So after almost a decade I finally got to use my 1874 Sharps to take a bison and I will say that it was quite the experience.
Our plan was for my Dad and Brother to go with me as observers for the bison hunt and then the three of us would pheasant hunt for the remaining two days. To start our first time flying with firearms went smoothly with zero hiccups, the drive from Denver to the Dismal River however took an extra 2 and a half hours due to a snow storm shutting down most major highways between Colorado and Nebraska. As such we had to take several back roads for almost 200 miles and made it to the club well after dark. The club itself is very nice with multiple cabins for the guests and a main lodge with a large sitting room, bar and back deck that all overlook the Dismal River valley.
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The first day was bitterly cold with the temps around -8 and a wind chill bumping it down to -22. We got to the main lodge around 7:30, meeting our guide Taylor for breakfast and a quick range trip as we got in too late the night before to do so. Both my Sharps and my .300 were sighted in so we loaded up in the truck around 9:30 and started the 50 minute drive to the pasture where they keep the bison. After enjoying the Nebraska scenery that we had missed the night before and learning about the area from Taylor we arrived at the 4,000 acre bison pasture. The property is split into a northern half and a southern half by the Dismal River with the entrance being on the north. The bison however see no issue with the river and were frequently seen crossing it despite the bitterly cold temps.
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The plan was to drive the truck around the pasture to locate and glass for a trophy bison, once we located one we wanted to stalk the guide would park the truck away from them hidden by the dunes and we would put on a stalk. Since the guides never hunt directly from the vehicle the bison have little to no fear of the truck when we drove through the pasture and many stood to watch us drive by. Due to the cold, wind and snow the night before the majority of the bison were grouped up into a large herd of well over 200 animals. As such we were able to look over several dozen animals and Taylor was able to point out which ones were cows, which were meat bulls and which were trophy bulls. After this brief introduction we left the herd in favor of finding a small bachelor herd of trophy bulls that we could stalk. After crossing the river and driving around for a while we located a small herd of three trophy bulls. One of these bulls only had the back half of the thick fur on the top of his head so we took to calling him Funky Fro for the rest of the hunt, he is the one in the middle.
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Since the three bulls seemed content to hang around a particular hill we decided to continue looking for another large lone bull that Taylor had seen the day before. After over an hour of searching we concluded that the bull Taylor was thinking of must have ended up back in the main herd and headed up to the top of a hill to look across the river at the main herd. Once up on top we started glassing and saw the other guide and hunter getting ready to put a stalk on the herd. After watching them for half an hour while he harvested his trophy bull we decided to let the group that split off the main herd settle down while we made a stalk on the three bulls from earlier. We drove over and found them close to where we left them in the morning so we parked the truck down wind about a little over half a mile away and started our stalk.
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The bulls had settled in on a hill in the open so we navigated through the cedar trees on the edge of the drop off into the river as we tried to hide our presence. We were able to get within 200 yards before we ran out of cover so we put the only tree between us and the bison and walked at them. Luckily for us they had started moving closer and were about 90 yards from us as we reached the tree. Me and Taylor slowly slid around the tree however when I settled in on the tripod there was a large clump of grass 10 yards in front of me that blocked my shot and by the time I got the tripod up higher the buffalo had decided they had tolerated us long enough and had started moving off. Since I didn't want to risk a moving shot with the Sharps on the very first stalk we let them walk off.
We headed back to the truck and decided to eat lunch and give the bulls a chance to settle down. After lunch we decided to try another stalk, we thought they had settled in but every time we popped over a dune they were still 250+ yards in front of us and after 3 attempts to get ahead of them we walked the 3/4 of a mile back to the truck. When we found the bulls again they were out in the wide open with no cover for 500 yards so we decided to move off and go after the part of the herd that had split when the other hunter got his bull.
When we located the smaller herd on the north side we were able to sneak to within about 100 yards of them but only one little meat bull could be seen. Just as one of the big bulls came over the hill he stood in front of a cow and then took off down the hill taking the whole herd with him. I will admit that I was surprised how fast those big animals can actually move when they want to. They headed right down into the river bottom and up onto the south side. Since it had been over an hour since our last stalk and it was getting late we decided to let the herd settle in and try to stalk the 3 bulls again. We located them out in the open eating near a tree so we tried to put the tree between us and close the gap however they spotted us at about 150 yards and started moving off. We ran up three dunes trying to get a shot but they always managed to either stay far enough out or be facing directly away when we crested the dune.
Since the previous 4 stalks had failed and we were down to the final 45 minutes of daylight we decided to try and locate the small herd and see if we could get one last shot at them. After locating the herd and sneaking within 100 yards we spent the final half hour waiting for a clear shot on one of several bulls in the herd and by the time one finally cleared I determined I could no longer see my front sight clear enough to make a comfortable shot and we called it a day. On the ride back we discussed the day and I stated that I would give the Sharps one or two more opportunities and if it didn't work out by lunch time I would bring out the .300 and drop one at 200 yards.
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After a delicious steak dinner and a good nights sleep we met at the main lodge at 6:15 to grab a quick breakfast and head out to get to the pasture early. The temps that day were around -5 but the wind was blowing 10 to 15 which took the wind chill into the negative 20's. We passed the main herd by the entrance and immediately went to the south side to look for the small heard of bulls we left the night before. We ended up locating a herd of 11 big bulls right by where we had last stalked the group of 3 the previous afternoon. We parked the truck and started our stalk and as we went to crest the third hill there was a big bull not 50 yards from us who immediately took off as soon as he saw our heads and lead the rest of the group with him.
We watched them until they went over the hill and then me and Taylor took off moving up the next hill over trying to get ahead of them. On the first hill we had closed the gap to 150 yards but they did not stop so we moved to the next hill trying to get under 100 only to find that the bulls had moved to the next set of hills farther away. We then took off again over another hill to try and cut them off but when we got into the next valley they caught us out in the open at about 300 yards and we knew we were busted when they stared at us before trotting off.
We hiked the mile and a half back to the truck with me seriously considering taking out the .300 on the next stalk. We decided to try and get out ahead of the bulls again and moved to cut them off before they made it back to the river. As we stopped and were looking for the bulls up the hill I see some bison across the river on the path and my brother notices a big bull on this side of the river waking up the fence row with what looked like a couple cows ahead of him. Since we know the direction he is heading we leave my Dad and Brother in the truck on top of the hill and start moving quickly down to cut him off. When we get farther down we realize that what we thought were a few cows was the big herd that had crossed the river and were now below us hiding amongst the hills. We set up on the edge of a bowl with the majority of the bison moving through at about 130 yards from our position.
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As we watch them we realize that there is nothing but cows and small bulls in the herd, Taylor starts looking to see if there are any more larger bulls and notices three big bulls leading a group of cows up out of the river bottom and heading our way. We watch them but after a while it becomes apparent that the bulls are not going to follow the same path as the main herd and are instead following the fence row which is several hundred yards from our position. As most of the cows had left the bowl Taylor turns to me and say "We are going to do something stupid, we are going to run at them". We wait until the bulls move behind a hill, grab our stuff and sprint down the hill right at the herd of cows to get to the other edge of the bowl as they scatter and take off up the hill. We get to the edge and realize the bulls are still 250 yards away so as they walk behind another hill we sprint another 150 yards to the next hill and drop down expecting the bulls to step out within 100 to 120 yards of our position.
As I get behind the rifle the lead bull steps out from behind the hill so I cock the hammer and set the trigger, he takes three more steps clear of the hill and stops broadside looking at us as I squeeze the hair trigger and drop the hammer on the bull. He hunches up at the shot and stands for a second before starting to walk forward as I scramble to get a second round out of my pocket and reload. As I close the breach and cock the hammer again he is now 40 yards from where he was and stops again. Since I wasn't sure where my first shot hit and I was concerned I hit low due to the lack of reaction I aimed a bit higher for his lungs and fired a second shot. On impact the bulls back legs folded up and he dropped on the spot, I had inadvertently aimed slightly too high and hit the bottom edge of the spine which under pressure I forgot sat much lower in the back than the whitetails I'm used to shooting.
Taylor congratulated me and we both hopped up to run over and scare off the second bull that was eying up my dead bull for a fight. As we walked over to it we signaled for my Dad and Brother to bring the truck down so we could get some pictures before gutting and loading the bull into the truck. When I walked up I was amazed at how big they really are up close, before this hunt a 475 pound black bear was the biggest thing I had ever gotten. Taylor estimated this bull to weigh in at 1750 pounds and he looked monstrous laying there in the snow. I reached down to feel his fur and when I patted him on the shoulder I felt something hard. Low and behold I found my 402gr Hammer was caught in the fur on the far side so I pulled it out and got a picture of it before we got the bull propped up and started taking pictures.
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Once that was done Taylor gutted him then we loaded him up and took him over to the skinning shed so they could get him skinned and ready to hang in the larger freezer for several days before they butcher him. I talked to the butcher who will be getting as much as he can for steaks, ribs and roasts then turning the rest into burger. They estimate 30% to 35% of live weight so I should be getting between 500 and 600 pounds of meat.
Since I had shot the bull around 10:30, we got done skinning around 2 and back to the lodge around 3 we didn't have time for pheasant hunting so we went to the range and did some shooting out to 1000 yards. I even got to use my .300 to hit the 1 mile Buffalo target. We ended the day with a sit down dinner with the three of us, Taylor, the other guide and his girlfriend plus the other hunter and his wife. The food was delicious and we spent several hours swapping hunting and other outdoor stores before calling it a night. The other hunter found out I was a reloader and was even kind enough to send me a bunch of Hornady .300 Win Mag brass that he had been collecting.
The last day we spent the morning out coyote hunting and had two come in but both were missed though regardless hunting coyotes on both a golf and a frisbee golf course was certainly a highlight of the trip. The pheasant in the afternoon however were not so lucky and we ended up getting 22 of them along with 6 chukars. The dogs were great and very good at getting the birds to flush. That was my brother's and mine's first time upland hunting and we will definitely be doing it again in the future.
I will admit that Bison hunting was an interesting affair for one who had never done any spot and stalk hunting and can best be described as being as difficult as you make it. They were easy to find since they stick out in the wide open landscape and a scoped rifle will make easy work of them out to 200 yards. However if you are looking for a bit more of a challenge taking a short range iron sighted weapon for trophy bulls greatly increases the difficulty as they are much less tolerant of people within 200 yards and will start to get moving in short order if you push the envelope. My Sharps gave me just enough frustration to give me a good story which makes it all the better, as Steve Rinella says the highest grade of fun is things that are miserable while your doing it but fun to remember.
To sum everything up I guess I could say that our trip to the Dismal River Club greatly exceeded my expectations. The lodging was great, every meal was delicious, the staff was friendly and accommodating and the views were fantastic. Above all our guide Taylor went above and beyond to help me get my bull with the Sharps and make sure we got our two days worth of pheasant hunting in one. Without hesitation I would recommend them if you are interested in Bison, Mule Deer or Pheasant hunting as we are already considering going back in a few years for a Mule Deer hunt during their November rifle season.
