Editor’s Note: Terry Oertwig of Purdin, Missouri, a CVA Pro Staff member, hunts big game nationwide and worldwide with his CVA Electra. We wanted to know why Oertwig had so much confidence in the CVA Electra and to hear from him a first-hand report on how the Electra performed for him when he hunted buffalo.
Question: Terry, why did you decide to hunt a buffalo with your CVA Electra?
Oertwig: I was doing a bullet test, so I wanted to hunt a large animal to try to determine the effectiveness of my bullets. Bison are one of the largest animals in North America that you can take with a blackpowder rifle. Bison also are very delicious to eat. So, I found I could test my bullets and have good meat to eat after the hunt, if I hunted bison. Bison also are a challenge. They are extremely tough, and they’re very wary. When you visit national parks to see bison, they appear to be very docile, but in fact, they aren’t. Too, I thought that hunting bison not only would be a good test for my Electra and my bullets, but also for me.
Hunting Buffalo with a muzzleloading rifle can be a very rewarding experience
Question: Where did you decide to hunt?
Oertwig: I went to hunt with Dismal River Outfitters in western Nebraska on their 60,000-acre ranch where hunters can hunt free-range buffalo in open country. Today, finding a place to hunt buffalo in open country is quite difficult. Located on the Dismal River, this ranch is a beautiful area with deep ravines, rolling hills and a lot of cedar trees where buffalo can hide. We spotted a buffalo early in the morning that had been in a fight and had several visible scars. We went after this buffalo, but somehow, that 1,900-pound animal vanished. We never saw him again. So, we gave up on that buffalo and went looking for more. We found a group of three bulls, and one of them was an impressive trophy. With the wind in our favor, we went behind some hills and hiked about 3/4-mile to get in position to take the shot. We circled around behind the bull and came up over the top of a knob. When we peeked over the knob, we saw that the hike had taken so long that the bull had lain down to sleep. We waited for 30 minutes for the bull to wake-up from his nap and to get into position where I could take a broadside shot. When I shot the bull bison at about 65 yards, he hunkered-up as the bullet impacted. Then he went about 10 yards and just stood there. Now, on most any-other animal hit that well with that size bullet, you expect the animal to drop immediately. But buffalo are tough. So, I quickly reloaded and took a second shot to put the bull down quickly. This time, I shot him through the shoulders, and the bull went down. When we looked at the big bison, the bullet had made a complete pass-through. Once again, I proved the reliability of the CVA Electra. I hit exactly where I aimed.
Question: How were you able to get-in so close to the buffalo?
Oertwig: To successfully take a buffalo, you must have the wind in your favor. On this particular hunt, we spotted the buffalo at about 1/4-mile, but we knew we couldn’t approach him from that direction because he’d smell us. To get in close, we had to circle the bull and go about 3/4-mile to get in a position of having the wind in our favor and a terrain barrier (a rolling hill) between us and the bull. Then he couldn’t see us approach. As we moved toward the bull, we stayed in a ravine for about 1/4-mile behind a hill and then peeked over the hill to see the bull.
Question: A buffalo hunt is a hunt of a lifetime. Why did you decide to hunt with the CVA Electra instead of a more-modern rifle, which some people might consider more reliable?
Oertwig: There’s some nostalgia associated with hunting buffalo with a blackpowder rifle, and I have a great deal of confidence in hunting with the Electra. I wanted to hunt with the most-reliable ignition system, because the last thing you wanted to happen on this type of hunt was for your gun to fail to fire. I knew from experience that when I touched the trigger on the Electra, it would fire. Too, I wanted a gun I knew was as accurate as any blackpowder rifle I could shoot. When you go on a hunt of a lifetime, you don’t want to wound or miss an animal. Buffalo are majestic, historic and beautiful animals. I wanted to respect the animal enough to make sure I could put him down quickly and efficiently. I knew this would be a memorable hunt I’d relive for many years. So, I wanted all the odds in my favor. I prefer to shoot the Electra when I’m hunting big game, because it’s the only primerless blackpowder rifle on the market. I didn’t want to have issues on this hunt with primer, fouling or misfiring.
Question: How did you load to take the buffalo?
Oertwig: I had a 300-grain bullet and 130 grains of Triple Se7en. I didn’t want to shoot more than 150 yards because this animal weighed over 1,900 pounds. With an animal this size, the energy level of the bullet drops off too much at 150 yards to be efficient. That’s the only restriction when hunting an animal of that size with a muzzleloader.
Question: Would you recommend hunting buffalo to other blackpowder hunters?
Oertwig: Absolutely. It was one of the most-exciting hunts I’d ever had. I had to hire an outfitter because when hunting a large area, there only were a few places where you could experience a wild buffalo hunt. I knew too if I shot a buffalo, I’d need help getting that truck load of meat back to camp.
Question: When you took the shot, were you shooting off hand or did you have a rest?
Oertwig: I was using shooting sticks, which I liked to do when I was hunting open terrain and knew I’d be doing a lot of hiking. I knew we’d be climbing up and down hills. If you were winded and tired, holding your rifle steady could be a challenge when you were shooting off hand. However, by using shooting sticks, I had a much-more solid platform off which to shoot. If I’m hunting in timbered terrain where I’ll have a shooting house, a tree stand or at least a tree to brace-up against, I don’t take my shooting sticks. The shooting sticks are the third point of a three-legged stool. When you’re shooting in open terrain, and you have to do a lot of walking, shooting sticks drastically increase your odds of shooting more accurately.
