San Rafael North Desert Antelope problem

[Clownpuncher]

Has anyone ever shot an antelope in this unit? I shot one over the weekend and for some reason, It is horrible. I can't figure out why. I love antelope meat but for some reason this one is inedible. I have only had the tenderloins since the rest of it is at the processor. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and I should of avoided this area but didn't know it or what.

 

[30Hart]

Antelope that just eat sagebrush are terrible either way, I made jerky out of mine from out there. Rangeland antelope either grass or wheat taste as good as elk.

 

[ABQHUNTER]

I hunted the Riverbed unit this year and I took this buck. We got the meat on ice really fast. We ate back straps at camp and I can honestly say it was the best game meat I've ever had! I think it comes down to how fast you cool the meat and how well you trim and clean the meat.

 

[Robiland]

Very nice loper!!!

As was said, get if skinned, trimmed and bone out and on ice asap. The longer you wait, the worse it gets.

 

[iluvrax]

Agreed!
It was 100 degrees out in Nevada when I took my goat this year. Hunting mostly in sagebrush and some grassland? Skinned and on ice within two hrs...
Mine tastes great!!!

 

[Cheater]

Love that buck ABQ

 

[ABQHUNTER]

Thanks Cheater. Kind of ironic that I had to leave my home state of NM to kill a good antelope in Utah! Hard to get a tag here even as a resident.

 

[Clownpuncher]

>

>
>I hunted the Riverbed unit this
>year and I took this
>buck. We got
>the meat on ice really
>fast. We ate back
>straps at camp and
>I can honestly say it
>was the best game meat
>I've ever had! I
>think it comes down to
>how fast you cool the
>meat and how well you
>trim and clean the meat.
>

Did your goat run at all once you shot it ( or before) or did you drop it where you shot it?

 

[Clownpuncher]

I shot mine and had it skinned within 5 minutes of it's last breath and on ice within 5 minutes after that. I talked with a co-worker who said that his wife shot two, one dropped and the other ran about 50-100', and the second one's loins were rank smelling. He kept it on ice for another week and sure enough all of the rank went away and it tasted great. My dumbass thought if it was rank smelling, might as well cook it! Lesson learned. I just got a call from the processor and they said the rest is ready so I will go pick it up today and see how it turned out. I am hoping that since it hung for a little over a week, got rigor and released, and drained all of the blood, everything is ok. Fingers crossed.

 

[elkantlers]

If those inner loins get any gut juice on them they are garbage. That may be why they were bad. I bet the rest is ok.

 

[Clownpuncher]

Do you mean wet from blood, guts, or what? I'm guessing/hoping that's what it is. Fingers crossed.

 

[ABQHUNTER]

Clownpuncher

My buck dropped right where he stood. I guess that could have made a difference in the way the meat tasted.

 

[Clownpuncher]

So I finally got to cook up some of the meat. Had some backstraps the other night and they were great. Apparently everyone was right and if they run at ALL, or get juiced, the tenderloins are worthless. Lesson learned.

 

[goforbroke]

>So I finally got to cook
>up some of the meat.
> Had some backstraps the
>other night and they were
>great. Apparently everyone was
>right and if they run
>at ALL, or get juiced,
>the tenderloins are worthless.
>Lesson learned.

I am going to disagree with running makes the meat bad. As a family and brothers with lots of kids, we like to hunt antelope and harvest around 10 every year. A lot of them are harvested by youth hunters and shot placement gets better with experience, but everyone has their first. Some times an antelope gets wounded and it takes a few miles and longer than we like.

We always debone and remove the meat as soon as the animal is down. Then on ice.

We have tried to figure out why we get a bad tasting one every 3 years or so, but have never figured it out. A gut shot one that took miles and hours tasted great, but my sons buck last year - one shot and down, never ran, we never open the guts was not an old buck - tasted bad. We have had does taste bad also, but seems to be bucks more often than does. My biggest and oldest buck tasted great, although tenderloins were a bit chewy. We have harvested them in August September and October and haven't found a strong link with the rut.

Reality is we prefer antelope over elk and way more than deer. But about 1 in 30 just taste bad.

 

[6x7]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-04-17 AT 09:32PM (MST)[p]Do you think the bad ones can be from touching that smelly pissed on hide of some bucks then touching the meat during the skinning and quartering process? I've shot two and I made sure I didn't touch meat after touching that stinky hide.

 

[Blank]

We?ve probably had 30 antelope in the last couple decades. The good ones are great tasting. Every so often you get a bad one that just isn't fit to eat. Doesn?t matter if it is hay fed or sagebrush, they are just rank. Get them gutted, skinned and cooled properly-they'll probably be great. If it's bad, pepperoni is always a good option!