45-70 Bullet for Bison Hunt

[RAGGED EDGE]

This thread really got me thinking about planning a bison hunt. To make it more interesting, I will probably use my Remington 700 Ultimate 50 cal (.45 plus sabot). With 101 grains (wt) of Blackhorn 209 and a 330 grain Harvester bullet @ 2150, ballistically it is very similar to a comparable 45/70 load.

Thanks guys for sharing your experiences, you really got me thinking about bison in 2026 …I have hunts planned for Newfoundland in 23, WY in 24 and CO in 25. If the good Lord gives me a thumbs up I'll be chasing bison in 2026 at the age of 84!

That is the exact bullet I used in my Pedersoli 94. In one side, out the other. Heavy internal damage.

 

[SSgt G Cody]

Don't know about buffalo, but the 480gn slug at 1245fps is potent medicine on big bear from my 45-70.

 

[Snowboy]

I used 42gr of H4198 and it seems to work well enough, the 30" barrel probably helps a decent bit with the velocity. I only had 25 bullets and the first 5 shot well enough so that's what I loaded for the rest. Since I can only shoot so well with the irons I'm limiting my shots to a 150 yard max with the Sharps.

The .300 Win Mag on the other hand is if I can't get closer than that.

Oh come on with the right sight that is calibrated for increments of 50 yards up to 400 yards should be doable. I am assuming you have a 4" to 6" rear folding tang. I used to shoot gallon milk jugs at 400 yds until my eyes got old. Now it is gallon milk jugs at 200 yds.
455 grain cast with 3 grs bullseye covered with 70 grs of ffg.

 

[2905kyle]

Just returned from a Buffalo hunt last week. Used a Marlin 1895GS 45-70. Ammo was the Buffalo Bore 300 grains Barnes (hollow point). We were told it wasn't going to be heavy enough for the meat Buffalo we were after. Well that 1,100 lb beast fell to one shot. Recovered the bullet just beneath the hide on the opposite hide. Couldn't be happier with the round and the bullet performance. Good luck on your hunt!

Good Morning Everyone,

So almost a decade after I bought a Shiloh Sharps I have decided it's finally time to go on a bison hunt. The trip will be in January 2022 so I have until then to get my load squared away.

Coming from a whitetail background I'm currently on the fence in regards to the particular bullet to use, do I go modern with one of the hammers or do I go old school and run one of the 500gr Paper Patched bullets? I've heard they are incredibly hard to kill if not hit right so would it be better to take the lung shot or should I go for the behind the ear shot to drop them outright?

Still doing some research so any info you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Just returned from a Buffalo hunt last week. Used a Marlin 1895GS 45-70. Ammo used was the Buffalo Bore 300 grains Barnes (hollow point). We were told it wasn't going to be heavy enough for the meat Buffalo we were after. Well that 1,100 lb beast fell to one shot immediately. Recovered the bullet just beneath the hide on the opposite side underneath hide. Couldn't be happier with the round and the bullet performance. Good luck on your hunt! Take lots of cooler space.

 

[Son of a Gun!]

Good Morning Everyone,

So almost a decade after I bought a Shiloh Sharps I have decided it's finally time to go on a bison hunt. The trip will be in January 2022 so I have until then to get my load squared away.

Coming from a whitetail background I'm currently on the fence in regards to the particular bullet to use, do I go modern with one of the hammers or do I go old school and run one of the 500gr Paper Patched bullets? I've heard they are incredibly hard to kill if not hit right so would it be better to take the lung shot or should I go for the behind the ear shot to drop them outright?

Still doing some research so any info you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Good Morning Everyone,

So almost a decade after I bought a Shiloh Sharps I have decided it's finally time to go on a bison hunt. The trip will be in January 2022 so I have until then to get my load squared away.

Coming from a whitetail background I'm currently on the fence in regards to the particular bullet to use, do I go modern with one of the hammers or do I go old school and run one of the 500gr Paper Patched bullets? I've heard they are incredibly hard to kill if not hit right so would it be better to take the lung shot or should I go for the behind the ear shot to drop them outright?

Still doing some research so any info you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Here's the load I've worked up for Bison! Starline Brass, Win Large Rfl., primer, and the 350 gr. Swift A-Frame bullet over 37 gr. of IMR 3031 for my Winchester 1886 Extra Light. I don't know if it would be safe in your Sharps? I would not feel under powered for Cape Buffalo with this load! I hope to try it on Bison in the near future and have killed a Wyoming Moose to date with this setup!

 

[Nomosendero]

What rifle are you using? I assume based on the speed it's a modern lever gun or single shot.

Marlin XLR, 45-70 with 24" Barrel.
I will be using this bullet: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1988357652?pid=357652
It does have the wide Meplat, some said a softer bullet would be better, but I think I am going to go with this. The data shows Varget will work &
I bought a lot of that a few years ago for my 223's and 308.

 

[Nomosendero]

I use Cast Performance bullets in a .480 Ruger pistol. They are hard and ,if the flat meplat type, will do a good job on a bison. I killed one with a flat meplat, hard-cast lead bullet (not a CP) out of a .50 muzzleloader ( .45 cal. in a sabot). Medium- sized younger bull @ around 75 yards. Shot through the lungs, he lasted about 20 seconds. That was after we chased them on foot about 2 miles into a canyon. I couldn't get reloaded before he expired. Can't help with a load, but IMO your velocity parameters are good. I was in the neighborhood of 1600 fps in the M/L.

Yes, flat Meplat

 

[308 holes]

I'm going to the Dismal River Club in Nebraska which worked the best for what I wanted to do. I had looked around for a few years at applying to hunt some of the wild herds but in all honesty with the tag cost, low non resident tag counts leading to long wait time, high pressure in small areas just outside the parks and no guarantee of a shot at a nice bull it just seemed like a lot of effort for very little benefit over hunting one on a ranch.

On the flip side I absolutely have no interest in hunting the equivalent of a fluffy cow where they are raised by people so you are just walking up to them at 20 yards and shooting which it seemed like a bunch of ranch hunts offered. Based on the research that I did the bison on the Dismal River only get human interaction when they are hunted so they tend to behave more like wild animals from what I've seen.

This also location also works out as they offer upland bird hunting as well so my Dad and Brother will come with me as observers on the bison hunt and then we will spend the rest of the trip hunting pheasants together.

Dang I'd love to do that as well after getting my Shiloh sharps 45-110 been on the bucket list

 

[Akredneck]

405gr hardcast Buffalo bore bullet. Just dial your load in to maximize accuracy, velocity might be low or midrange. I have seen them killed with a 50cal smoke pole. Shot placement is key. Although a paper patch bullet would be awesome. Hope to see some pictures

 

[CMP70306]

Oh come on with the right sight that is calibrated for increments of 50 yards up to 400 yards should be doable. I am assuming you have a 4" to 6" rear folding tang. I used to shoot gallon milk jugs at 400 yds until my eyes got old. Now it is gallon milk jugs at 200 yds.
455 grain cast with 3 grs bullseye covered with 70 grs of ffg.

My local range only goes to 200 so I had no way to calibrate past that and didn't want to guess. 150 allowed me to zero at 120 and be comfortable out to that range as the guide has requesting heart shots rather than double lung and did not want clients shooting over 200 yards. After hearing some of his stories I can fully understand why.

Here's the load I've worked up for Bison! Starline Brass, Win Large Rfl., primer, and the 350 gr. Swift A-Frame bullet over 37 gr. of IMR 3031 for my Winchester 1886 Extra Light. I don't know if it would be safe in your Sharps? I would not feel under powered for Cape Buffalo with this load! I hope to try it on Bison in the near future and have killed a Wyoming Moose to date with this setup!

Owner of Shiloh says they will handle anything the Ruger #1 will but I keep it around top end lever gun/ starting Ruger #1 loads.

Dang I'd love to do that as well after getting my Shiloh sharps 45-110 been on the bucket list

If you are planning on doing it I'd look at doing it soon as prices are going up. Dismal went up 25% and is no longer offering meat bulls at this time.

Also whatever the hunt price is it's going to cost you double or more when you include taxidermy and travel.

 

[purpledragon]

If I was gonna take a Bison with my 45-70 Buffalo Classic,
I'd use my Gas Checked 560gr big flat nosed poured with wheel weights......... JMHO
Ken

 

[Pittsspecial]

I'm going to the Dismal River Club in Nebraska which worked the best for what I wanted to do. I had looked around for a few years at applying to hunt some of the wild herds but in all honesty with the tag cost, low non resident tag counts leading to long wait time, high pressure in small areas just outside the parks and no guarantee of a shot at a nice bull it just seemed like a lot of effort for very little benefit over hunting one on a ranch.

On the flip side I absolutely have no interest in hunting the equivalent of a fluffy cow where they are raised by people so you are just walking up to them at 20 yards and shooting which it seemed like a bunch of ranch hunts offered. Based on the research that I did the bison on the Dismal River only get human interaction when they are hunted so they tend to behave more like wild animals from what I've seen.

This also location also works out as they offer upland bird hunting as well so my Dad and Brother will come with me as observers on the bison hunt and then we will spend the rest of the trip hunting pheasants together.

I'd saw this recently and would love to hear more about your hunt and also the pheasants. Love that pheasant hunting!

 

[Charles Keethler]

Take a look at my avitar bull bison 125 yds 45-70 Buffalo Bore load 405 gr flt nose 2000 muzzle one shot took top of heart off, bullet aginst hide opposite side .

 

[Rebell]

Outstanding!
Congratulations.