Buffalo draw strategy

[bojangles]

Is there any buffalo hunt that is not worth putting in for?  There are varied dates and times of year, not sure if I should beware of anything before I put in.

[SpotNStalk]

The 1st hunt all depends on the snow melt. I did the hunt a couple years ago. It really doesn't get going till the last 20-30 days. 

[recurveman]

I would heavily research the hunt before putting in for it.   They live in the park and come out from time to time.   It has some very large challenges and you will need to have a rather large commitment of time to do the hunt correctly.   If you don't have 2 weeks that you can go do this hunt (with zeor or crappy cell coverage) then this probable isn't the right time to put in for the hunt.   

[Flatlander]

Here is what I have learned from my research. In terms of draw odds it just sort of is what it is. These hunts are hard to draw. There aren't many tags and a lot of poeple apply. Not really any secrets here.

First hunt = Migration after snow melt. Basically chasing them back up the plateau. You'll want to commit a lot of time but be flexible when you take it depending on spring conditions. Hides and Capes are in primo winter condition.

June and July Hunts = Sitting Salt / Water waiting for buffalo to cross out of the park. Hides tend to thin out as the weather warms up and bulls roll in the dirt to cool off and fight bugs.

Cow Hunt July/August = We hunted this one this year. If the monsoon is late then the water conditions can be very good for hunting water/salt. There are young calves on this hunt, so prepare yourself for the potential of hunting females with very young companions. Apply ethics as you feel appropriate.

Fall Cow Hunts = I cant say a lot about this but you will be sitting salt/water. Conditions vary with weather. 

From my experience be aware of moon phases when selecting hunt dates. These animals can become very nocturnal.

[Heat]

If you want to enter your animal in one of the record programs it will have to be from the House Rock Herd. Raymond Ranch is more of a sure thing. Cows are huge animals too. If you aren't worried about the horns and you want to hunt asap, I would apply for cow. Those hunts don't take long at all to draw for the House Rock herd. A mature cow is still pushing 1000 lbs on the hoof. Plenty of meat on one of those. If I was trying to kill a bull I would try to get the longest hunt possible, which is still the spring hunt I believe. Good Luck!

[AzDiamondHeat]

This is a great question and very helpful answers. As it is such a limited hunt there is so little info out there. I am glad that people are responding and helping as I had these same questions.

 

 

[Flatlander]

4 hours ago, Heat said:

If you want to enter your animal in one of the record programs it will have to be from the House Rock Herd. Raymond Ranch is more of a sure thing. Cows are huge animals too. If you aren't worried about the horns and you want to hunt asap, I would apply for cow. Those hunts don't take long at all to draw for the House Rock herd. A mature cow is still pushing 1000 lbs on the hoof. Plenty of meat on one of those. If I was trying to kill a bull I would try to get the longest hunt possible, which is still the spring hunt I believe. Good Luck!

You’d be surprised, those cow hunts are no sure draw either. Just like archery strip hunts, people are dropping off the bull hunts to just try and get a tag.

[654321]

2 hours ago, Flatlander said:

You’d be surprised, those cow hunts are no sure draw either. Just like archery strip hunts, people are dropping off the bull hunts to just try and get a tag.

Did I miss how your sons hunt turned out?  I was up there scouting for a deer hunt on the weekend of August 7,8 and 9th and there was 3 trucks parked right at the entrance to the park.  I drove past the little shack to see if the buffalo were in the meadows but they weren't there.  There was fresh crap all over the highway though.

[idgaf]

Andrew.

 Do you know the true odds of getting drawn?  Actual people put in regardless of points?  

[Flatlander]

48 minutes ago, idgaf said:

Andrew.

 Do you know the true odds of getting drawn?  Actual people put in regardless of points?  

I have all the raw data, haven't put together a spreadsheet for it yet.

[AzDiamondHeat]

Andrew is about to get a WHOLE BUNCH of friend requests....

 

 

[Flatlander]

On 8/31/2020 at 7:56 PM, 654321 said:

Did I miss how your sons hunt turned out?  I was up there scouting for a deer hunt on the weekend of August 7,8 and 9th and there was 3 trucks parked right at the entrance to the park.  I drove past the little shack to see if the buffalo were in the meadows but they weren't there.  There was fresh crap all over the highway though.

I just posted it. Kind of a long read, 120 hrs in the blind will do that.

Cliff Notes:

We saw them outside GCNP 3x but never had a shot.

[654321]

2 hours ago, Flatlander said:

I just posted it. Kind of a long read, 120 hrs in the blind will do that.

Cliff Notes:

We saw them outside GCNP 3x but never had a shot.

Your son sounds like quite the scrapper, he'll get er done someday.

[loboscout]

On 8/31/2020 at 10:19 AM, Flatlander said:

Here is what I have learned from my research. In terms of draw odds it just sort of is what it is. These hunts are hard to draw. There aren't many tags and a lot of poeple apply. Not really any secrets here.

First hunt = Migration after snow melt. Basically chasing them back up the plateau. You'll want to commit a lot of time but be flexible when you take it depending on spring conditions. Hides and Capes are in primo winter condition.

June and July Hunts = Sitting Salt / Water waiting for buffalo to cross out of the park. Hides tend to thin out as the weather warms up and bulls roll in the dirt to cool off and fight bugs.

Cow Hunt July/August = We hunted this one this year. If the monsoon is late then the water conditions can be very good for hunting water/salt. There are young calves on this hunt, so prepare yourself for the potential of hunting females with very young companions. Apply ethics as you feel appropriate.

Fall Cow Hunts = I cant say a lot about this but you will be sitting salt/water. Conditions vary with weather. 

From my experience be aware of moon phases when selecting hunt dates. These animals can become very nocturnal.

This is a good summary from my observation and research. I was on the Houserock July/August cow hunt this year and drew it with 9 points. It was dry this year, but other years it rained every day.

For me, it wasn't about a bull, it was about the experience and the meat.

[coueswt]

Have been building points, applying some years and building others due to other planned hunts. Been a hunt I want to do but keep hoping for future changes that will make for better experience. Have not experienced the hunt myself but others tell me the organizer up there doesn’t help the experience but has some coming competition so maybe this will improve the experience, or make worse. Sitting out spring in 2021. Those that have hunted share some pictures