So my family and I decided to do a hunt on a hunting preserve in norther Florida. We took four large hogs and I took a large Bison bull around 1600 pounds. I bought some 420 grain punch bullets loaded with 33 grains of lil gun for my smith and wesson .500.





I told or guild I wanted to get as close as I could for the shot, he was a little nervous to hear my request cause the bulls of the heard have been aggressive. He mentioned the large bull killed one of their horses a month ago. So I told him my father will be their for back up with his .300 ultra mag rifle.



So we stalked up to the heard of about 15 bison with a calf present. I picked out the largest bull in the heard and slowly made are stalk. We got to about thirty yards from the bull and the heard was getting nervous. One bull to my right put his head down and tail up like he was about to charge so I did not dare get any closer.



I lined up my shot to his shoulder. I shot the first shot and it went three inches to the left of the shoulder hitting the soft muscle of the neck. He began to run to the left so I quickly got back on target and the second shot hit the spine by the neck and dropped him instantly. I walked up and put on more round in him while he was on the ground for good measure through his sternum and it went through the lung and out the other side by the spine.

All three rounds exited the bison. The neck shot went right threw the thick cervical spine making a nice .50 caliber hole.



It was amazing how big he was once I stood next to him. I lifted his head and it felt like over one hundred pounds.



The hunt was a rush ad would love to maybe hunt a water buffalo or cape buffalo. The rush of getting that close with a handgun was a humbling experience.



After skinning we processed meat for three full days straight and than had some bison burgers. A shoulder mount is being made as well as a rug from the back half. Cant wait till its done. And I now have meat for over a year.

I recommend the punch bullets from beltmountain for any thick skinned game. I only wish I would of hit the shoulder to really see how good of a penetration the bullet is. I have a feeling it would have gone threw both shoulders and out the other side. I cant wait for the next hunt.

Nice photos. How much processed meat did you end up with?

I didn't weight it but we ended up with two 8 cubic foot deep freezer chests full and I gave a bunch of meat to family. I made some chili, burgers, and country fried bison strip with white gravy and they all came out great.

quote:

Originally posted by Steel
country fried bison strip with white gravy.

Your killing me! Sounds delicious.

Outstanding!! Congratulations, steel! Great report, great photos!


Belt Mountain no longer produces Punch bullets -- Rintoul Enterprises does -- same company as Cast Performance and Grizzly Cartridge.

You've done great, steel! Well done!

The picture with you, the Bison and the 500 Smith is a good one.

The S&W is nearly as big as the Bison.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
The picture with you, the Bison and the 500 Smith is a good one.

The S&W is nearly as big as the Bison.

I was going to say "that's the first time I've seen a 500 look 'right sized'!

Nice buff!

Good job!! Those Punch Bullets definately did the job.

Nice job! I love Bison!

Is that stalking? Looks like you walked up to him in the open.

quote:

Originally posted by ConradCA:
Is that stalking? Looks like you walked up to him in the open.

Is that a rhetorical question?

Great work

Looks like a blast!

Snake

Buffalo meat is a real treat imo. I've had buff burgers at Sturgis and I thought FAR better tasting than the beef kind. Also had buff steaks up in Banff and really liked them. You're gonna like what you've got there, and a lot of us too could go for a buff mount. You did OK there.

Anyway..the size of that piece got me wondering, what's everyone think is the minimum handgun caliber/load that would drop a buff like that...

I too think bison has a better taste than beef. I just got back from Colorado and I loved how almost every restaurant had bison available. It was nice to see them on the side of the highway on I-70 where they have a large heard the city got from Yellowstone.

I think the minimum gun to take down a bison bull cleanly would be a .44 magnum. But getting that close to a heard of bison I was glad to have the .500 magnum. I think the bigger magnums are needed if you hit the hard bones of the shoulder and spine.

And to answer the question about the stalk. To the right of the picture that you cant see is the tree line we walked out of. As you can see the bison on the right with his head down had taken notice of us and that is when I stopped advancing and took my shoot at a bison off screen in that picture. You can see the mussel bast in that pic also.

I remember once seeing a guy take a buff at close range with a .44 black powder Colt Walker Dragoon. Seemed to be enough gun.

If I was gonna do this, I'd first try out a .475. Never shot one before, but they seem a "handier" package than the .500. How does .475 recoil compare with a .44 magnum 240 @ 1450 or thereabouts? That's about as heavy as I've gone so far...

quote:

Originally posted by Shack:
I remember once seeing a guy take a buff at close range with a .44 black powder Colt Walker Dragoon. Seemed to be enough gun.

If I was gonna do this, I'd first try out a .475. Never shot one before, but they seem a "handier" package than the .500. How does .475 recoil compare with a .44 magnum 240 @ 1450 or thereabouts? That's about as heavy as I've gone so far...

It's considerably heavier. Loaded to spec (420 grain bullet at 1,300 - 1,400 fps) it's also IMO heavier kicking than the .500 Smith X-frame as it is in a much smaller/lighter (about 3-lbs) package. There are anumber of .50 caliber options that also fit into a "normally" sized revolver, like the .500 Linebaugh, .500 JRH, and the .500 WE.

So in recoil it sounds, more or less, like twice my fully loaded .44. But, I don't know the weight diff between the Model 29 in the 8 3/8" and the Ruger in .475. The grip/frame design will mean something too. My SBH .44 has much less "apparent recoil" than the 29. Although I don't call either bad.

Anyway, I'll have to get around to trying a .475 one of these days. Did try the X Frame just once, but can't see carrying it around all day. Might also be a bit awkward from a deer stand.

The X frame is not that bad in weight. You just have to lifts some really heavy weights before the hunt and the x frame does not seem that bad afterward.

Really not a bad idea.

If it was any bigger, I'm thinking crew operated...

quote:

Originally posted by Shack:
Really not a bad idea.

If it was any bigger, I'm thinking crew operated...

And a trailer to move it around with.

NICE PHOTOS AND A GREAT AMOUNT OF MEAT , Several years ago i guided Guillermo Amestoy in a similar hunt but the bovine was a water buffalo ,devasting power in these revolvers .Congrats again

water buff is next on my list

i'd add the .41 to that list with the right load, my brother took a buffalo cleanly with a very very underwhelming load and bullet in .44 mag. not near the power of some .41 loads. btw, congrats on that buff, they are a rush to get close too. even on pretty wild bison, they just aren't that hard to close in on. they can however, spook and charge rather quickly. heck, a friend of mine has a buffalo ranch, they don't hunt them and when they feed everyonce in awhile one will turn salty and mess up the truck pretty well. their unpredictability combined with how docile they can be can make them fairly dangerous at times if ya don't watch it. it added to the adrenalin that my brother did his stalking slowly in brush in a wheelchair.
btw steel, great buff!