2015 so far....

[dk17hmr]

12" antelope buck with my muzzleloader 295Gr Powerbelt right at 100 yards.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0316_zpsfcrdqv0y.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/dk17hmr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0316_zpsfcrdqv0y.jpg.html)

Two doe antelope shot with 22-250 with 80Gr amax bullets at 237 & 205 yards both one shot each behind the front shoulder.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0331_zpsfejqte9a.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/dk17hmr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0331_zpsfejqte9a.jpg.html)
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0328_zpsgbbk7cdb.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/dk17hmr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0328_zpsgbbk7cdb.jpg.html)

And a 4x5 mule deer I got yesterday with my 280 Remington. Facing me in the timber at about 110 yards I shot him off hand in the throat busting his spine, he wasn't convinced he was suppose to be dead so I gave him another behind the shoulder. 160gr partition.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0360_zpsxfdib6rf.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/dk17hmr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0360_zpsxfdib6rf.jpg.html)
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0362_zpsdswwsu1r.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/dk17hmr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/KIMG0362_zpsdswwsu1r.jpg.html)

Still have two elk tags in my pocket but 2015 has been good to us so far.

[JDL]

Nice hunting! Didja run out of galena?:-)

[dk17hmr]

Nope have plenty of lead just don't have the time to work up hunting loads working construction and having a kid under a year and a half old.

[bruce drake]

Congratulations on successfully providing for that growing family of yours!

[skeettx]

Well done, well done, Thank you for sharing
Mike

[BwBrown]

It is a real blessing to live in an area where such hunting is at your fingertips!
Well done.
May your family be well.
Bob;

[RugerFan]

Thats a lot of critters on the ground there! How's the antelope meat taste?

[dk17hmr]

Thats a lot of critters on the ground there! How's the antelope meat taste?

It makes good sausage and jerky. Not our favorite meat for steaks, roasts, and burgers.

[missionary5155]

Greetings Doug
Congratulations and thank you for those good photos !
Keeping the growing family in meat is a worthy time expenditure. And one day that little feller is going to be at your side.
Mike in Peru

[OnHoPr]

Bravo & Very nice, I am envious of you young whippersnappers with the ability to hunt the hard country. How many sq ft of freezer space do you have or need?lol I am assuming there is not to many vegans in your household.

[big bore 99]

Great pics. Thanks for posting them.

[Echale3]

Last time I had antelope it was some chops that a friend gave me. It tasted pretty strongly of sage even though I didn't put any on the meat, and the raw meat was almost a chocolate brown color. Is that what yours is like?

The he sage taste I'm guessing was from it eating a bunch of it. I liked it, but it wasn't what I was expecting at all--I was expecting something more like the venison around here, which eats a combination of corn and mast.

[OnHoPr]

It makes good sausage and jerky. Not our favorite meat for steaks, roasts, and burgers.


150309

Just for the heck of it dk17hmr here is a jar of canned corned venison. I seen in a post a few years ago that you can. This is made from all the shanks and sinewy parts of the deer which gives the grinder a bit of a fit. Cook like a corned beef. Take the tuff stuff (you don't have to mess with all that membrane stuff) and put in a big pot with Morton's Tender Quick and Pickling Spice and par boil for a few hours or more. With strainer or slotted spoon put in canning jars, pack tight and process. Watch the salt input. While if to salty it still makes good hash with poached eggs or cream chip venison on toast with peas for breakfast. With the correct salt application it can still be used for the breakfast meat, but it also makes pretty good sandwich meat with regular mustard, thin sliced onion, and Monterey Jack or similar cheese. You might have to try the different mustards and cheeses as the flavors in the pickling spice don't go together with some mustards and cheeses for my palate. But, if you find the right combo it makes for real good sandwiches on fresh bread. With three goats you could get quite a few pints.

[dk17hmr]

We are meat eaters in my house. My son will eat just about any form of meat we put in front of him. Burger/ground is the easiest for him to chew right now. Canned meat is the next easiest. So a good portion of what we put up gets ground or canned. We just started making our own sausage this year and are still working out the right recipe for smoked summer sausage. We made breakfast sausage, Italian, brats, and summer sausage out of the antelope so far. I still have about 10#s ground in the freezer waiting to be made into sausage form.

I gave a bunch of the antelope meat in steak and ground form to one of my co-workers who didn't draw any tags this year and needed meat pretty bad....since his money is tied up in a bad choice earlier in the year after leaving a party.

[runfiverun]

antelope shot off a alfalfa field is more like the venison most are used to eating.
it's the ones that run at the sound of the door on the truck closing, or are out in no-whereville that get the sage taste.
even with the sage taste they are pretty good if you don't over cook the meat. [and get the animal cooled down, like, right now]
I used to cook antelope steaks with some sage and some sugar [to help the browning] a little A-1 on top made it different all together.

that 80gr 22-250 load looks pretty good, and about perfect for antelope.
I might have to try that, instead of the 25's.

[dk17hmr]

I was impressed with the results of the 22-250. My rifle is set up for shooting heavies, it's throated long and has a 1:7 twist. I wouldn't suggest that combo for very many people for hunting especially if your traveling to hunt but dang it worked well for me. The first doe I snuck up on when she stood up from her bed I shot her in chest she took two steps and fell over. The second was on her feet already I hit her in about the same spot she did a 75 yard death run and tipped over. Both had exit holes and the chest cavity was jello.

[TXGunNut]

Good job filling the freezer and pantry! My freezer survey suggests I need to eat a lot of venison before hunting season or I'll be done hunting when the first critter hits the ground. Good that you have a hungry family that enjoys wild game, it's a lot of work but very rewarding.
Congrats on an excellent start for your season!

[Brewster6514]

congrats on the success so far. someday i'd like to go out west and get a pronghorn and a mulie. an elk would be a dream come true that I fear will never happen.
back a long time ago we had a friend give us an antelope steak to try, I remember it being sweet tasting.

we are in our archery season now, had a doe and her fawn walk under my stand last night but decided to let her walk so the wife might get a chance at her once crossbow opens.

[taco650]

Congrats and nice pics too! Didn't know they made 80 gr pills for 22CF's but definitely works for you.

[dk17hmr]

Several companies make 80+ grain bullets. Berger actually makes a 90gr and Sierra use to make a 100gr. My game is shooting long and I had this barrel set up to shoot heavies this passed summer I killed several pdogs at 800 to 1100 yards with it and my dad was very close to getting a hit on one at 1350 yards with it.

22 calibers and big game really don't go well together most of the time but I'm confident in my ability as a shooter and hunter to make them work on the smaller big game animals.

[runfiverun]

plus antelope are not hard animals to kill, they are more like shooting a coyote in body and bone structure than a deer.
the 22/24/25 calibers are actually quite good choices if you make a good choice in bullet construction.
I make a 65g jacketed bullet [with the J-4 jacket and 1.5% antimony cores]
I use it mainly on rock chucks in my 8 twist 223 rifle and after seeing the results of it on a bunch of them, and a couple of coyotes, I wouldn't hesitate to use that same bullet on an antelope within 300 YDS.