Successful Antelope Hunt

G

GAR700

New member
My friends and I just got back from our antelope hunt in Wyoming. We had a great time and were all sussessful in harvesting a buck. Thanks to all who provided insight and offered advice on rifles, campsites, maps, etc..... This forum is a great help since it allows me to get in contact with people "in the know".
I ended up using my 300 win mag and shooting my buck at about 100 yards. I had my 243 with me but the wind was howling and I didn't figure I was going to get as close as I did. As it was I ended up with a high neck shot resulting in very minimal meat damage and a good clean kill.
Thanks again,
GAR
 
Have any pics? Glad you filled your tags. Antelope is my favorite big game animal to hunt, although I do wish they carried a little more meat on them.
 
Outstanding!!My congratulations!
Has any hit the skillet yet? I assume you know where the tenderloins are.Yummy!
 
Congrats, I would like to hunt Antelope, however I have been told that the meat is overtly nasty :barf: which has kept me from it. Sounds like you had a great time though.
 
I am not sure how to post pics just yet...
We threw some tenderloin on the skillet that same night in camp and it was delicious.
Next time we will get on our stuff a little earlier so that we can get doe tags.
GAR
 
Here is a picture. Not the best picture, but it gives you an idea (might get better results if I offer my camera man more than a cold K Light). He is kind of an all around average buck. I like the width and mass but field judging is diffucult at best.
 

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Good start to your pronhorn hunting! Yes he isn't the biggest buck out there, but he gave you a good deal of experience to build on.

Field judging can be hard, just remember a pronghorns ears are about 5" or 1/3 the length of the horn you will be looking for to get an outstanding buck. Use those ears as a measuring tool, then look at the cutters and the space from the front edge to the back of the horn for a mass indication. Pronghorn will score better the more mass you have since you will take several mass measurements.
 
Thanks,
I am not unhappy with him at all. He has an ivory tip on one side and is a very well proprotioned buck. A good representative sample as I like to say in my line of work. I am going to do a European mount to keep costs down. Sounds like it can be done well if you pay attention.
GAR
 
He has an ivory tip on one side and is a very well proprotioned buck.
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Cool. On my last trip out west I got a nice buck within literally the first hour of hunting but he's got two nice ivory tips so I wasn't too upset.

The European will look good. If you are doing it yourself, make sure you get ALL of the fat out of the inside of the horns. They'll boil off the skull and make sure you scrape all the stuff out or it will stink. Additionally, make sure you don't boil the horns too long. They are made of hair and you can over boil them.

Good luck!
 
kd7sgm--"antelope is overly nasty"

Not so! Wild game of any kind can be bad, whether handled wrong, or if they been feeding on sage brush. But a good specimen of antelope can be downright tasty. The meat is usually tender and lean, and if prepared properly it is great. My wife is no wild game lover, but she likes antelope and loves elk.:)
 
Not so! Wild game of any kind can be bad, whether handled wrong, or if they been feeding on sage brush. But a good specimen of antelope can be downright tasty.
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I do not know what happened to my BIL's Antelope as even laying on the counter uncooked had a strong gamey / urine smell. He told me that it tasted as bad as it smelled but his dog loved it. That has been my only experience with Antelope so I have chosen not to seek them out even though I think it would be a good hunt. I would try some from a different source if it did not smell that way and possibly change my opinion.
 
I have found you need to get them fairly cool, keep the hair off the meat, get rid of the scent glands, and make sure not to get urine (yours or his) on the meat. When things are done properly, antelope tastes as good as any other wild game.
Wyoming antelope usually taste better than Oregon antelope because the hunting season is much later in Wyoming. It is really hard to get an animal cooled off when the temp is 90+ in Mid-August (Oregon).
 
When field dressing,just like where your bladder is,right at the top of the pubic arch,lies the antelopes bladder.It is very often the size of an apple,and full.When folks get a little impatient,or just do not recognize or consider it,it loses its contents inside the body cavity.
Kansas City beef or the Thanksgiving Turkey might taste odd if it was basted in a similar fashion.I try to approach it as surgically as I know how.
 
When folks get a little impatient,or just do not recognize or consider it,it loses its contents inside the body cavity.
Kansas City beef or the Thanksgiving Turkey might taste odd if it was basted in a similar fashion.I try to approach it as surgically as I know how.
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If I find a full bladder in a Speed Goat, I empty it. ;)
As long as the urinary tract is intact, you can give it a squeeze to quickly see if the sphincter has relaxed enough to let you squeeze the urine out. I also have a tendency to shoot goats that are feeding, or were very recently feeding. So, they usually require a little colon emptying exercise, as well. (...like getting the last bit of toothpaste out of the tube...)

All of this is because I very much prefer the "no cut" method, where the colon and urethra are not cut inside the animal. For does, the vagina and anus are cut around on the outside, and pulled forward through the pelvis (after all other gutting operations are done). For bucks, the anus is cut around, and the urethra and testicles carefully excised from the penile cartilage and other organs, then pulled through. If the bladder and colon are still full, they'll leak/spill as they pass through the pelvis.

Take care of the carcass, and Antelope is some of the best game meat you can find.
 
Duh,never thought of squeezing it out.Not a bad plan.I cut around the anus ,draw it out a bit and tie it off.Small wire ties work.I tie off urethra,etc as I gain access skinning.I try to leave the testicle attached ,but skin off the scotum.I use my fingers to separate the colon,etc free through the pelvic tunnel then draw the whole shebang through.I don't cut the plumbing.
regardless,we agree keeping the urine off the meat is necessary,and that antelope meat is just wonderful if you can keep it that way.
 
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