old is that in buffalo years?


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## Cooky

Dunkem said:


> How old is that in buffalo years?


I was wondering the same thing, how old do they get?


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## wyogoob

Cooky said:


> I was wondering the same thing, how old do they get?


An incisor must be turned in for all wild bison harvested in Wyoming. The oldest Wyoming bison for 2014 was a 13.5 year old cow. Oldest bull was 11.5, I think, I can't get the G&F tooth data web page to work.


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## wyogoob

Whoa:



.


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## utahgolf

dang! looks nice!


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## willfish4food

Holy crap that's COOL!


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## GaryFish

Sheesh Goob. That'll keep you warm in the WhyHoming whynters.


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## longbow

Holy cow that's huge!!

P.S. is that Col. Sanders in the photo?


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## colorcountrygunner

That's a very well-manicured yard. Nice buff, too!


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## Catherder

That is way cool! Where is Mrs. Goob letting you put that?


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## wyogoob

Catherder said:


> That is way cool! Where is Mrs. Goob letting you put that?


So far, in my pickup truck.

.


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## johnnycake

Who did your tanning? Looks great!


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## GaryFish

wyogoob said:


> So far, in my pickup truck.
> 
> .
> 
> .


Does she know what is hanging around in your basement? :shock:

I'd think a tanned bison robe is the least of any concerns.


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## wyogoob

johnnycake said:


> Who did your tanning? Looks great!


Mountain Man Taxidermy in Laketown UT prepped the hide.

Molyle Mink & Tannery, Heyburn ID, tanned the hide.

.


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## johnnycake

Is that their bison ultra? I am still sitting on my cow hide from 2012 and I kinda think I need to get it done asap


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## wyogoob

johnnycake said:


> Is that their bison ultra? I am still sitting on my cow hide from 2012 and I kinda think I need to get it done asap


As far as I know it was an "Ultra". The taxidermist worked directly with Moyle, not me.

.


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## gdog

Hey...you should have Mrs. Goob sew you up a new outfit...make sure you get the hat.


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## BigT

Very cool! Would make a great comforter on the master bed! Good luck with that though...


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## wyogoob

I moved to a bigger house where there's room for the bison rug. The thing is just enormous.


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## DallanC

That thing looks enormous! I still cant believe that horse drug it out whole. The skull on the wall is equally cool. Congrats, love the look. 

On a cold winter evening you can bury your toes in that warm thick hair while watching a game.


-DallanC


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## Critter

That does look great and gives me a great idea if I can ever draw one of those tags in either Utah or Wyoming. I love that skull. It looks a little too big for my pot for me to do it myself so if I get the chance I might have to farm that part out to a pro.


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## Al Hansen

Well done buddy.


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## wyogoob

Thanks everyone. I can still pull it off the floor and wear it ice fishing if I want to.

Check out Mrs Goob's buffalo picture:









.


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## CPAjeff

Looks amazing!


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## JerryH

How heavy is that hide? Its huge.


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## wyogoob

JerryH said:


> How heavy is that hide? Its huge.


A little over 70 lbs.

It's the whole thing, includes head and neck.

.


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## Springville Shooter

Really cool Goob.———SS


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## DallanC

wyogoob said:


> Check out Mrs Goob's buffalo picture:.


That is a dandy bull, where did she take the picture? I like the black and white print, it makes it seem like someone snapped a picture from the covered wagon as they rolled past. 

She had a great eye for the shot for sure.

-DallanC


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## wyogoob

DallanC said:


> That is a dandy bull, where did she take the picture? I like the black and white print, it makes it seem like someone snapped a picture from the covered wagon as they rolled past.
> 
> She had a great eye for the shot for sure.
> 
> -DallanC


No, no, she didn't take the picture, it's just "her" picture.

.


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## DallanC

wyogoob said:


> No, no, she didn't take the picture, it's just "her" picture.


Ah gotcha, sorry I misunderstood. Yes it completes the room nicely.

-DallanC


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## Springville Shooter

I must admit, just for a short minute I was jealous of that little dog. Looks well fed and all nestled up on that buffalo blanket. That’s livin’!———-SS


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## Dunkem

Nice Goob, looks like you are settled in the new digs.


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