In a little over a month, hunters probably will start shooting bison somewhere around Gardiner.
If it happens, it will be the first time since 1990 that a private citizen has legally killed a wild bison in a Montana sport hunt.

Getting a shot at a bison is generally not difficult. It's been compared to shooting a sofa or a car. They're stolid by nature, and often tolerant of humans.

However, killing the animal isn't always easy.

Don't try a neck shot, said Bill Hoppe, a Jardine outfitter who has worked with government agencies as well as private hunters. Bison have an oddly shaped spine, and people often miss the bone.

He advised hunters to place a shot right behind the ear.

"They drop," he said. "They never know what hit them."

However, not everybody shoots well enough to hit that lethal zone behind the ear.
Rob Arnaud, who outfits people who want to shoot their own bison on Ted Turner's Flying D Ranch, said he recommends a lung shot.

That way, he said, you're shooting at a target the size of 55-gallon barrel lid rather than one the size of a softball.

It often takes more than one shot to kill a bison, he said. Wounded animals sometimes move off with the herd, where companions will jostle them and sometimes fight the crippled animals.
"The others get excited real fast," said Jim Doran, who works with Arnaud. "It can get dangerous."

He recommended using modern, centerfire rifles, at least a .30 caliber, with a bullet of at least 180 grains.

Still, because of the nature of the beast, killing a bison is not generally difficult.

"Most of the time they're not hard to kill," Hoppe said. "That's why the government killed millions of them in the 1800s."

After the animal is down, the real work begins.

A big bull bison can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. You need a lot of help or some heavy equipment to manipulate the carcass.

"A one-ton truck with a flatbed and a hoist works real well," Arnaud said.

If you don't have that, horses, come-alongs and several friends can do the trick.
Simply field dressing a bison is a lot of work.

The stomach and its contents, which must be removed, can weigh 300 pounds, Arnaud said.
The head and hide alone weigh up to 350 pounds, but they must be removed fast, lest the meat spoil.

"The meat will sour fast, if the hide is not taken off quickly," Arnaud said. The shoulders must also be removed.

Field dressing an elk "is like doing a rabbit in comparison," Doran said.

Hoppe said he and other Jardine area outfitters will be available with horses and equipment for hire.

The hunt, scheduled to begin Jan. 15 and last one month, could be further complicated by protesters.

During the hunts of the 1980s, people regularly interfered with hunts, and some bison advocates have predicted similar activities now.

In those days, wardens or technicians from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks accompanied each hunter.

The new hunt is meant to be "fair chase," which means wardens won't be leading hunters to their prey.

But it also means hunters will have to be prepared to handle some massive carcasses.

Sam Sheppard, FWP warden captain in Bozeman, said he is concerned about crippled animals. Some shooting could take place close to the border of Yellowstone National Park. Chasing a wounded animal into the park violates federal law.

While FWP won't escort hunters, they're likely to be in the area when hunting takes place. They will be enforcing Montana's hunter harassment law, Sheppard said.

Hoppe said seven big bulls are already living in the Jardine area. Most are staying in low areas, where access with equipment and horses would be relatively simple, but a couple have been living on a mountaintop.

FWP's stated goal in the bison hunt is to build advocacy for the species among hunters. That hopefully will turn into a wider acceptance for them in Montana.

"We'd like to see bison eventually re-enter the realm of being managed as wildlife," FWP regional manager Pat Flowers said Thursday, adding that he wants to keep the hunt small at first.

When the FWP Commission approved the hunt Thursday, chairman Dan Walker noted that similar hunts take place in Wyoming and Arizona with little controversy. Then he asked several members of the protest group Buffalo Nations for their cooperation.

"I'm hoping you will let this hunt take place," Walker said.

The last hunt ended after negative national publicity, protests and threats to boycott Montana's tourism industry.

On Jan. 15, for 10 people, the season opens again.

Regulations
If you want to hunt for wild bison in Montana, you need to get moving. Ten tags will be allocated through a special drawing and applications must be received by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks by 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 3, 2005.

The drawing is scheduled for Jan. 7. Applicants must submit a $3 nonrefundable drawing fee with their application, which can be done online, by mail or in person at FWP regional offices. Most license agents should have the paperwork by Wednesday.

Successful applicants will be notified by telephone. Nine tags will go to Montana residents, who will pay $75, and one will go to a nonresident, who will pay $750.

No bows, pistols or black powder guns can be used. Only centerfire weapons firing bullets of at least 150 grains are allowed.

Hunting is allowed only in the Eagle Creek and Bear Creek drainages in the Jardine area, and in some smaller areas of the upper Gallatin River drainage, though bison don't often go to that area.

No shooting is allowed within 100 yards of a major highway or 150 yards of buildings, houses, campsites or developed recreation sites on public land.

Hunting regulations and maps of the areas open to hunting are available on FWP's Web site at www.fwp.state.mt.us.

To hunt on private land, you must obtain permission first.

FWP recommends bringing several friends or hiring an outfitter to help you handle the carcass. Wear gloves to protect yourself from brucellosis, which can be destroyed by fully cooking the meat. Discard organ meats.

Outfitters Jim Doran advised against killing a bison late in the afternoon. You won't have enough daylight to skin and field dress the animal before it spoils.

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