I've always hunted Midwest whitetail in cold weather and within 1 mile of a truck. Is it better to quarter out an antelope in the field or drag it back to the truck? I have permission from a land owner and plan on asking their preference, however how quick do I need to get it on ice? Will have a 3 hour drive home. Thanks.
Handling a harvested pronghorn
- Thread starter jcook
- Start date
Zach
Well-known member
In my experience with pronghorn, getting cooling as quickly as possible.
5Speedjim
Member
It depends how hot it is out. You can always stop and grab a couple bags of ice on the way home
bobbydean
Well-known member
Put on ice fast. I would have an chest full of ice.
Joe Hulburt
Well-known member
I've always quartered them on the spot and get them started cooling at least. Even on a warm day they will cool some. Once they are at ambient temp I put cloth meat bags in plastic bags that are tied off and bury in ice. Driving home 17 hours from Wyoming they are great. I've heard a lot of stories about pronghorn not being good eating but have never experienced anything but greatness. Very tasty little critters...
Thank you for the information. I think I'll plan on quartering out in the field so it will all fit into my cooler right away. Since we are on the topic, how do you typically process it? I usually package some steaks, a few roasts and then jerky with the scraps ad front legs. Any favorite ways to prepare antelope?
Art Vandeley
Well-known member
I am the same way. If I'm solo and it's more than a 500 yard drag, I would rather quarter it quick and pack them.
Yes, get the hide off immediately! I am amazed by how many lopes I see in the back of a pickup all day with the hide on. It can make a big difference, IME. Sage or grass feed seems to make little to no difference in the flavor but the hide on sure does.
I always carry coolers full of ice and get quarters in there as quick as possible. If you are lucky enough to shoot one in the evening a good air cool/dry before the coolers is best. The coolers can actually hold in a bunch of heat, even with ice in there.
Take good care of that meat and it will treat you to the best eating out there
I always carry coolers full of ice and get quarters in there as quick as possible. If you are lucky enough to shoot one in the evening a good air cool/dry before the coolers is best. The coolers can actually hold in a bunch of heat, even with ice in there.
Take good care of that meat and it will treat you to the best eating out there
sbhooper
Well-known member
Yes, get the hide off immediately! I am amazed by how many lopes I see in the back of a pickup all day with the hide on. It can make a big difference, IME. Sage or grass feed seems to make little to no difference in the flavor but the hide on sure does.
I always carry coolers full of ice and get quarters in there as quick as possible. If you are lucky enough to shoot one in the evening a good air cool/dry before the coolers is best. The coolers can actually hold in a bunch of heat, even with ice in there.
Take good care of that meat and it will treat you to the best eating out there
Exactly! Poor-tasting antelope meat is usually the fault of the person that killed it. Get the hide off, quarter (or even better debone) it and get it on ice asap. For some reason, antelope is very critical, although, any wild meat is better if handled this way.
Antelope tend to be killed in warmer weather and this is a real problem for those who think that they have to ride them around in the back of a truck all day.
I concur with others who have said to quarter, skin, & cool antelope meat ASAP. I also do not shoot an animal if it's been running a lot. Antelope is easily my favorite meat, period, but I've had some real garbage that wasn't cared for properly.
PAGOAT
Active member
I got to buffalo last week and had people say lopes were horrible. I quartered and packed out right to ice, got home had a steak and my wife said I need to go every year now. Better than corn fed deer or bear. Guess I'll have to keep her happy �� so yea id say cool ASAP.
Goat
Goat
shootbrownelk
Well-known member
I always get the hide off , quarter and de-bone my antelope. And get any loose hair off the meat. Never put the meat in water. My antelope last year was shot and broken down, deboned and on ice within an hour. I saw one crew last year with 4 or 5 antelope piled on top of each other in the box of a pick-up....covered with a half inch of dust. He said they shot them first thing that morning....I talked to them at 4:00 in the afternoon. YUCK!
Cody_Frankum
Member
Quarter immediately, one whole antelope will fit in an alaskan game bag. Put straight in a cooler and cover with ice, I don't bother with a trash bag as the water makes little difference in meat quality. Leave the drain plug open on the cooler though so that the melted ice will run out, you will burn more ice this way but it does help I believe. Be sure to check the ice frequently after you put them in there though because with the warm meat it will melt the ice quick until the meat gets to the temp of the ice. I have had a cooler full of antelope on ice for a week before we were able to get it all processed and every piece was great. I just did the same thing with a moose and it was in the cooler for five days before we were done processing and it was still great.
Obviously keeping hair and dirt off the meat is ideal, but crap happens sometimes and don't freak out about it, just getting it cold is the most important thing. If you are killing multiple antelope having multiple coolers would probably be smart cause we have stacked 4 fresh ones in a cooler at once and it takes significantly longer to get them all cooled down due to them being able to keep each other warm.
Obviously keeping hair and dirt off the meat is ideal, but crap happens sometimes and don't freak out about it, just getting it cold is the most important thing. If you are killing multiple antelope having multiple coolers would probably be smart cause we have stacked 4 fresh ones in a cooler at once and it takes significantly longer to get them all cooled down due to them being able to keep each other warm.
It's funny that the only animal people are worried about quartering and getting on ice immediately is an antelope. Baloney. Unless it is extremely hot, there is no need to skin, quarter and debone in the field. We killed 3 last weekend and didn't do any of that. Haven't ever in my life, 35 years of killing them Yeah, get them cool as soon as possible, just like an elk or deer. And the running animal tasting bad is BS too. Never understood why hunters think an antelope is so hard to make taste good. mtmuley
ShootsManyBullets
Well-known member
I've never had a bad one. I've never broken one down in the field, but always get them opened up and throw some ice in the cavity if it's warm. We always skin them same day but it wasn't due to any grand plan.
I also don't hunt them in August when it's 95 outside.
I also don't hunt them in August when it's 95 outside.
I rarely quarter/debone in the field. I usually get them back to the truck then skin and debone them before putting them on ice. A setup like this makes it much easier...
That one is way over built. We'll be making an all aluminum one this winter that will break down and fit in a small duffel.
That one is way over built. We'll be making an all aluminum one this winter that will break down and fit in a small duffel.
