These little animals are among the most fun to hunt of American big game. They're plentiful and not expensive to hunt as many ranchers lothe them.

I've taken several in my lifetime and have used the .270 winchester, the .264 win mag, the .257 weatherby, the .25-06 and finally the .257 Roberts.

It seems the higher velocity of the more powerful rifles would be better and for others it just might be but now it seems the .257 Roberts is all that goes out after Pronghorns with me. They don't need heavy bullets and 90 grain HPs can beat a very flat path to Mr Goat to distances farther than I can shoot well.

This one is not a supernice trophy but is still worthy of the wall.




Am I alone on this "less is better" camp for pronghorns?

I use a .243 and .280 on them as I shoot them the best. Nearly anything will bring one down if shot in the lungs.

Come autumn I'll either be using a .270 win. or .300 wby.. I know that the wby. is completely unnecessary for speed-goats but of my rifles it is the one I am most familiar with and confident in.

Just a curiosity question, why is it that ranchers "loathe" them?

AllanD

I've used a 243 up through my 7mm Mag. This year if I get drawn it will probably be my 6.5x284.

My choice is a 25/06 with 115gr Nosler BTs for speed goats in nothern New Mexico.

I've taken a couple with a .264 Winchester. Though not always the rule, shooting distances for pronhorns probably averages the longest of any N. American game, so a long-shooting rifle is advantageous.

Now, after your Capradi is down is when you find out just how strong your stomach is. They have to have the foulest-smelling offal of any game animal I've ever delved into.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
I've taken a couple with a .264 Winchester. Though not always the rule, shooting distances for pronhorns probably averages the longest of any N. American game, so a long-shooting rifle is advantageous.

Now, after your Capradi is down is when you find out just how strong your stomach is. They have to have the foulest-smelling offal of any game animal I've ever delved into.

Stonecreek.....I sure agree that a long range rifle is important. A hunter with his old 30-30 will have to stalk a lot closer to the animal and it's not easy in the flat terrain of goatville.

As to the smell.....it hasn't been my experience with pronghorns but with heavy swolen bucks in the rut. I shot a large mule deer once that was very diffucult to field dress.....I damn near left it there.....but the horns was too good.....as a matter of fact here it is.


It's the first time I didn't eat my kill....it was all processed to Labrador chow.....and the Lab loved it.

Try mountain lion some time!!!!!WHEW!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Allan DeGroot:
Just a curiosity question, why is it that ranchers "loathe" them?

AllanD

AD
Pronghorns are hard on fences as they try to run thru them opposed to deer that jump over them.

It's not at all uncommon to find a dead one entangled in a fence.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

Originally posted by Allan DeGroot:
Just a curiosity question, why is it that ranchers "loathe" them?

AllanD

AD
Pronghorns are hard on fences as they try to run thru them opposed to deer that jump over them.

It's not at all uncommon to find a dead one entangled in a fence.

Ok, so they are fast, alert, nervous, but like Wild Turkeys they are still pretty stupid.... ?

But what do they taste like?
Goat or Deer?

People have been calling them "Speed Goats" for as long as I can remember, but nobody ever comments on the flavor of their flesh.
and I've often wondered if they have a flavor like other cabria...



AllanD

Darn good eating IMO.....taste like deer........venison.

I've eaten lots of them and liked them.

I think they smell better then deer. Jerky and sausage is the way to with eating them. You'll have people tell you antelope tastes great,but honestly it tastes like shit. Most people doctor it up with so much garbage that it tastes like the 30lbs of shit they used to make it edible.

They kill easily,I've killed them with .22lr's.

They bring out the worst in most hunters. I've seen more gutshot antelope then any other big game and barrage firing practices.


Most ranchers can't honestly tell you why they hate antelope. Its just something to have a hard on for. Antelope lack personality unlike other big game.

Pronghorns are pretty easy to bring down. Limiting one gun to that species is not necessary. I would suggest 22 up to 300.
Whichever gun you shoot the best and are the most comfortable with.

IMO I would recommend a 270, but then I'm biased.

I actually prefer antelope meat to deer and even elk IF properly taken care of. My goal is to go from gutting to ice ASAP and even faster if possible. If not, the meat can be fairly aromatic.

I think anything over .243 is a speedgoat rifle. I use my .280 w/ 140gr bullets. As far as taste, I think it's far better than venison. I think most guys problems w/ the meat is they chase the animals hard, then shoot them, then chase them some more. Throw them whole into the bed of the truck & drive home (saw many doing this last fall). Make a clean kill, skin & cool as fast as possible, great eating.

Well...contrary to what some might say.......

In addition to how the meat and carcass are processed/handled (VERY important!) how antelope taste depend in large part on what they've been eating. Shoot one on the sagebrush prairie, and you'll enjoy having it made into sausage. Shoot one out of the alfalfa and grain fields and you may find that you prefer it to good venison. I've shot does that tasted terrible and bucks that tasted wonderful and the difference was where they lived and what they ate.

I think one of the reasons some ranchers would vote to make them the next great varmint animal is the amount of damage they do to the crops, both because of how much they eat and what they do to them by walking all over them. Back and forth. Day in and day out. Over here, over there, back over here, etc. A herd of 50-75 critters or more can do a LOT of damage in the course of a year.

Of course, these are just my opinions which - we are constantly told - everyone is entitled to, unless your opinion disagrees with mine in which case you are wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
Darn good eating IMO.....taste like deer........venison.

I've eaten lots of them and liked them.

I had Antelope sausage tonite -- Yum!!!!!!!


But the Steaks have been great too!!!!!

Allan D-personally I like the lope chops 2nd only to elk. They get a lot of bad press but I feel it is unjust. To date of all the folks that talked down on lope meat once they tasted it cooked the way we cook it they chill there trash talk quick!

I much prefer it to deer for the most part.

On why the ranchers loathe them. Here is my take.

First off I am told by my rancher friends that the lopes will pull up the crops roots and all. Where as a deer will just clip off the tops and it will still grow.

Now as for the fences, they do not go thru them, they duck under them. Which is one of the easier ways to get closer to them. Find a crossing and wait em out. Sort of like stand hunting for whitetails.

And contrary to popular belief they will jump them from time to time. Hence why some people find them hung up.

My take on rifles is take whatever turns your crank. Unless a person is on a very serious hunt for a booner buck then there is little or no reason to take them past 300 yds in most of the country that they inhabit.

I've taken them as far as a bit over 500 and have taken them a lot closer. I've shot them with every thing from 17 rem's to 416's. It don't take much to do one in. My next project is to take one with my Guide 45/70.

My three fav rounds are based around fav rifles more than the rounds. They happen to be chambered in 6/06, 7 Mashburn Super and 340.

One of my most fav hunts was with my father back in 93 or so. I was using my Grandads 44 (M29-6") and called in a lope from about 800 out to 30 yds, spooked him trying to get it on video. Stopped him with the call @ 81 and flattened him. Small tweaker of a buck but by far one of my best trophs and hunts. Great memory with Dad for sure.

Mark D

A little more on why ranchers hate them.....A lady in Wyoming told me once that she had to feed her cattle three weeks longer than normal in the spring because of all the antelope she had. She told me that if, after I left, she went to the pasture and found lots of dead antelope nothing would be said.

She was essentially telling me to shoot as many as I could.

Another benefit of "goats" is that their hide is extremely thin. Have the hide tanned and a pair of gloves made. Beautiful and unbelievably light and soft.

Great gloves as well as good eating.

Just my 2cents from NM!
Most rifles are good for goats, but they never seem to out-run my .257 wthby.
Taste way better than any deer i've ever eaten, given that you don't "cook" them in the bed of your pickup for hours. Lastly, land owner buck tags in NM rarely ever gor for less than $1000.00!!............wapiti7

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
A little more on why ranchers hate them.....A lady in Wyoming told me once that she had to feed her cattle three weeks longer than normal in the spring because of all the antelope she had. She told me that if, after I left, she went to the pasture and found lots of dead antelope nothing would be said.

She was essentially telling me to shoot as many as I could.

Another benefit of "goats" is that their hide is extremely thin. Have the hide tanned and a pair of gloves made. Beautiful and unbelievably light and soft.

Great gloves as well as good eating.

So how many did you shoot and leave? Earlier you said you almost left a mule deer in the field becuase he stunk due to rutting. But the horns were way to nice to do that...

quote:

So how many did you shoot and leave? Earlier you said you almost left a mule deer in the field becuase he stunk due to rutting. But the horns were way to nice to do that...

I had the license for one and that's all I shot.

RE the mule deer:.....didn't I say it was hanging on the wall and the meat was used for dog food?.

Now, why do you ask?

Just curious. Maybe I read it wrong, it just sounded funny. Sorry.

I have had antelope sausage, breaded & fried, & in hamburger. It was all good to me. Some of the best & worst meat I have ever had was venison. I imagine that antelope could be the same way. By far the best meat I have ever had was elk.
I have some friends that live in Wyoming & they have told me that the people out there hate antelopes so bad they won't even eat them. The grass out there is pratically nonexistant so I would think that the ranchers would not like anything that was in competition with their live stock for grazing & water.
Anything from 6mm to 7mm should make good antelope cartridge.

Antelope is excellent, second only to elk in my opinion also..Yes, they are fence crawlers but more and more are learning to jump them..If you have an ofensive odor when dressing them you have hit them too far back and the paunch is open, otherwise they are no different from other animals.I killed 6 last fall and we don't have much meat left.Deer meat is for sausage.

All of our deer and lope was mixed together to make sausage, so much easier. The goats were taken very close range this year(<100 yards) because another group of hunters ran them right into us. But the key to eating them is cool them quick. A friend runs a fertilizer plant near where we shot them and within 10 minutes we were able to cool them quickly by hosing them down with cold water. The loins were fantastic. We shot them with 243, 270 and 7mag although as mentioned that trip bows would've worked.

Mike-I believe you're right about keeping them cool.

We hunt out east (700's) and we hang them in the one hanging tree on the ranch we hunt. Then skin and wash off good, then break down and put them on ice in the coolers. It works great, check stations from time to time are a PIA but it is worth it.

Lope chops are very tough to beat.

Mark D

My wife and I are both of the Speed Goat tastes damn good crowd. Maybe we have been lucky, or maybe it is just the way I handle the carcasses after the shot and Lora's abilities as a cook.

I rank Pronghorn right behind Moose and Buffalo and ahead of elk on the good to eat scale. JMO

As far as hunting them goes, the only thing I like to hunt better is Javelina.

I like the antelope steaks better than any deer. This is assuming that the buck hasn't been chased all over three counties by hunters in 4x4's.

It taste horrible to me. I thought it taste like lamb meat but, I hate lamb meat as well. The antelope I've tried to eat had a very strong wild taste to them. Some people absolutely love meat that has a wild tang to it, My wife and I don't care for it much.

Deer is much superior to the taste of antelope IMO. Deer doesn't have the wild taste to me.

I think what you came up eating has a good bit to do w/ how you will like the meat. I've hunted and eaten whitetails since I was a child, I've only taken a few Antelope and the meat was given away on them due to the strong flavor. I'm sure it has alot to do w/ what they eat.

Reloader

Reloader-drop into Bozeman some time and the Misses and I will cook you some lope and see what you think then.

Just a short road trip for a good meal eh!?

Mark D

MOntMIke-fyi the church I attend is having our 2nd annual Sportsman dinner and wildgame feed on Sat night.

Good food and I hear a good speaker or two perhaps.

I am gonna be doing a presentation of bruin hunting, it is a nice powerpoint presentation and is usually enjoyed by all but the bruins.

PM me if interested.

Mark D

I would probably pick a .25 caliber to shoot a loper, but I like my 7mm loaded with 139 Interbonds.

I agree with my fellow Montana hunters. Antelope are darn good eatin if they are handled properly, shot properly, and cooled immediately.

As for reasons ranchers/farmers hate antelope. Antelope are fond of alfalfa hay and wheat seedlings and will camp on a winter wheat field from October to April. For ranchers, I have found the fencing is mostly the issue. Antelope can spook and you'll end up with half a dozen animals in the fence in a year.

Antelope do not compete directly with cattle for food (never have and never will). They do compete with sheep, though. Antelope prefer to browse on the different sagebrushes, wild flowers, weeds, and other forbs of the range. This is what accounts for the different tastes of antelope.

Wild Sheep is my favorite meat, followed by Moose/Elk, followed by Antelope. The key with antelope is get the hide off quickly and get them cooled down.

quote:

Just a short road trip for a good meal eh!?

Yeah, Just a short trip. Probably wouldn't take but 30-40 hours .

How do ya'll cook your lope'?

I marninate my deer in Italian dressing or A-1 mixed w/ Whochestershire(sp?) sauce overnight and cook to medium on the grill. Or we just thaw, sprinkle w/ Tony's seasoning, dip in eggs then flour, and fry in a skillet. A baked tater' and a slice of garlic bread and your set. Gettin' hungry just thinking about it.

Have a Good One

Reloader

Thanks for the invite Mark, but I own a bar and it's really tough to get away on Saturday nights.

One of my favoite ways to cook antelope is to first let it marinate in milk for a few hours. Then I dip it in eggwash and bread it with cornflake crumbs and fry it. Of course the thinner the better on the cutlets.

quote:

How do ya'll cook your lope'?

Same as whitetail.....BBQ the loins and rounds about 1/2" thick with a strip of bacon around it and tooth picked to it.

All the rest I bone out and make hamburger and that makes stroganoff etc.....

Guess this is turning into a cooking thread but I just have to share the recipe that keeps getting me invited to a good superbowl party. I use Elk but it will work with any venison

Take a backstrap and slice it as thin as you can across the grain. Then cut it into strips which will be about 1 1/2" x 5 to 6". Get a jar of pickled slice jalapenos and a shaker of fajita seasoning. Buy some stainless skewers at the grocery store (cheap 3 to a package).

Season the strips with the fajita seasoning, roll a slice of jalapeno in the strip and pack 'em on the skewer. You can get a dozen or more on each skewer. Charcoal them and have a cold beer open and a cooler full of refills handy! Man, hit of the party.

While the 243, 6mm. 270 are quite adequate, I have since used the 300 wby mag-180 gr Nosler Partition due to the many times I have encountered windy conditions & shots over 300 yards on a short 2 day New Mexico Hunting Season. Better to buck the wind! Results have been outstanding- 80 B&C-2001 & 87-3/4 B&C 2005!
The most important issues are you confidence & knowledge of your rifle & shot placement. Any of the above calibers are fine.

quote:

Originally posted by JLarsson:
how antelope taste depend in large part on what they've been eating.

My first antelope (Texas trans-Pecos) was not just eating sagebrush, the sagebrush was growing in New York City sewer sludge. Really. The body cavity odor was so strong that I didn't get it off of my hands for days. Could hardly stand to be in the same room with myself.

Two years later, I took my son hunting for antelope in the Texas Panhandle. We killed one on a patch of alfalfa next to an irrigated circle of haygrazer. He smelled as bad or worse than the one killed on the sewer-sage.

Maybe its just bad luck, but all of the Pronghorn insides I've smelled of reeked like nothing else. That's not to say that the meat necessarily tastes bad, but who's going to try it after THAT smell?

Something not mentioned above is that you must keep all hair out of the animal's body cavity while cleaning. Get hair in it and it will taste terrible...