When it comes to my bison herd's health and well-being I don't like to leave anything up to chance. For this reason, prior to darting the bison, I practiced extensively by shooting a water-filled dart at a 50 lbs bag of grass seed covered with an old pair of bib overalls (see above video). I practiced shooting at 15, 20, and 30 feet until I could hit a grapefruit-sized target consistently from each distance. The dart gun I was using is a Dan-Inject CO2 Dart Pistol, which makes virtually no noise when fired and is used for darting animals worldwide.
Unfortunately, I was so focused on not messing up when I actually did dart the bison that I forgot to film it. Her reaction to the dart, however, was so surprisingly underwhelming that a video of the darting wouldn't have been worth posting anyway. I drove up to the herd with the truck and, while they all stood around looking at me, shot the dart through the window of my truck into the female bison's shoulder. She moved her head a little (probably more startled by the large dart flying through the air than anything else) and then continued watching me and chewing her cud with the dart in her shoulder. I would have thought having a thick 1.5 inch long needle slammed into your shoulder would be enough to make most creatures at least notice the event, but I guess bison are not your average creature.
Hopefully this injection will give her the copper she needs until I can find an easier way to give her the copper she needs to stay healthy.