Field Dressing - hide on 1/4s or not?

[Prerylyon]

I have never shot an antelope

So, if I'm lucky and get one, I will need to deal with it. I have butchered deer using the gutless method, and plan to do the same if I anchor a speed goat.

On deer, I usually leave the hide on the 1/4s, wrap in gamebags, then they go into a iced cooler for the long ride home.

Keeping the hide on the 1/4s kept the meat clean in transit and I didn't notice any issues in meat quality by skinning them out when I got home.

I've read a lot about getting the hide off antelope ASAP for best meat quality. Should I follow that advice or is there any harm in leaving the hide on just the 1/4s in an effort to keep the meat clean?

Regards,

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[go_deep]

Skin it asap.

 

[nv-hunter]

Skin it asap.

Antelope hair is hollow will hold the heat in cold out just like a good hollow fill sleeping bag. Besides what will make it taste the gamest is the oils from the hair.

PS the hair on an antelope falls out if you look at it let alone touch it or try to put a quarter in a bag.

 

[hunter25]

The fewer cuts in the hide the better, there will be hair everywhere. I've taken about 30 of them. But they're small n really easy to handle.


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[kidoggy]

I prefer to skin em and cool them as soon as possible. if you have game bags anyhow , it should not be hard to keep meat clean.



besides ,I am a LAZY bastid at heart and would rather not pack more weight then I must, which is why I also bone them .

 

[RICMIC]

It's way cleaner to remove the hide, as antelope hair seems to be the worst to shed and get on the meat. On our recent trip, I did four lopers, gutless, and no hide. Cut down the back and peel the hide towards the belly and you can easily remove the quarters, backstrap and loin. Flip and repeat. We put the meat into a couple game bags, and had a small freezer and generator in camp to cool the meat down before it went into the coolers with ice. 3 hrs. max in the freezer, or it will start to freeze.

 

[sneakypete]

Buy yourself a new 1 gallon Hudson sprayer, I spray and wipe All my animals clean after skinning. I have it marked fresh water only!!

 

[JimP]

I agree get the skin off as soon as possible and wash the meat down to get the hair that might be on it off, the water also helps to cool it.

I always try to have a extra 5 or 10 gallons of water on hand just for this purpose on any antelope hunt.

 

[Prerylyon]

Good stuff in this thread guys-thanks for the shared experiences! [emoji106]

My question was kinda specific and you guys provided a lot of advice. I was gonna leave the skin on the 1/4s like I do on deer, but you guys set me str8; if I get lucky and anchor one:

Skin off-->gutless butcher the edibles--> clean the meat--> into game bag--> into cold storage

(punch tag correctly & retain required proof of sex)

Thanks!


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[ivorytip]

Antelope hair is hollow will hold the heat in cold out just like a good hollow fill sleeping bag. Besides what will make it taste the gamest is the oils from the hair.

PS the hair on an antelope falls out if you look at it let alone touch it or try to put a quarter in a bag.

best advice i have ever seen on handling antelope! its my fav game meat but is an absolute must to keep hair off of the meat!

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

If the antelope is within a mile or so of the road I usually just dump the guts and carry them out whole in a backpack. I keep 5 gallon jugs of ice in the cooler and can fill the body cavity with frozen jugs to cool the meat down on the ride home.

It's amazing mow much more meat I can get working on a table at home with the whole animal vs just quartering. And I am much better about keeping the meat clean working on a table vs down on the ground not to mention having water on had to spray things off is much easier, better knives, less bending over, etc... This also allow me to utilize all the ribs and scrap meat for my dog which stands by the freezer every morning waiting for her meat/bones.

But if you do have to quarter it to get it out I would take the hide off.

 

[JimP]

Good stuff in this thread guys-thanks for the shared experiences! [emoji106]



Skin off-->gutless butcher the edibles--> clean the meat--> into game bag--> into cold storage

(punch tag correctly & retain required proof of sex)

Thanks!


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You are suppose to punch the tag before you start any of the above.

 

[hunter25]

I have a hoist for the back of my truck that works really well when I can get the whole animal there. And a game cart.

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[hunter25]

That's my daughter at work with her buck last year

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[dirtclod Az.]

hunter25 thats a nice setup.

 

[JimP]

I have thought about building one of those setups but putting a pivot on it towards the top so that one person can then swing the animal into the bed of the truck.

One project of very many that I have floating around in my mind.

 

[hunter25]

I have thought about building one of those setups but putting a pivot on it towards the top so that one person can then swing the animal into the bed of the truck.

One project of very many that I have floating around in my mind.

That would be useful. I have swung them into the truck once their hoisted up though.
This one is 2 pieces that slide together so it all fits in the truck.
My dad welded it up years ago

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[WapitiBob]

Skin them and remove quarters. Lay each piece on a game bag and let them case over as you remove the next piece. The wind and temps in WY will case over your quarters in only a cpl minutes. When you're all done, bag them.
I cut my own meat and separate each muscle, filleting off the outer casing. The processors I've talked to usually leave the casing and hair.

 

[Bonecollector]

Skin them and remove quarters. Lay each piece on a game bag and let them case over as you remove the next piece. The wind and temps in WY will case over your quarters in only a cpl minutes. When you're all done, bag them.
I cut my own meat and separate each muscle, filleting off the outer casing. The processors I've talked to usually leave the casing and hair.

This is very similar to what I do as well.

 

[RICMIC]

That's my daughter at work with her buck last year

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Congrats on raising that girl right.