Did you know that the millions of buffalo roaming the West when white settlers arrived (to shoot them to near extinction) were an anomaly? According to the book 1491, the plagues unleashed by explorer Hernando DeSota’s pigs some 100 years previous wiped out over 90 percent of the native American population—who’d kept the buffalo population in check. In fact, the Indians used them as a kind of free range meat locker. No chance of that happening now. nbcmontana.com reports that Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks are advising the hunters helping keep the buffalo numbers down not to shoot each other or anyone else. Sensibly enough. Although it must be said, judging from this video, that appears to be the greatest danger involved.
These guys must think all hunters are stupid. I know plenty of hunters and no one needs to teach these hunters about shooting each other or even strangers, this is just plain silly. LOL
Where is the sport in this.
I would classify this as harvesting.
Poor big dumb animals don’t even know to be scared.
I can see why they were almost driven to extinction.
I bet i could even walk up and pet one.
Just so it makes sense in my mind what Im reading from the article is that PIGS kept the buffalo in check? how?
The pigs carried contagions that Native Americans had no resistance too. And thanks for mentioning what a ridiculous parody of sport this is. I couldn’t believe how many times that guy relocated his shooting sticks.
You nailed it. As you can see, the degree of difficulty is right up there with shooting a dairy cow. Harvesting is exactly what this is. To keep the numbers down they allow hunters to come in for what is essentially target practice. The video was a bit difficult to watch and I’m not really sure why it was produced. These were not exactly clean kills.
I think we are referring to Hernando de Soto. Now, there’s a lot more to the story than pigs carrying disease; for one thing, among his peers de Soto had a reputation for butchery and barbarism even by 16th century standards, one he deliberately cultivated. By any modern standards he would be considered a monster.
But the bottom line is the native Americans of the 19th century, the ones we know from the movie Westerns and stories about pioneer life, are not the original nations or peoples. They were some fraction of their original population, were one or more generations removed from their original homelands and cultures, and had been forced into a nomadic survival existence. Similar to what happened to the American Bison, I suppose. I would avoid using the word genocide, but something like it.
I pay anything to see you go pet a wild buffalo. They seem very gentle until you get one of those horns up your ?.LMAO
I have to say that was a disturbing video.
(stepping onto my soap box)
I have no problem with anyone hunting for food. But hunting for “sport” is a complete joke in my opinion. There is NO sport in it. The animal doesn’t know he’s participating. And in this case, the animal is, as previously stated, about as difficult to shoot as a stationary cow in a pasture. Quite a pathetic display of barbarism unless those “hunters” intend on using the animal for food. And by the way, that was a horrible shot and NOT a clean kill. The animal suffered needlessly.
(stepping off soap box)
Buffalo hunting has been ever thus. From a web site about William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody.
“In 1867-68 he was employed by the Goddard brothers to provide buffalo meat for workers on the Kansas Pacific Railroad. He was paid $500 a month and is said to have killed 4,280 buffalo in 8 months. Cody claimed the title of “Buffalo Bill” in a buffalo hunting contest near Sheridan, Kansas. He outshot Bill Comstock, another buffalo hunter, shooting 69 buffalo to Comstock’s 46.”
The shooting contest against Comstock took place over the course of one day. That’s 115 total bison in on day’s shooting between them.
The whole point of shooting a buffalo is the meat.
If I could afford it, I would eat bison in place of every type of beef we use. Hamburgers, steaks, stew meat, ribs, you name it.
Bison is like a very fine, very lowfat beef, with its own unique, but mild flavor.
With bison, the sport part is to be found at a hot grill.
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