Bison in Mexico? Surely this must be some high-fenced operation. Not according to Hunting Report subscriber Brian Welker, who says he and his wife have hunted bison on a private ranch in Sonora where the only fences on the place are for cattle. In fact, he’s hunted there for three years now, chasing trophy Coues deer in addition to the buffalo. The place is a 60,000-acre ranch that includes the eastern end of the Sierra Ajo Mountains in northeastern Sonora. It is in these mountains where this small bison herd offers what Welker says is a fun and challenging hunt.
The operator arranging these hunts is Arizona-based outfitter Brad Fulk of Rio Sonora Outfitters. He has been hunting this property since 2001 for deer and 2003 for bison. The property is close to the town of Agua Prieta, near the US border. It is owned by the Morales family, who once owned a large chunk of northeastern Sonora and a large ranch just across the state line in Chihuahua. According to Fulk, the bison on this property are originally from a larger herd in Chihuahua. That herd still roams wild on the high-ranging desert grasslands, crossing back and forth between Chihuahua and New Mexico.
The section of the Sierra Ajo that is on the Morales ranch is made up of high desert mountains reaching elevations of 6,000 to 6,500 feet. The terrain is scrappy, rocky and steep. It starts off with high desert mesquite at the lowest elevations, turns into grasslands and ends with chaparral scrublands and oak at the higher elevations, where the buffalo seek cover. This is where the hunts usually take place.....
