Is my setup heavy enough for a Bison?

[Pygmy]

I'd go with the Hawken...

" Kin you skin GRIZ, Pilgrim ? "

[jjb4900]

what does the owner think? I'm sure he has had all types come with different weapons to kill them.

[Skillet]

what does the owner think? I'm sure he has had all types come with different weapons to kill them.

He's had people bowhunt them successfully, but he doesn't know what their setup was. He says he doesn't care what I use, but needs it to be killed cleanly.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Skillet

[jjb4900]

turn your bow up to 65-70lbs if possible, get a cut on contact broadhead and maybe a heavier arrow if needed and go for it......if shooting the Bison is free, it would be worth the small expense of those couple things......I can't imagine a 50 Cal Hawken with roundball being much better then the archery setup.

Edited October 28, 2015 by jjb4900

[Buckmaster7600]

If you got some heavy arrows something with a total weight over 500gn it wouldn't be hard to tune and dial your bow in for a 20 yd shot. It's a once in a life time hunt seems well work 50$ for 6 arrows and a half he at the range.

[jjb4900]

probably more than one bison has fallen to a recurve bow......I think you'll be fine if you tweek your setup just a little.

[NFA-ADK]

That is a little bit light for that animal, I would use the crossbow.

[WNYBuckHunter]

turn your bow up to 65-70lbs if possible, get a cut on contact broadhead and maybe a heavier arrow if needed and go for it......if shooting the Bison is free, it would be worth the small expense of those couple things......I can't imagine a 50 Cal Hawken with roundball being much better then the archery setup.

 

Just need to use a conical in the Hawken and he would be just fine. Especially at the distances he is talking about.

[Skillet]

Just need to use a conical in the Hawken and he would be just fine. Especially at the distances he is talking about.

I shoot 90gr of FFG out of it, pushing a 385gr conical. Flattens deer pretty nicely.

[WNYBuckHunter]

That would be perfect on a bison.

[BizCT]

I would ask the owner of the preserve. Probably not too many people (if any) from this site have shot a bison with a bow. I know on the bowsite forum I read about people shooting bison and muskox pretty frequently. I'm sure you could get good info there.

[Fletch]

So not even one steak?

Edited October 28, 2015 by Fletch

[dbHunterNY]

women shoot cape buffalo with a bow.  don't think they pull 70lbs.  we'll assume 60lbs.  still need a crazy heavy arrow and head designed solely for penetration.  if I knew what they used I'd just post it as cape buffalo is equally as stout an animal.  most guys I know who have hunted bison have used 80lb bows with a heavy arrow of 600+ grains.

Edited October 28, 2015 by dbHunterNY

[Buckmaster7600]

I'm no expert on killing buffalo with archery tackle but I can take an educated guess and say that 58lbs is more than adequate you just need to make up for the lack of draw weight with a heavy arrow and a smallish fixed blade broad head. Keep shots close and complete your dream. It's on a preserve so the animals are fenced in so it's very doubtful the animal will get away. I'm not saying you should take marginal shots based on that just stating the obvious. And why not take your bow and a rifle just in case?

[stoneam2006]

One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is that a pass thru shot may not be beneficial on a animal that large....at least in my head....seems if arrow went in say 12 or so inches and stayed in rotating and grinding while animal was running may do alot more damage than say a double lung pass thru....I may be wrong but seems like a broadhead inside the chest cavity would be the best outcome other than a clean heart hit

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[Skillet]

  There's been a lot of good points made here, so I've ruled the compound out. Ethically, I don't think it would be right. Could I kill him with it? probably, if the shot was perfect. But, you could also kill deer with a 22, following that logic. Just because it's not a whitetail, or a "wild" animal doesn't mean ethics should be any less important.

Also, he's doing me a big favor, & I don't need to repay him by giving him a shot up, stressed out, adrenaline filled carcass full of gamey meat, to eat all year.

Money is tight & so is time, so buying new arrows & broadheads is out. I'm going to use the crossbow if I'm able to get close enough, but my gf will be behind me carrying my Hawken. If I can't get into position for a perfect shot with the crossbow, I'll smoke him. Thanks a lot for the input! I'll post how it goes friday night.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Skillet

[Pygmy]

Keep your eye on the skyline and your nose in the wind...May you do well, Pilgrim...

[Culvercreek hunt club]

  There's been a lot of good points made here, so I've ruled the compound out. Ethically, I don't think it would be right. Could I kill him with it? probably, if the shot was perfect. But, you could also kill deer with a 22, following that logic. Just because it's not a whitetail, or a "wild" animal doesn't mean ethics should be any less important.

Also, he's doing me a big favor, & I don't need to repay him by giving him a shot up, stressed out, adrenaline filled carcass full of gamey meat, to eat all year.

Money is tight & so is time, so buying new arrows & broadheads is out. I'm going to use the crossbow if I'm able to get close enough, but my gf will be behind me carrying my Hawken. If I can't get into position for a perfect shot with the crossbow, I'll smoke him. Thanks a lot for the input! I'll post how it goes friday night.

Perfectly logical. Good luck and there had better be pictures.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Keep your eye on the skyline and your nose in the wind...May you do well, Pilgrim...

That and Jose Whales have to be in my top 10 favorites list.

[jjb4900]

and watch your top knot........

[Pygmy]

and watch your top knot........

 

Watch yorn.....

[SteveB]

Plenty of bow. I would use a sharp COC broad head and you are fine.
At the attached link, a long 57# at 27 inches shot thru a big cow buff with a 410 gr arrow - maybe 185 fps.

And it broke a rib going in.

I'd do it in a second with my 53# recurve and feel confident of a clean kill - shot thru an elk with it.

http://shrewbows.com/carbon_arrows.html

 

[jjb4900]

I don't know much about crossbows, but are you gaining that much more by using that instead of a compound?

[nyslowhand]

Innocent enough question, but not an easy cut & dry answer! Typically Xbows shoot heavier arrows to absorb the energy when they're fired. So the OP probably has a much better Xbow s/u regarding Ke than his compound bow with its' current s/u. Not to mention with a scope, shot placement would arbitrarily become more reliable and extend his ethical shot distance 10+yrds. Also considering the amount of tweaking and practice that would be required to boost his arrow wgt in his compound bow. A pass-thru shot with any bow on a buffalo,..just seems too unrealistic to expect.

 

Xbow and the backup Hawken is a great idea! I've shot a few deer with TC Maxi-Ball Hunter (350gr) conicals out of my 50cal TC Renegade....knocks them right off their feet. So probably more than sufficient for a buffalo,,,with a good shot placement, at a reasonable distance!!

 

Putting the high fence hunt aside like the OP requested, does sound like a cool hunt. The price is right!

Edited October 29, 2015 by nyslowhand

[SteveB]

A pass-thru shot with any bow on a buffalo,..just seems too unrealistic to expect.

Did you look at the link I posted?

2 holes with a 57@27 longbow. 2 holes and broke a rib going in.

410 grain arrow with a cut on contact broadhead.

Also passthru isn't needed - just double lung.

I know several who have killed one with a bow - both compound and trad.

Hit in the lungs, they actually die pretty easy.