best method to transport meat and hide out of state

[whiskeydog]

I'll disagree. Cooling is a function of surface area...I fail to see how meat on the bone will cool faster than off the bone. Boning it out exposes more surface area and allows it to cool faster. As for the meat turning to "leather"...not if you take care of it and get it in a cooler. I have no more waste boning meat than leaving on the bone. There is a natural line to follow on the both front and rear quarters that allow you to quickly remove the bone without cutting any of the muscle. To each his own...

 

[RobG]

It's pretty easy to take the meat out whole even when boning in the field. Whether it's deer, elk, or lope, I always debone it and take out two whole shoulders, two whole hind quarters and loins/backstraps. For me, I see zero point in ever packing out any bone, and I'd rather take care of it where it lies...I won't ever drag anything more than 100 yards...too much work!

I try to keep it as whole as practical in the field... It's a trade off between weight and cleanliness and cooling. When you cut the muscle to get the bone out the edge is jagged and it collects dirt, hair, wicks up water, etc. The exposed meat also turns dark pretty quick. You waste meat (and time) trimming all this stuff off. OK for the stuff heading for sausage, but I hate wasting prime meat from the backstrap and hind legs.

Keeping the bone in also gives the meat some rigidity so it sits in your pack better. With an animal as small as an antelope I'm not even sure I'd want to waste any of the backstraps by cutting them out in the field... seems like you could cut off the ribs and head and pack out the spine.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Agreeing with whiskeydog, boning is preferred, but if not practical at least removing all the hide and cleaning the meat to then cool it down as quickly as possible is the key to proper field care of antelope wild game meat. Having converted many who previously have tasted unsavory antelope meat, I can attest to the critical importance of cleaning and immediately cooling the pronghorn meat. The very worse thing you can do is to throw the whole pronghorn in your pickup and drive around for two days before skinning, cleaning and caring for the meat.

My favorite wildlife trivia point is that the pronghorn antelope is not venison, nor goat ... with the closest species being the giraffe.

 

[whiskeydog]

When you cut the muscle to get the bone out the edge is jagged and it collects dirt, hair, wicks up water, etc. The exposed meat also turns dark pretty quick. You waste meat (and time) trimming all this stuff off.

Keeping the bone in also gives the meat some rigidity so it sits in your pack better.

Good points on rigidity in a pack. I typically put everything in cheese cloth game bags and then put all the game bags in Stone Glacier's load cell which helps maintain a uniform shape for packing. Then strap in between the frame/pack on my MR...with that pack I think they pack fine either way.

Keeping it clean is definitely an issue. I always separate the quarter from the carcass and then lay the quarter on an extra game bag to finish boning. The jagged edges on the underside of the backstrap take extra care, and I usually keep those in another game bag separated from the rest to keep them clean.

 

[whiskeydog]

Having converted many who previously have tasted unsavory antelope meat, I can attest to the critical importance of cleaning and immediately cooling the pronghorn meat.

Definitely! When properly cared for, I will take antelope meat over deer/elk any time.

 

[RobG]

Keeping it clean is definitely an issue. I always separate the quarter from the carcass and then lay the quarter on an extra game bag to finish boning. The jagged edges on the underside of the backstrap take extra care, and I usually keep those in another game bag separated from the rest to keep them clean.

I also keep an extra game bag or two for the pieces that got a little hair, dirt or blood on them. One dirty piece of meat can contaminate the whole bag.

 

[dannyb278]

Thanks for all the great advice guys. Sounds like we will bring the gambrel along in the case of having the truck nearby, and keep the knives sharp for butchering and packing out.

Thanks again.

 

[sbhooper]

Knock him down, take pics and IMMEDIATELY do the gutless method and get the meat boned out and in a cooler. You will have incredible meat when done this way. Most bad antelope meat is do to riding around in the back of a truck in warm weather.

Put the meat in pillow cases/game bags and inside good plastic bags. Cover it in ice. Drain the water and replace the ice occasionally. The meat will be OK for quite awhile doing this. It is best not to allow the meat to sit in water-thus the water-proof plastic bags.

Do not use dry ice, as it will freezer burn the meat. If you do use it, make sure it is not touching the meat.

 

[Eraser]

Truck hoists can be very handy to have pronghorn hunting!

I have 2x4 between trusses through which I drilled U-bolts. I put two U-bolts for every 2x4 about 4 inches apart. On one U-bolt, I have a pulley system attached to a gambrel hook. On the other pulley, I have a steel bar that was rounded like 'J' on each end, I have 11 'ceilings, so my bars are about 2'long. I attach the deer to the pulley system and lift it up, hook gambrel hook onto the bar, pull off the tension on the pulley system and disconnect the pulley system from the U-bolt and move it to one set of trusses where I have another U-bolt installation bar gambrel hook.

Sorry for bumping...

I have a children's pool, which I cut from the bottom and use to catch the blood, cleans well. I actually put all the deer on drag him into the garage on it, put him under the pulley system, attach gambrel hooks, raise, hook-bar, remove the pulley system. The deer is dripping from a start on a plastic kiddie pool. Completed in less than 5 minutes.

My pulley system has 3 pulleys, so it lifts easily. One of the best X-mas presents my wife bought for me.

 

[Ladykiller]

Also, go to the Solohunter YouTube channel and watch some of their pronghorn or tahr hunts. They show you how to 'punch' the hide in order to prevent hair slippage in case you want to mount the animal.