just got off the phone with dad, he'll be 82 next May, and he sounded like a 14 year old, all giddy with expectation.
the north fork highway, that goes from Cody, WY to the eastgate of yellowstone, is populated with Bison that come out of the park in fall and winter. and the game and fish boys want some of these bison shot. so they have an annual lottery, held in Jan/Feb to draw permits. you find out if you have drawn a permit in the spring. if so, hunting season is that fall, once the bison start to come out of the park.
so dad called and wanted to know if i'd want to split a bison with him if he can get one. SURE!
a mature bull will run 1500-2000 lbs on the hoof, so we'd likely harvest about 1/2 that weight in meat.
say 400-600 lbs each in the freezer.
so he will apply, and if he gets drawn, then i need to get to work to sight in the 300 magnum rifle (20 rounds in a day is a long day of shooting), and it may need a new scope. and we'd definitely would need a new freezer or 2 to hold everything.
did i mention he's going to be 82? he's been hunting since he was in grade school, taking his 22 rifle to school, having the teacher hold it until school was done, and then heading out to the woods for squirrel, rabbit, whatever would go on the table that night (his mom was an expert at skinning squirrels). it's what gets him motivated to see another season.
i better bring 2 sharp knives.
how do you eat a 2000lb bison? one bite at a time.
