Oldtimr

Antelope backstrap and parsleyed potatoes.

Champlain Islander

Ot I have heard 2 different opinions from hunters on speed goats. Some say great eats and others said wasn't good even for dog food. I know poor tasting meat can because they didn't know how to take care of it or even cook it. I can tell by the picture your cooking skills are ok and I know an old time hunter like you knows all about proper game handling and butchering. I'll probably never get back out west again and do wish I had hunted them on some of my deer or elk hunts. Just curious about the quality of the meat. All the elk and mule deer I killed out there were great eating do I figure the goats have to be good too. They all eat the same stuff

Oldtimr

I was a little leery about hunting antelope because of like you, I had friends tell me they tasted like sage or they just tasted terrible. The friend I hunted with had killed two in the past and he said they were delicious so I took his word, Our animals were taken to a butcher shop after we gutted them . The butccher shop skinned them immediatly and hung them in a cooler intil they butchered them a day later, quick froze and vaccum packed the meat. I was impressed by how good my animal tasted, my wife likes it better than deer venison and she loves venison. I have come to the conclusion that those who don'r like antelope meat or venison have eaten meat that was not taken care of properly before the animal was butchered. By the way, the area where I took my antelope was in high prarrie in NW CO which is mostly sage brush. If you are still considering trying for speed goats I will give you the name of my outfitter in CO. My sportsman's club roasts a whole deer on a spit in a hog roaster every year on hunting and fishing day at a facility owned and managed by the PA Game Commission for waterfowl. We give out samlples of the meat to visitors to the facility I cannot tell you how many people would tell us they tryed deer and it was awful, we convinced many of those people to at least try a piece, those that did asked for another piece and many came back later in the day for more. I suspect they ate meat from an animal that had hung in a tree, not skinned for a couple of days in weather that was too warm. The quicker you get the body out of an animal the better it tastes, I am sure you know that. Don't be afraid to go after antelope becasuse the meat is bad, that is BS. This is what the counrty looks like in NW CO, mostly sagebrush,

Champlain Islander

That is just what I suspected OT. Lots of people are turned off on wild game because they really haven't ever tried it or what they tried was mistreated from a meat management standpoint. My kids grew up on deer taken from Vermont and when they had beef they said it tasted funny and would rather eat deer meat. I hunted south central Colorado for 10 years with my friend Rob and we and our elderly gang took countless elk and several nice mule deer during those memorable hunts. They were all high country DIY hunts. For some reason we never tried for goats. I am older now and probably couldn't deal with the steep altitude to hunt for elk especially packing them out. Rob is around 20 years younger and is still knocking them down and has since changed his cabin to a beautiful home in Wyoming.

Oldtimr

I am 77 and I was on oxygen for 6 months before I hunted antelope in 2022 at 75. I still get out of breath when I exert myself but I was able to do a long stalk and take my antelope. Don't under estimate your ability and cheat yourself out of a good experience. My wife was not happy with me going to hunt in high prarie with less oxygen than where I live and it was a bone of contention for a while until I told her I was going to go even if I had to tow a trailer full of oxygen bottles behind my truck. At that point she knew I was going no matter what. I am not what I used to be before I had the lung infection and was on oxygen but while I am still breathing I am not going to quit what I love. If you hire an outfitter the guide does the work and in the prarie you can pretty much drive to your animal after the shot and most of the scouting is with the vehicle. Their laws are a lot different than in the east.

Champlain Islander

Yeah I know all about the laws out there. I'm 75 and in good shape but I had an ACL injury playing sports in 1977. I did well all these years but now in the last couple years that knee is giving me trouble. My buck this year was only 140 pounds dressed but was down in a swamp. I actually had to call a friend and help me get it out to the truck. That was a first for me but it just hurt to pull that buck out up hill over bare ground. Our western hunts were always way up in the high country and Robs cabin was at 9100 feet and we hunted a little lower and up to around 11500 on at least 1 occasion I can remember. We shot more than a couple dozen elk and almost all required packing out without horses or atv's. I know I'm not up for that anymore but Rob is still going out and has done the hunts with outfitters in Wyoming. Perhaps a goat hunt would work out and who knows what a year or two will be like. In all probabiliy I'll probably be forced into a knee replacement but I keep putting it off because there isn't a season I want to miss.

Oldtimr

In case you decide to go, check these guys out.

www.doublehoutfittersllc.com

Bocajnala

I second OTs opinion, get after them!

You got the money and the time! Set up a hunt and fill that tag. Antelope really can be an easy hunt. Especially if you let the outfitter know what limitations you have.

Still enjoyable though! and hunting those wide open areas are way different than the stuff we're used to doing. It's a new experience for us eastern hunters.


- Jake