pronghorn

[jackelope]

are pronghorn antelope any good to eat??...i've heard they're good, and i've heard they're not. so, which one is it.

[Curly]

I've only had a couple and I thought the meat from both of them was very good.  My father in law says they taste terrible. 

[wrangler]

the summer sausage and jerky is great. iv heard the steaks can be a bit rank....

[bobcat]

It depends! But on what I'm not sure. Some guys say it's better than anything else. The one I killed about 5 years ago I didn't like, and ended up making it all into pepperoni and I think some of it I mixed in with other deer/elk meat for hamburger. But I think I didn't get it cooled down quick enough. I did skin it and quarter it immediately, but then put it in a ice chest in which I think there may not have been enough ice. I don't know. Next time I think I will bring a chest freezer and a generator. Of if not that, take the animals straight to town and get them hung up in a cooler.

[GOcougsHunter]

I'm leaving Sat for my MT antelope hunt... I'll let ya know in a couple of weeks.

[Michelle_Nelson]

  Don't forget to take lots of pic's...

[Ironhead]

It tastes a little like mutton which I don't care for . But it makes great breakfast sausage, and if you like to spot and stalk Antelope are out all day long and a blast to hunt.

[boneaddict]

I eat alot of game.  Most of it I prepare myself, from the filed to the freezer to the frying pan.  The only pronghorn I have had was disgusting, but I didn't have anything to do with the care, and that has alot to do with flavor.  One animal that I think is disgusting and can't eat is Javelina.  Fletch and I bagged ours, and I don't know what he did with his, but I couldn't eat mine.  Tasted just like the *censored* that came out of it, which was mostly prickly pear cactus.

[GoldTip]

I've eaten quite a bit of Montana antelope and they have all been yummy.  Have skinned them out right away and got them cooled down and left them with hide on for 7-8 hours in the back of the truck with 6 other lopes, until we got home.  Near as I can tell they all taste great.

[jackelope]

I think is disgusting and can't eat is Javelina.  Fletch and I bagged ours, and I don't know what he did with his, but I couldn't eat mine. 

can't say for sure, but when it looks like a rat, acts like a rat and smells like a rat...must be a rat...

[boneaddict]

Rat tastes like chicken...Kentucky Fired Chicken that is 

[jackelope]

can i ask, and i mean no negative by this, but i've always wondered what the appeal is in shooting one...why? were you guys there for some other reason?
 

[bobcat]

Antelope are just fun to hunt. They're not usually hard to find, there's plenty of public land to hunt, and the terrain is generally relatively easy to get around in. Plus it's a good excuse to go to Montana or Wyoming. Why wouldn't you hunt them? I don't see a downside. 

[jackelope]

bob...i was talking about javelina.
kind of joking with boneaddict. i really want to take  a pronghorn. i was trying to figure out/decide if iit would be worthwhile to harvest a doe if nothing else, say if my buddy from new york drew a tag and i didn't.

[boneaddict]

First out of state hunt in a terrain I have never hunted.  It wasn't very expensive, not very hard to get drawn for, and as with anything else, they were fun to hunt. Its also usually in February or at a time when most everything else is stagnant, and the bones aren't hitting the ground.

[bobcat]

bob...i was talking about javelina.
kind of joking with boneaddict. i really want to take  a pronghorn. i was trying to figure out/decide if iit would be worthwhile to harvest a doe if nothing else, say if my buddy from new york drew a tag and i didn't.

Oh, sorry. Heck yeah, go for a doe. In many units in Wyoming and Montana you can get two doe tags. I was thinking of going to Wyoming on a "meat" hunt. Certain units you can get two antelope doe tags, and two mule deer doe tags, and possibly a buck tag too if you want to spend the money. The doe tags are only around $30 to $40. You'd get the same experience and see the same country as if you were hunting for a buck, for a heck of a lot less money. Besides, you can't eat the horns.

[DOUBLELUNG]

I've eaten over 50 pronghorn.  Have had 2 that were bad for unknown reasons.  The meat is very tender, surprisingly for a runner.  It's darker than deer or elk meat, but usually not strong flavored.  It is very delicate compared to venison too.  Hanging does NOT improve it, it quickly gets a mealy/livery texture.  Field care is critical.

The hair is stinky, oily and brittle.  It is best to carefully, slowly skin them, don't allow hair to contact the meat - if that happens, gut, hang and hose off for at least 10 minutes with cold water, ASAP.  I prefer to do a gutless bone-out, as there is no need or benefit to keeping meat on the carcass.   

[Choclab]

Welcome to HuntingWashington 

[fremont]

Shot my WY buck in 37 degree weather (yeah,  during a Sept windy cold front).  Hit him in the neck while bedded.  Never twitched.  Took him to the processor after about another hour in the truck bed.  Kept the backstrap & loins and swapped the rest for sausage, etc.

Cooked the loins (wrapped in bacon) over a medium-hot grill.  Some of the best meat I've ever had (including beef)!  Used some of the loins in chili and it tasted like filet mignon.

[wackmaster]

If you shoot one that has not been pushed and chased for miles the taste great ,just like any animail I think

[Bscman]

 
I had a few meals from one taken by family in Utah...
I wasn't impressed. Deer is better, IMHO.

Still, I'd like to take one with a bow...and I'd definitely still eat the meat--it isn't terrible.

[Intruder]

I've never found any middle ground.  Either great or horrible.  Last 2 were some of the best wild game I've had.

[bow4elk]

One of the best tasting game animals on earth!  Never had a bad one, and found it similar to caribou.  very tender and delicious!

[MuleySniper]

 
The one I shot was some of the best meat we have ever had. I can only imagine how a doe would taste. I'm curious to guys who have had nasty tasting antelope how well it was taken care of in the field. Maybe some pronghorns just taste better than others depending what they are feeding on.
MS

[wastickslinger]

Sniper do you tenderize your meat?

[ThePascoKid]

Shot mine on opening day in MT a couple years back, next to elk it was the best big game I have ever eaten, locals told me it was because I got him on opening day before they had been run.  What ever the reason they are delicious.  To bad there's not more meat on them.  I don't know if I would drive clear to Wyoming for a doe, even 2 does, there's just not that much meat on one.  But it's a good excuse to see some awesome country.

[WAcoueshunter]

I've had steaks from a couple speed goats and thought it was awesome.  Maybe the best game steaks I've had.

I've also shot a handful of javelina...we always take them to a commercial BBQ place and get them done BBQ shredded pork style.  Really can't tell the difference between them and pork.  That being said, can't say I'd eat one of those stinky buggers without the slow cooking and BBQ sauce.

[Jackjr]

I was not a big fan off it.  Had made into pep and sausage and it tastes just like everything else.  Fun to hunt.  Go get em Jackelope

[DOUBLELUNG]

I'm curious to guys who have had nasty tasting antelope how well it was taken care of in the field.

While a student at UW (Wyoming, that is), my three friends and I shot and ate around 80 pronghorn.  They all received comparable field care.  Two were awful, all the rest were great.  That said, I burned out on eating pronghorn 10+ meals a week - same thing with top ramen, mac and cheese, spaghetti.  No difference between bucks and does. 

If you yank off the hide, keep the hair from ever touching the meat, quickly cool the meat, then package and freeze w/o aging, I'd say you've got a 97% chance of great eats.  The meat is really delicate - care that would not negatively affect a deer or elk, will very noticeably degrade pronghorn.

[andrew_12gauge]

have relatives and friends in montana who say that whether the animal is running immediately before death is the most important thing effecting taste, all the adrenaline makes for stinky meat

[Roger]

I have had a couple of bucks from Montana late in the season and the meat was great. I only keep the loins and back straps for steaks and grind the rest and combine with deer and elk for burger or sausage. It's great.

I'm leaving for Wyoming next week for hopefully my 3rd. lope along with a deer and elk tag also. Have a month for the trip.

[EastWaViking]

Best meat there is, as far as I am concerned.  Tenderloins, medium rare....having that tonight!