Antelope opener....

[dk17hmr]

Today was the opener for my 2012 antelope hunt I have 2 doe tags and 1 buck tag this year. My dad and I were in my area as the sun was coming up. This years goal was to take an antelope with my 1903 Springfield, still in the same configuration it left the factory in 103 years ago this month....built September 1909

We made a couple stalks that werent successful, mainly because we had a breeze at our backs and we were walking into the rising sun.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/DSCN3770.jpg

My Springfield really likes the Ranch Dog 311-165 with unique powder and magnum primers so thats what I went with, velocity is only around 1700 fps.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/DSCN3771.jpg

Dad and I got on a group of does and we made a stalk, we got into 50 yards of them before they spotted us. We low crawled about 200 yard than belly crawled the last 100 yards. Dad even found a cactus with his arm but stuck with me to see the shot. I took the first shot of my 2012 antelope season on the lead doe at about 65 yards. I hit her a little low on the first shot which would have killed her just fine if I would have let it work but I wanted to get another shot in her. The second shot was a typical quartering away rib to off side shoulder shot and was about 40 yards which anchored her. My first big game kill with this rifle and a cast boolit....pleased with both.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/DSCN3774.jpg

Once the trigger is pulled the fun stops but Dad and I had it skinned, boned out, and on ice within the hour....after spending 15 minutes pulling cactus needles out of his arm.


http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/DSCN3776.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/DSCN3775.jpg

[waksupi]

Good start for the season, Doug.

[dk17hmr]

After getting the first goat on ice we went to find another one. Dad and I checked out a water hole that looked like the place to be if you were a cow or an antelope hunter. We hung out for about an hour watching a nice buck that I was really considering taking, he was nice but not opening day nice...season is a month long. We picked out a large doe that the bucks werent interested in and settled in for a 186 yard broadside shot. Up to bat this go around was my custom built 25-223 shooting a 110gr Accubond at a muzzle velocity of 2700fps. After the cattle cleared the way I took the shot. My rifle weighs in at 15 pounds and has zero recoil, I watched the bullet impact right where I had my crosshairs and the goat took off. She didnt run very far and when she tipped over she left a heck of a dust cloud hanging in the air. Dad and I walkd over got some pictures and he headed back for the truck while I drug her to a two track we got her cut up and on ice really quick. The rig I have for the back of my truck is probably one of the best things I have ever built. This was the 7th goat that has been on since last year and we will have 3 more on it by the end of the season.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/DSCN3782.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/DSCN3784.jpg

[Lefty SRH]

Nice job, I hope to take some game this year with my cast boolits.

[JeffinNZ]

Nicely done Doug. I like the set up on the back of your truck for hanging game. Good idea.

[LIMPINGJ]

A nice sweet meat.

[TCLouis]

Congratulations on the "Speed Goats".

[Thumbcocker]

Thank you for letting an old rifle out to do some shooting and make some meat.

[429421Cowboy]

Very nice! There are few animals that i would rather hunt than antelope, and we love the meat, second only to good elk! We are in the middle of bow season now and having the same issues with heat, our rifle season doesn't start till next month but it is usually still hot. I have a doe tag, my bother has a buck and doe tag and my other brother has a buck tag, which means lots of goat hunting for us! I am hoping to take my doe with a 429421 and my SBH, but we will have to see how they coperate!
Good luck on the rest of your season!

[helice]

Oh the joys of Wyoming!
Congratulations on a couple fine hunts.

[Blammer]

Great job! I like the Cast boolit and the 25-223 as I have one in an AR.

I'm hoping to kill a deer with my 25-223 this year too.

Nice trailor hitch attachement.

I think you need one of these for 'after the hunt'. :)

http://www.tailgatingideas.com/tow-hitch-stripper-pole/

[DanWalker]

AWESOME Doug! Loving the 03' kill! I agree about the game hoist. I'm stuck on the rig in ND for another week, but hope to have some meat hanging from mine soon.

[MT Gianni]

Nice going Doug. Tell us some more about your skinning bar, is it collapsible and secured with bolts or push pins?

[dk17hmr]

I built it last year out of 2x2 square tubing with 1/4" walls. The corner plates are 1/4" diamond plate, through bolted with 1/2" grade 8. I have it set up so I can pull 2 bolts and fold it down to fit in my pickup bed. Folded it is about 1 foot by 6 foot, its heavy but I built it to hold up an elk if needed. It will hold 600 pounds no problem it just makes the truck squat a little.....had myself and two of my co-workers hanging on it after I built it.

Dad and I are going back out in the morning to look for a shooter buck, if we find one I like Ill get some better picks of the rig.

[DanWalker]

I built it last year out of 2x2 square tubing with 1/4" walls. It will hold 600 pounds no problem it just makes the truck squat a little.....had myself and two of my co-workers hanging on it after I built it.
Great minds think alike! I copied your design, with the exception that I added a hand crank for winching up heavy critters, and my frame is welded. I just stick it in the receiver and head out to the hunting grounds. Me and my buddies tested the load capacity the same way you guys did.

[dk17hmr]

I was thinking about adding a weld to the plates/tubes that dont move and putting a boat winch on it. I probably will if I ever draw a desert elk tag....the rig isnt very usefull in the mountains I hunt.

[fatnhappy]

well done. So is the next one with your peeestol?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

A nice sweet meat.


Very nice! There are few animals that i would rather hunt than antelope, and we love the meat, second only to good elk!

Never had it but why do some folks say it is no good?

[jhalcott]

'cause it IS!! better'n cat fish in MY opinion !

[DanWalker]

Never had it but why do some folks say it is no good?

It requires immediate care. Doug and I seem to have the same methodology when it comes to antelope. Get them clean and cool as quickly as possible. To many people in antelope country, they are regarded as a pest or almost a nongame varmint. FAR too many people beleive that hunting antelope involves driving the dirt roads and plugging them off the hood of your truck. They then drag the antelope through the dirt, toss it into the back of the pickup, and head out, looking for more antelope until everyone in the party has punched their tags. These animals lie in a pile in the bed of the truck, covered in dirt and road dust, in 70+ degree weather, for hours at a time. Then they drop them off at the "processors", where they can wait for a couple more hours before being skinned and cut up. Lets just say that most processors are staffed by less than dedicated professionals during hunting season...
Treat ANY meat that way and I guarantee it'll taste like **** too.

[429421Cowboy]

There was an email going around awhile back that was something like "The Grand Chanmpion steer from the Iowa State Fair was chased into the brush, shot in the guts, dressed and drug out through the mud, strapped over the engine and driven around town for 3 hours, then drug into the garage. It was there placed on the plywood board "cutting table" that was used last year and cleaned with a wire brush. He was then hacked with dull knives and wrapped to produce 407lbs of burger, two packages of steaks and three "rump roasts". The hunters then reported it tasted just like deer!

I agree with Dan, far too many people here regard them as "prairie maggots" and say they taste worse than they smell. But these are the same people that often run them in pickups, fail to kill them quickly, or shoot them after being on a largely sage diet.
I find they don't smell bad, and we have learned to share the land with them. They hold the utmost respect from me, I love the animal and the meat they provide, not to mention the sport involved in stalking a herd in flat country.

[dk17hmr]

Season is over for me!!! Dad and I covered a couple hundred miles on two days of hunting and looked at over 150 different bucks.

About 3:30 this afternoon I fired my last shot at an antelope for the 2012 season. Dad and I spent all day today looking at bucks before we caught up with this one. I was watching a skinny 13" buck at about 50 yards when dad said I think I have a shooter out about 800 yards and he is coming in to us. I swung over and saw mass and width, he wasnt as tall as I was looking for but a very respectable buck for the area and will make a nice skull for my wall.

When the buck was 500 yards out and still coming we got setup for the shot. The buck was working his way into check out the little buck, which was now walking out to meet the larger buck. When they met up at 250 yards or so I told dad Im going to take him, he tuned broadside dad was watching through his binos and said "Im on him", I took the safety off my 25-223 and sent the 110gr Accubond, the buck crumbled, lasered at 236 yards.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/IMG_20120917_133749-1.jpg

We got him hung and went to work.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/DSCN3091.jpg

Im not going to have a shoulder mount done but my buddy is a taxidermist and wanted the cape in case someone comes in and needs it so I dropped the head and hide off at his place and he did a quick measure before he caped it out. 14 1/2" long horns 6" diameter bases, Im not sure what he will score but my buddy seems to think in the mid 70's.....not bad for my FIRST buck antelope.

After we got him on the ground dad couldnt find his camera [smilie=b: so we snapped a couple with my cell phone and my digital camera. After we were done getting the buck skinned and de-boned we had to back track.....25 miles

The camera fell out of his coat pocket next to the two track after we went for a hike in the AM....luckly we found it.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/IMG_20120917_153210.jpg

On the way in all the work, elevation, and heat caught up with dad.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/IMG_20120917_164142.jpg

Best hunting partner I have ever had. He was with me on all 3 antelope this year sadly he wont be there for elk season because he and mom need to hit the road tomorrow morning and make their way back to Michigan....with a cooler full of antelope meat.

[429421Cowboy]

Not a bad buck for ANY antelope! Nothing like hunting with the ol' man either, i blame my dad for my love of antelope! Looks like no amount of money could buy the experience you have had together.

[dk17hmr]

Antelope meat isnt at the top of my wild game list but I do take care of it right away, as seen in my pics. Skinned and de-boned ussally less than an hour after it is shot. Ice and a cooler is important when antelope hunting. The game pole is honestly the best thing a guy serious about hunting in the desert can have.

Like Dan said, get them killed, get them cleaned, and get them cooled down as soon as you can.

[Haggway]

Looks good Doug. I hope my Family up there are as lucky as you on their hunts.

[DanWalker]

Never got to hunt with my dad Doug. You're a lucky dog! Congrats on a nice buck!

[Bluehawk]

NICE JOB! LOVE that 03 ! Congrats !!!!

[ammohead]

Nice goats and a nice hanger. I have a hanger made of unistrut for the lighter animals. It won't hang an elk, but deer and antelope are doable. +1 on getting the hide off right away. But smell your hands after handling the hide/hair and especially the horns...peeuee! I take special care not to touch the meat when skinning, washing them thoroughly after skinning. That awful smell will transfer to the meat as an awful taste.

I also buy what is called a wool bag. A large burlap sack for the purpose of packing wool cut off sheep. I take two in a 5 gal bucket and fill the bucket with water letting the burlap soak it up. Then after skinning I first slip one bag over the animal and the second bag over that. With dry desert air the temp inside those bags quickly falls to about 50 degrees. Just right for letting that goat hang in camp. Keeps flies off too. Then I quarter in the morning and put on ice and head for home. Here in NV temps during antelope season is often in the 90's and this works for me.

[dk17hmr]

I wear latex gloves when skinning and either wash them off or change them before I start cutting meat off the bone. Another big plus after getting all your meat in the ice and hunting the rest of the day the ice has melted enough to make ice water and by the time you get home your meat is washed off, so even if you do get a little bit of hair on the meat its clean when you get home.

Dan Walker told me, when I first started goat hunting, to leave the meat in the cooler and drain the water every day and add new ice for a week to age the meat. It works really well and suggest it if your going to steak out the meat. My dad likes to steak out antelope so we had to rush the process a little bit so we could have everything froze soild for thier drive back to Michigan.

For my antelope meat I ussally just take the backstraps for steaks, cut some good jerky meat out of the rear hams, and have the rest made into summer sausage and pepperoni sticks at a local butcher shop.

[MT Gianni]

I think few things stink as bad as antelope blood. There is a noticible smell on the meat before it is cooked. If taken care of well it is good eating. It is rich, dark with long stranded muscles and rarely has fat with it. Over cooking it past the pink stage or cooking it without adding liquids makes some dislike it, IMO.

[Blammer]

Outstanding!

[smoked turkey]

I like stories with a happy ending. Awesome hunt. You were really successful. You would have been successful if you had not gotten three for the good times with your dad. Wonderful hunting story. Better than those in some of the magazines!

[skruske]

Taste test complete!

I had fresh Antelope for dinner last evening. I cooked it in melted butter on medium heat with just a bit of Canadian Steak Seasoning. Oh man, this is really good stuff.

I know Doug tells folks "You don't give Antelope to friends" :wink: but I have some good friends back here at home who look forward to a wild game dinner & pot luck each winter. Doug's mom & I host the get together each year & come January, they'll be favorably impressed with this goat meat.

This fall, I intend on cooking some over an open fire. Sweet Corn is still available so I'll roast some of that too. I dare anyone to turn it down. :drinks:

[DanWalker]

Use the marinade recipe on the back of the jar of montreal steak seasoning. It's the BEST. Roughnecks get downright IRATE if I don't fix antelope at least once a well.

[UBER7MM]

Not much fat on those wild critters is there? Good hunting Doug!

[JDL]

Great hunting story. Enjoy hunting with your Dad every chance you get, a perfect hunting partner.

[roverboy]

Great hunt. Antelope is my dream hunt. We just don't have any here........ I wish we did.

[TXGunNut]

Nicely done! Thanks for the meat prep and cooking tips, most apply to TX hunting as well, especially hogs. Haven't heard many good reports on antelope meat, now I know why.

[TXGunNut]

I've seen this hanger setup on another post, think I need to make one for occasional use. I'm guessing the vertical section is 6', horizontal sections 4'. Triangle sections made from 1' square diamond plate?

[dk17hmr]

6' vertical, 3' horizontals, 1'x1' triangle plates........I would go taller if your truck has a longer bed.... mine is only 6.5' so I made the hanger to fit in the bed a 7-7.5' would be great.

[TXGunNut]

6' vertical, 3' horizontals, 1'x1' triangle plates........I would go taller if your truck has a longer bed.... mine is only 6.5' so I made the hanger to fit in the bed a 7-7.5' would be great.

Thanks. Truck has an 8' bed and I'm a 6'2" geezer who dislikes bending over, even to process a critter. Will use a 7' vertical section.

[gkainz]

Nice! Thanks for sharing. I hunt around Seminoe Reservoir and we usually take a couple of does each. This year there were no leftover tags so looks like I need to apply before season or find another undersold unit.
I have a rig like yours but mine plugs into my receiver hitch and has a footplate that drops to the ground for additional support. I have an 800lb hand crank boat winch in it for heavy lifting. Works great!

[NLS1]

Cool, I appreciate the thread and good pictures. Great looking animals! Looks like a bunch of fun. I have not hunted pronghorn, but hope to in the next couple years.

BTW I like that hoist set up, great idea.

Dan