quote:

That's not to say that the meat necessarily tastes bad, but who's going to try it after THAT smell?

Damn right and that's why I fed my last mule deer to my Labrador.

This is very interesting that we have such varied results with wild game.....

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Originally posted by Stonecreek:

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?

I don't know what smell you're referring to unless the stomach and/or intestines are opened up.

I shot a doe one year out in the middle of Sagebrush Central (Eastern Montana - not a grain/alfalfa field in sight). Clean shot, got her dressed out and cooled quickly, no problems in the skinning and so one.

When I got the hams to the cutting table, I could smell sage. I cut down into the ham - clean, fresh meat - and sure enough, the smell permeated the meat through and through. Made some GREAT sausage.

Antelope buck I shot two years ago - about 15". Shot in the middle of a wheat field surrounded by alfalfa fields. Rancher confirms that the antelope are there or nearby year-round. Delicate flavor bordering on sweet. Excellent meat simply broiled or pan-fried.

I WILL qualify my remarks with this disclaimer - my opinions are based on my own anecdotal experience over the last 25 years, the majority in which I have taken at least one, sometimes as many as 3 antelope. Your mileage may vary. No warranty stated or implied. All liability shall be incurred by the user.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

This is very interesting that we have such varied results with wild game.....

I find that there is a lot of variation in game meat period. I think it has a lot to do with the animals eating habits and the particular cuts. Ive had steaks that taste like beef and some cuts that taste nasty as hell from the same animal.


Too me nothing says speedgoat rifle like a 25-06, it is to antelopes what the 270 is to Mule deer. That being said, Ive got a 257AI that duplicates 25-06 ballistics and it is my go-to lope popper.

I shot a 14 inch buck and a doe last fall with my 300 h-h neither one had been run and they didn't travel 5yds after the shot-had em quartered and on ice within the hour-the meat is as mild tasting as any game i've eaten. Big difference compared to a few i've shot that had been running.

Depending on tag availability, I shoot two to five antelope /year. They have been eating anything from sage to wheat. They all taste about the same. Other than buffalo and hog, everything I shoot is skinned and boned where it falls. No need to open the belly. Out of the hide and off the bone it cools quickly and is lighter to backpack out. Probably improves the quality fo the meat.

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

I've eaten lots of them and liked them.

Atually Vapodog I like it better, given Vension chops or Antelope chops, I'll take the antelope. I think its a little different from vension, think its my favorite game meat, maybe heads up with elk.

My 280 is what I use now, but I have taken them will 7mm Rem Mag, 30-06, 270 and 25-06. My experience is that about 1/2 the time your hunting wind drift is a real problem to contend with and I like the slightly heavier rounds in those conditions. I could make a serious case for a 257 Roberts on these also, excellent round/rifle combo for antelope.

We like them fine, but remember, I am from AR. &
that means we eat everything. We like the chops, we make a mean chili with lope meat & my
wife has figured out how to even make sausage with it.
As to cartridge, our group has gone to Wyoming
for several years now & we have used alot of rounds & none have done better than a fast 25. I
& my brother now use Sendero's in 25-06AI with 125Gr. Wildcats & this set-up or a 257Wea. is about as good as it gets.

I find antelope meat excellent table fare.

I have not shot a lot of 'em, but I use my M70 in .264 Win. Mag. Obviously the power is not necessary to kill a goat, but it shoots so flat and accurate that I hesitate to use anything else.

I took 2 rifles to the range and sightedthem both in for 300 yds (a savage 270 and a 25.06 single shot). The 270 gave me a slightly smaller group so it won the slot as my lope rifle for my hunt.

As far as the meat - it all goes back to what they eat. We have coues whitetail here in AZ, and all my friends (Arizona natives) hate deer meat and love elk meat. They just make all sausage with the deer meat. I brought back a whitetail from North Dakota that I took in a sunflower field and cooked up some steaks and roasts.

A side note: this young buck I took had a 2" layer of fat all around his back and sides. He practically had marbling in the meat. Hunt those Sunflower fields!!!

The flavor was, as usual for grain fed venison, fantastic !!!!
All my hunting buddies want me to bring back more - I tell them to get of the ass and come hunting with me in ND and get their own.

Like I said - it all depends on what they eat. (by the way - an adult Coues deer weighs 70 lbs, a ND buck: 250 lbs+ - a bit more meat.)

I think I enjoy hunting antelope more than just about any other game animal. The 270 is my favorite antelope rifle with 130 grain bullets.

As for eating, I haven't eaten any that I would brag about yet when it comes to steak or chops. Sausage is good and the last few all have been pretty much turned into "summer sausage" and it usually goes pretty fast.

I always remember what my good friend Fred Mercer used to tell me before he passed away. Fred killed the largest elk in Montana quite a spell ago and had a shoe repair shop in Dillon, Montana. My Wife and I used to stop and see him when we went driving through and there were always antelope around there. I asked him if he knew a rancher that might allow us to hunt them around there and he said, "They don't taste good around here, better to get one from over East by Broadus." Well, I have shot a few over by Broadus and I can't say I was to impressed with the taste of them. I always wondered just how bad those ones from the Dillon area must have tasted if they were worse than the Broadus ones.

I agree that their diet really has a lot to do with how they taste. I shot one in NM a couple years ago where there is no sage brush. The area mainly has grass and alfalfa plus the corn and soybean suppliments they feed the cattle. We cleaned the animal very wuickly and got him out of the sun as soon as possible. He was not kept in the back of the truck long. He was skinned by lunch and we were very careful to keep the heir off the meat. Goats do have a strong smell associated with their hair. Then it was back in the walkin cooler. The meat from this goat was very similar to deer. Not offensive in any way. The meat is very very red in color and very lean so they cook up very quickly and can easily be over cooked. I have fried it, grilled, BBQ'ed it and broiled it. No marinades were used except for the BBQ sauce when BBQ'ed. In every case it turned out very well. I prefer it broiled sprinkled with a little salt and pepper and then smothered in mushrooms and onions. Fresh picked Morrels really go well with it.

I used a 7mm-08 to take this antelope at under 170 yards follwing an easy stalk.

54JNoll,
Two comments...
1. Very nice trophy...great set of horns....
2. your gun appears to be a custom with a very fancy fiddleback (guessing Maple) stock.

can you post some closeups of your 7-08 please...

Vapodog, Yes this 7-08 is built on a German WWI Mauser 98 with 2-pos side swing safety, Timeny Triger, Checkered steel butt plate and steel grip cap, ebony fore end tip, wrap around checkering on the wrist and foream. Fitted with a one piece Redfield style base and Burris rings with a Leupold 3-9X33 compact scope. I do not know the make of the barrel. The stock is in fact Figured Maple. It looks much better in the sun than in my indoor pictures. The best part is that my wife bought it for me and surprised me with it for a Christmas present. It was sitting in a Pawn Shop for about the cost of a NIB Rem 700. When I finaly "talked" her into letting me get it she had already bought it and hidden it in her brother's gunsafe. So when I went to get it, I was told they sold it. I had to wait 4 months to get it.

well done sir....thanks for the pics.