No matter what the season, I always woke up slightly before dawn, seems this is a common thing with hunters, don’t ask me why, it just seems to be. First on the agenda was getting the fire going, couldn’t start the day without a cup of coffee, never was one for a heavy meal first thing in the morning but a mug of good strong coffee was a must.  What togs I would wear depended on what kind of day it looked like it would be but I always tried to keep it to the barest minimal due to me sweating very easily, nothing worse than getting damp with sweat and the cold setting in and chilling you, especially if you were far from camp. Most of my kit was of wool, although I did wear cotton in the summer. My  hunting rifle, ammo and such were usually sorted out the night before, though my pistol and repeating rifle were always within reach at all times, no matter where I was or what I was doing about camp. Once I was dressed and coffeed up, I would get into my boots, I always wore moccasins round camp but they weren’t practical for riding to and from the herds although there were times when I did wear moccasins if I was still hunting round camp for the likes of deer or small game, then I’d put on my trusty old wool hunting coat, I found over the years that colour wasn’t that important, as long as it wasn’t black or dark, time and weather usually blended wool into a natural colour. Same goes for my hat, anything goes except black or dark.

Next I’d catch old Biscuit and saddle him before I took his hobbles off. Before I left to scout for  Buff, I would discuss with my skinners which direction I’d be taking and what the cook would make for the day.  My team consisted of myself, usually two skinners and the camp cook/manager.  Our outfit consisted of  a couple of  mule drawn wagons, one for all our gear and one for the hides and at least four riding horses. The skinners usually gave me a couple of hours start before they followed on, finding me was never a problem, they would hear me banging away long before they seen me. How long I hunted each day depended entirely on the Buffalo, first I had to find them, then stalk in as close as possible, then shoot as many as I could before the herd moved on. There were no daily targets, I found out early on that each day was different and you just had to take what was offered and do your best, although there was the odd day when I did stop before I ran out of beasts, no use killing beasts that we couldn’t skin that day, on a couple of occasions I did kill more than we could skin on the same day but it didn’t take us long to realise that skinning beasts that were killed the day before were double the work.

Scouting usually consisted of making for higher ground, enabling me to spy in all directions. It seldom took long to find a herd and plan how to get close enough to make a “Stand”. Wind direction and cover, these were the two musts for getting close to the beasts, I usually tried to get between one and two hundred yards, it was possible to kill at twice that range but personally I was more confident about placing my shots at around two hundred,  my Buffalo Rifles were sighted from one to three hundred yards, I found that more than ample, over the years I spent on the Range. Talking of Rifles, my personal favourites were the Sharps  Side Hammer and Remington Rolling Block, both had their pros and cons, but they were very accurate pieces of equipment. For quite a while I used the Sharps firing a 50 calibre slug then I tried a 44 calibre Remington, both were great killers, but the Remington was definitely the flatter shooter over the distance and didn’t kick near as much, which, especially if I was shooting prone, made all the difference to my  shoulder. If cover allowed, my preference was definitely sitting on the ground, resting the rifle on my cross sticks, it was also easier, from this position, to reload, especially the Sharps because of the lever. The Remington wasn’t near as awkward to load from a flat position but wiping the barrel of both types of rifles was definitely easier from a sitting position. So, after I’d found a herd I’d approach on horseback from a downwind position, find a place, out of sight, for Biscuit, secure him to a bush or hobble him if there were none about, get the rifle, cross sticks, ammunition belts, piece of canvas for sitting on, especially if it was damp and wiping rod and carefully stalk into the herd. Time didn’t matter, I learned that very early in my Buffalo Hunting career.  The Beasts were always pretty settled when grazing and they moved very slowly, so I’d get myself into a comfortable position, take shells from my belts and lay them where I could pick them without looking away from the herd,.  Studying the herd, I would pick out the leader, which, nine times from ten was an older cow and shoot her in the Lights(lungs). Usually the herd took very little notice of the noise from the first shot, one or two might look up from grazing but that was usually all. When shot through the lungs, a buffalo would usually lurch forward a step or two then stand, coughing up blood, sway for a while then lay down. The rest of the herd never paid much attention except maybe a beast or two that were near the first kill, these were the ones to watch and take next. My routine usually consisted of shooting, taking the empty case from the rifle and slowly inserting a live round and taking aim again, this was done without taking my eyes from the herd, every now and then I’d wipe my barrel, local weather conditions played a big part in time between wipes, the drier and warmer it was, the more I had to wipe my barrel, which also heated up very quickly from firing. Some Hunters used two Rifles because of this but one was always enough for me to carry along with the rest of my gear. The wind also played a big part in your success, not only to keep your scent from the beasts but to  disperse the smoke, if there was little wind I would have to stop shooting till the smoke broke up or move my position but obviously it was better not to move unless really necessary. I never timed my “Stands” but would imagine that I could get my daily tally in roughly an hour’s shooting, especially if I didn’t have to follow the herd after the first Stand, which was frowned upon by other hunters. Usually after shooting, I’d fill my pipe and light it then wipe and cover my rifle and go back for Biscuit and ride him up to the carcases and if the skinners hadn’t shown up by this time I’d start to skin a beast myself but never more than one, they were  paid  skinners, I was the Hunter.

When the skinners arrived, first of all they’d give me whatever the cook had made for breakfast, usually some hump between two slice of bread. After eating I’d mount old Biscuit and return to camp where, first of all I’d clean my rifle and then have a nap, usually for an hour or two. After a refreshing sleep I’d start reloading the shells I had used for the day, always making sure that the ones not used today would be used first tomorow, that way none of the loaded shells were kept for too long. Then, till the skinners returned I’d usually melt some lead and mold bullets. The cook usually helped with this, either molding or wrapping the bullets with paper patches. I was very particular regarding the quality of my ammunition, there’s nothing worse than everything going right then getting let down with inferior ammunition at a Stand, as a matter of fact, when not actually shooting, most of my time was taken up reloading. Late afternoon or early evening the skinners would arrive with the skins, meat and tongues from the days kill, we all helped unload and stake out the skins and prepare the tongues and meat so they didn’t turn bad. After this was done it was time for the meal of the day, which usually consisted of Buffalo hump or tongue, grilled or fried in marrow along with vegetables when available or beans and home baked bread, this was the highlight of the day, not just to quench our appetites but socially too, many a good debate was had around the evening meal. Last thing before turning in was to make sure the livestock were fed and watered then hobbled for the night. This was a typical day for my Buffalo Hunting outfit.

 

END