American Prairie Reserve - Making it easier to get a bison tag

[MTGomer]

I know someone that thought bison hunting was easy so he tried it with a bow after purchasing a hunt from the Crow Tribe
He said it was actually quite a challenge and took multiple days to get close enough and present a good shot.

 

[phutch30]

So, in MT it's okay to have a captive bison hunt, but not a captive elk hunt?

Yes Turner has them and several other ranches sell bison hunts

 

[teamhoyt]

I think these hunts are a crock, only because I don't live in one of the surrounding counties and can't apply

 

[CForest]

Looks like the tags won't be cheap!! I had mixed feelings about applying before. Love buffalo meat and elk season kicked my butt. But no way I will support them with that kind of a price tag!!

 

[Schaaf]

Looks like the tags won't be cheap!! I had mixed feelings about applying before. Love buffalo meat and elk season kicked my butt. But no way I will support them with that kind of a price tag!!

Good luck finding one cheaper than that.

 

[CForest]

Good luck finding one cheaper than that.

Well i could understand of it was a "trophy" hunt. I guess for me it's just more of an issue if giving them money haha

 

[Schaaf]

Well i could understand of it was a "trophy" hunt. I guess for me it's just more of an issue if giving them money haha

But you were willing to play along if it was free?

 

[JLDemo]

That's not terrible (resident Bison tag in Wyo is $400/NR's $2500 for any Bison) at that price and if it were open to NR's, I'd let them take my money any day in the random draw. I don't have deep enough pockets to hang with the online auction even if it was open to NR's. Good luck to those who put their name in the hat.

 

[Rancho Loco]

Sorry, I can't get on board with giving the APR any of my dollars. Besides what they're doing to land values in that part of the country, they have a pretty specific vision of how THEY would like to manage the CMR and Upper Breaks.

If that's what people are comfortable with, then that's fine, but due diligence should be exercised IMO.

 

[6mm Remington]

I admit I'm struggling with this as a concept. I tend to agree, but I do think that the fence in a 20-30,000 acre pasture won't stop a bison that really wants to go through it. At the end of the day, it's not wildlife your hunting, it's livestock.

If you wonder why they have 8' high fences around some places where bison are, that's for a reason. Have you ever seen one jump? I worked for a fellow who had bison next door. I could not figure out how they were always getting into the place where I was working until I chased them out one day and they jumped the standard barbed wire fence like it was nothing.

 

[Schaaf]

Besides what they're doing to land values in that part of the country

As opposed to the cheap large tracts of land found all over the West?

 

[CForest]

As opposed to the cheap large tracts of land found all over the West?

I would say there is a difference between cheap and realistic land values. I can say from experience there is little to no chance of most individual/neighboring ranches being able to compete with the checkbooks of operations like the APR. A lot of land you see listed for sale in the magazines is targeted towards purchasers like the APR or other investor driven operations. Not for the 30 year old trying to actually make a living off the land. That said they are what they are, and if they want to charge me $650 to help manage their livestock then all the power to them. I just know I wont be supporting it.....

 

[Rancho Loco]

And the more ranches they buy out, the less leaseholders will be left on the CMR and Breaks to resist AMR's particular vision of a northern plains Disneyland.

 

[mtmiller]

https://apr2018.auction-bid.org/microsite/

 

[CForest]

https://apr2018.auction-bid.org/microsite/

It will be interesting to see what these go for!!

 

[Irrelevant]

Do you think those photos are the animal you get to "harvest" or just stock photos?

 

[Schaaf]

Do you think those photos are the animal you get to "harvest" or just stock photos?

I wondered that too, I hope not. From the regulations they had set it didn’t seem like it was any one animal you’d be hunting.

 

[Poke 'Em]

I don't think it's pre-picked animals, just has to be a <2 year old bison from what I can tell. Anybody heard on winners of the local drawing?

 

[CForest]

The way i understand their rules its not a specific animal. But instead an animal within a certain group. Must be under 2yrs of age and not have a certain color ear tag. Also private land only and lead free bullets.

 

[RHCC6]

My question is what the tract/s of land you are allowed to hunt are like. Me being involved in farming I am trying to figure out what would seem like a reasonable chunk of ground to make the hunt fair chase. To me if you get a 1/4 section or even a full section of ground to hunt that doesn't seem like enough. I could probably cover a full section of ground before noon and make a play. Now if it's a full township (36 square miles) that seems like enough to give myself a real challenge and the animals room to get away. From my point of view is if you told me I could only shoot cow #12 out of the back pasture I could do that with out my struggle. Now if you say you can only do that same deal over 36 square miles that's a different hunt all together.

I do support the idea of the APR and I am very happy to see that they understand human hunting management is needed in a system like that without predators. That's the definition of "hunting is conservation."