Sorry I lost this one. Thanks again, All.
dbllunger, cost varies, depending on the ranch and your relationship - I've found. Generally, $800 - $1200 for cows and $2000 - $4000 for bulls. Some higher and some lower. But if you butcher it yourself, it's hard to beat the price for what you get.
groundhog, 2 year old or younger is the best eating. Older animals are definitely tough and heavy grain. Mostly burger, sausage, and jerky for this bull and older cows.
What I think is great about bison...the meat is high quality, and high quantity. The tanned hides are huge , awesome and surprisingly soft. Every western hunter needs a bison skull. And (Hey!) they're BISON and just cool to watch, photograph and be close to.
BTW, a big cow bison will go about 40 square feet of hide. This bull was measured out by the tannery at over 70 feet! No kidding. Keep that in mind if you go for a big bull. For those interested, for grins I measured the skull at 106 B&C. Here's a pic showing this bull next to a large cow with an elk skull in the middle.
