I will be going on a Bison shoot this fall and thinking of getting a new rifle for the task. I am considering either a lever gun in 45/70, or a single shot in same. Also 2 new comers have caught my eye. The EAA double in 45/70, or the Winchester 94 in 480 Ruger. Woudl the 480 witha 400 grain bullet make the grade for power on a 2000 lb animal? Seems to me the 400 grainr could get to propably 1900 fps(I think)out of the rifle and that should be enough? Any suggestions would be very welcome Thank you

I used a 450 Marlin on my bison and it worked well. I think any of the calibers you listed will probably work. Be advised though that bison are kind of immune to bullet shock.

I put a nice hole through the heart of mine and he still wandered around for a few minutes before laying down. The guide wouldn't let me shoot again, he said to just let it go down. I don't think they know when they are mortally wounded. No panic or running off like a deer or elk, just walked off. If you are on a ranch they will tell you where to put the shot. Put a good bullet in the right place and you won't have any problems.

Mac

The only bison I've ever shot was brought down with a .338 Win. Mag. I had some trouble with the 225 gr. Hornady bullets I was shooting in terms of structural integrity and penetration. If I ever hunt bison again, I'll likely carry a .338 again, only with 250 gr. Nosler Partition or Swift A-Frame bullets. "Tin foil" bullets are a disaster in the making for large, bulky animals or for anything that might fight back.

But to make a really special hunt out of it and to add some old west flavor, I'd be really tempted to get a Shilo Sharps rifle (the best Sharps replicas of all) and do things the old fashioned way........

AD

Of course Allen's right... the Shilo Sharps is a wonderful rifle... last time I checked there was a four year waiting list though! Several friends have them... a truly wonderful rifle.

I had a aquaintance who two years ago put down the biggest old bull on our local Bison ranch (Flying D) with the Marlin "Guide Gun" in 450 Marlin... open sights. tI worked to perfection.

Obviously most of these "hunts" are more of a "Drive By Shooting" so half (or more) of the fun is the weapon/load used and studying terminal results. Me, I'd locate a Ruger #1 in 45-70 and load some hard-cast 450's in it. I've always liked that #1 the best of all the Ruger offerings. With its 22" heavy barrel (with band) it's handy, handles recoil well and is plain cool... I'd put a Leupold 2.5x on top.

Another fun "project rifle" would be to locate a used M70 WSM... rebarrel it to 450 Marlin! That'd be a dandy rifle for elk, bear or come-what-may in the timber.

BA

Brad.....I have a 450 Marlin built on a Rem 700 short-action and it is a real hoot to shoot. The stock that came with it didn't really suit me (too light) and I put a factory wood stock on it but didn't bed it very well as I managed to split it shooting some full-power 400gr loads. It is off to Mark Bansners for one of his HighTech stocks with a solid fill. Can't wait to get it back...it is absolutely the most fun I've had with a rifle since the government gave me access to some that were fully-automatic with an unlimited suplly of ammo.

One of the loads I put together stands mentioning. It is 3 round .458 lead balls (coated) over a light charge of fast burning powder. All 3 balls will hit a small pie-plate at 50 yards and if you drop the charge a little you can hear them whistle when you shoot at the 100 yard berm. People get a funny look on their face when I shoot once and they see 3 holes in the target. Big-bores are flat-out fun with reduced loads.

Tom,
There is a herd of wild bison around my home here in Alaska. I usually go with two or more lucky friends every year in search of their bison as I know the local area. Any rifle of 300 mag or larger with quality bullets should do the job. More important is bullet placement as these bison are built different than the members of our deer family. Local Fish & Game Biologists have an anatomy diagram that really helps hunters. The spine turns down toward the chest from the hump....much different.....Our best success has been broadside shots to the point where the elbow was as the front leg steps forward.

Good Luck....Vern

Bill, very cool! Have you loaded the 450 gr. Barnes X? I'm curious what kind of velocity could be coaxed with that bullet in a solid bolt action like your M700! The neat thing about building on the M70 WSM would be the ability to seat long bullets out to 3.00".

BA

Brad....the BarnesX is to long for the short case. You can't compress the powder enough to get enough of the bullet in the case for proper seating. I've used various cast bullets from 300gr up to 400gr and I can get enough velocity to pass 4000 ftlbs of enrgy...compressed powder but OK. These loads are stout! A friend gave me some of the Barnes Originals in both 300gr and 400gr...they are shorter than the X-bullets and the rifle likes them but I ran out before I finished testing.

I've laid in a supply of bullets for when the rifle gets back with it's new stock...a box each of the Barnes Originals, a box of the 250gr Flat-Nose X, plus a lot more cast bullets. I'm especially anxious to see how the 250gr Barnes-X performs as it should be devasting on leopard.

Just FYI the wait at Shiloh is down to 10 months. http://www.shilohrifle.com/

Be advised that Mac is right on that Bison seem to be shock proof. We had one guy here in Utah who unloaded on a herd of Buffalo and didn't drop one. He followed them over the hill and found five dead buffalo.
I would love to hunt them with a 45/70, but I took mine with a 30-06. A neck shot put mine down in its tracks.
Good Luck, and let us know how it went.

The minimum here in BC is a 175 gr. bullet with a minimum of 2000 ft-lbs @ 100 meters, pretty much a 7-08 or 7X57, unless you can find some 180 gr. Barnes Originals for a 270 Win. I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't go after a 1 ton beast with a deer rifle!

If I were to go, my Ruger No1 416 Rem Mag with some 400 gr. Barnes X's would be my choice. I don't think you can get too much penetration on any buffalo. Other solid choices would be a 375 H&H w/300 gr. X's or Fail Safes, 45/70 w/Garrett ammo, and 458 Win Mag w/450 gr. X's. I'm sure a 338 Mag with 230 gr. FS or a similar X would be good too.

Pick something big, whatever you choose!

I just saw a bison hunt on the outdoor channel where the hunter was using a Thompson Center in 45/70. He placed FIVE (5) shots to the shoulder-lung area in a "running battle" without much effect. The poor beast finally rolled over 30 secs after the 5th round. So much for the RIDICULOUS argument of the 45/70 as a DGR caliber. I'd use a 338 with good bullets or a 375.jorge

jorge....you've obviously never seen the videos or heard the many stories of buffalo (cape variety) soaking up bullet after bullet from some "legitimate" dangerous-game cartridges. If you keep shooting them in the heart/lungs area you need to resign yourself to waiting for them to die.......and hope that while you're waiting they aren't headed in your direction with a malicious intent.

Get a Sharps or a roller, learn to load black, and do the deed. I didn't have any problem dropping mine with one well-placed shot. There isn't too much on the North American continent that will stand up to 520 grains of lead slamming into it.

Russ

DB Bill: Oh yes I have seen videos and I've experienced Africa myself. Having said that, the American Bison does not come close to the tenacity/danger etc that ol' M'Bogo posesses!