Help in Judging Bison Horns
Contributors to this thread:Moose
From: Livereater
09-Jul-23
Heading to the Crow Indian Reservation MT this week to bowhunt Bison. I have a goal to shoot a P&Y minimum bull at 100" or better but have not been around them. I was told the largest body bull do not necessarily have the largest horns. What are some tips to judge bison horns. Thanks!
From: Corax_latrans
09-Jul-23
I dunno, but if I were headed for Crow country I might rethink the handle….
From: Rock
09-Jul-23
Louie, Here is my 117" Bull from several years ago, I thought he looked good enough the first afternoon of the hunt so I shot him. Was pleasantly surprised once I put a tape on him. Green he was 18 2/8" long.
From: Medicinemann
09-Jul-23
The rule of thumb that I went by was that if the horns were "goalposts", that is, if the tips were parallel and going straight up into the sky, it is probably a younger bull. I was told to focus on bulls whose horn tips curled inward near their tips. If you look at enough critters (even just their photos), you can get a feel for what a big one looks like.....and when they are in a group, most of the time because of the size differential, they'll stand out as well. As you can see in Rock's photo, his bull's horns curve inward.....it may seem subtle, but it isn't when compared with younger bulls horns. I have never hunted bison in the states .... only in Canada. I will share that they were much harder to get close to than I originally suspected. They can be a pretty wary animal....both the Plains bison and the Wood Bison.
From: JTreeman
09-Jul-23
I think it’s gonna be a pretty tall order to get a 100” bull on the crow from everything I have heard. You are aware that p@y doesn’t currently recognize bison from the Crow for the record book right? I think there is possibly a fair argument that they should (or maybe even would), but it’s been a moot point as most bulls there won’t make the minimum anyway.
Good luck either way, a bison with a bow is pretty dang cool regardless of books and scores.
—Jim
From: Murph
09-Jul-23
Generally an old bull 10 yrs + is gonna have some broom so to speak the tips won’t be sharp and polished they loose some length but make it up in every circumference
From: JSW
09-Jul-23
Bison are the hardest to field judge of all the horned species. The advice of looking for horns that curve back in at the top is sound. Other than that, not much you can do to reference horn size. If they are grazing in sagebrush, or tall grass, it's hard enough to distinguish the bulls from the cows.
If at all possible, I would look at body size as much as anything else. On my Utah hunt, I had 9 bison graze by at under 30 yards waiting for the single bull in the group. Turns out, he was the first one to graze by. I couldn't see his belly and I couldn't tell that his horns were that much bigger than the cows from the side. Just too much of an afro covering the bases.
Look for the penis sheath and one that higher at the shoulders than the rest. Good luck
From: JSW
09-Jul-23
Utah 2018
Utah 2018
From: JSW
09-Jul-23
If you kill a bull with your bow that makes P&Y minimums, go through the process of having it measured and submit it to the Club. That's the best way to get new areas approved by the Club. If there are no entries from an area that is out of the recognized area, there isn't any reason to expand the area.
Please let us know how it goes and I second the concern about your nickname in Crow country.
From: Livereater
10-Jul-23
Good examples and advise from some heavy hitters, thanks! I knew what I was getting into booking this hunt at this location but hope seek a bull meeting the minimum score. Here are some photos of bulls taken from the area. At a glance, would you think any of them would meet the minimum of 100"
From: Livereater
10-Jul-23
From: Livereater
10-Jul-23
From: Livereater
10-Jul-23
From: Livereater
10-Jul-23
From: Livereater
10-Jul-23
From: Livereater
10-Jul-23
From: Altitude Sickness
10-Jul-23
From your examples. This one is the most mature
From your examples. This one is the most mature
Livereater, the last two examples you posted are the most mature. The others look to be 2- 3 yr olds. As bulls mature the ratio of front end size to their rear end gets more drastic. The rear end looks very small compared to the chest and head. The head also looks larger due to more fro on top and sides.
The horns gain mass all the way up and the tips are less sharp. And the horn near the bases are more ragged and irregular. Younger bulls horns are relatively smooth closer to the head than old bulls.
Cows are more flat along the back. Smaller heads. And horns tips curve in towards each other more than bulls.
A large mature bull will be obvious next to cows and immature bulls.
From: Altitude Sickness
10-Jul-23
More mature
More mature
From: Altitude Sickness
10-Jul-23
Middle age bull maybe 4-5 yrs old at the most
Middle age bull maybe 4-5 yrs old at the most
Sorry I can’t put a score on them. I raised them for years and can age them ok. But never scored the skulls.
From: Murph
10-Jul-23
10 yr old bull
10 yr old bull
From: Smtn10PT
10-Jul-23
I dont know much about scoring them, but if the horns stick up above the hair on the bulls head its probably not that old. The older bulls I've seen have horns that dont come up above the hairline.
From: Livereater
10-Jul-23
Murph, what did your bull score for reference?
From: jmiller
10-Jul-23
Young bulls have goal post type horns and cows have narrow, curling horns. A big bull looks big. Here is a picture of a mature cow.
From: Livereater
10-Jul-23
I have heard that bison can be decoyed like the Indians. Does anyone have experience doing this?
From: Livereater
10-Jul-23
I purchased this Montana decoy, how do you think the bison will react to it?
From: Murph
10-Jul-23
Livereater, I never had him officially scored it wasn’t an area they consider fair chase we did rough him and he was 116” or so if I remember right the hide is about as much of the trophy as the head IMO
From: Bou'bound
10-Jul-23
If you get a chance and are comfortable, could you share a bit about the crow hunt what’s involved how they do that and how to participate? It doesn’t seem like there’s much online at all regarding that opportunity.
From: Medicinemann
10-Jul-23
Like Murph, I had one of my bison's hides tanned. It has been a great conversation piece over the years. When my nephew brings his young children over, they like to lay on the hide and roll up.....we call them bison burritos when they do it. It is no wonder that the indians used to make full length coats out of the hides.....they certainly are heavy, but extremely warm and windproof. I often wondered if I could have draped it over my shoulders and approached the herd like I used to see in my high school history books.
From: Pete In Fairbanks
10-Jul-23
I took a bull up on the mountain on the Crow Reservation in 2007. My advice would be to trust the tribal members who come along. If they say a bull is too old and too tough to eat... that is likely a good trophy! A 7 year old bull is normally a good trophy AND you still have some fine eating. Learn to age them yourself, but listen to the guides.
Pete
From: JSW
10-Jul-23
I wouldn't bother with the decoy. You end up screwing around with the thing while you should be concentrating on making sure the bull doesn't even know you are around.
I watched a guy in the Henry's run around with a decoy. It must have been cardboard or plastic because when the sun hit it just right, it reflected like a mirror. It looked to be a complete waste of time, although it did provide me with some amusement for a while.
From: Corax_latrans
10-Jul-23
@JSW - what’s the poundage on your recurve?
I won’t lie - I think I’d enjoy hunting one of these beasts with a bow, so long as they’re not semidomesticated.
From: JSW
10-Jul-23
I used my 60# bighorn on the bison hunt. The Henry Mt hunt was one of my all time favorite hunts. There is nothing more American than hunting bison with a traditional bow.
From: bghunter
10-Jul-23
I am interested in information about the crow hunt too. Finding information is difficult.
From: Livereater
21-Jul-23
I appreciate all the photos and input from you all. It was a good final overview before heading out. I was able to get my bull on the third day of hunting. Had six stalks prior to connecting on this bull. We tried the decoy a couple of times, the bulls took interest the cows did not and pulled the heard away. There were a couple of times I thought the setup would be a slam dunk for a shot but these bison were as wary as elk and had a sixth sense to pull another direction at the last minute. My Crow Indian guides were awesome...experienced, in shape hunters who could break a bison down in record time. Saw several groups of bison around 300 bison total, seemed like a good healthy herd. My bull had good length and width on horns for what we saw. He green scored right at 103, so mission accomplished!
From: t-roy
21-Jul-23
Pics, or it didn’t happen! We’d love to see it, Louie. Congrats!
From: Bou'bound
22-Jul-23
Please Tell how one gets booked on this hunt
From: BoggsBowhunts
22-Jul-23
Bou, Huntin Fool has links on their website to all the reservation fish and game websites, I’m assuming livereater went through the fish and game website specific to the reservation he hunted
From: Lee
22-Jul-23
Very cool - pls post pics and info on the hunt!
From: Pete In Fairbanks
22-Jul-23
Bou Bound,
How I "booked" my hunt on the Crow Reservation?
I was on a wildland fire assignment near Hardin, MT. A kid came into the Command Post selling raffle tickets to support the Hardin Elementary School Swim Team (the "Otters.)_
I bought a handful of raffle tickets and ended up winning the Grand Prize, a free buffalo hunt on the Rez.
See, easy peezy. Nothing to it! Clean living pays off once again!
Pete
From: Bou'bound
22-Jul-23
That’s it helpful congrats on your good fortune
From: Livereater
22-Jul-23
From: Altitude Sickness
22-Jul-23
Congrats Louie
From: Livereater
22-Jul-23
Vargohunting.com is who I booked with. It was a three year wait due to COVID and 2021 Blizzard that drove the bison herd into WY.
From: njbuck
24-Jul-23
Congrats on a nice buffalo!
From: Rock
24-Jul-23
Good Job Livereater and congradulations, they are cool animals and make great mounts.
