Mbogo,

I have shot a few Bison in my day and I would be curious to know how much powder was behind that 4 bore round ball your associate was shooting! I have a VERY hard time believing a quarter pound of lead being pushed by a PROPER powder charge of between 270 and 380 grains of 2F won't make the vitals on a bison (interestingly, Baker notes using up to 437.5 grains in what amounted to a Gibbs 5.3 bore but he had Elephant on his mind not big shaggy bovids). Now, on my last Bison hunt in Canada, I used a .416 Rem and that 400 grain x-bullet at 2400 fps (although making the vitals) did NOT exit so yes, Bison are tough critters. Still, your associate was using a light powder charge without a doubt if he got the results you describe. To be frank, it was irresponsible of him to put his own comfort or fear of recoil ahead of achieving a quick and humane kill.

It does, however, become clear when you read Baker that there was likely a reason he was using 1/2 pound 4 bore conicals over HUGE powder charges. On Elephant, he had to make up for the lack of penetration that a 4-bore round ball will exhibit. A 1360 grain 8 bore conical will have a sectional density of nearly .3 while a 4 bore round ball isn't even close at .227. I ordered an 8-bore front stuffer just for this reason and plan to take another free roaming Bison with it in Canada next January. I will make sure to use enough powder.

Best,

John