How much weight?

[Bukwild3]

So I'm from Louisiana and have never packed out an animal because around here you can't quarter in the field. Was wondering how much weight should I prepare for with an antelope? Was planning on using a dolly but the more I look into it a short quarter would seem easier pending the distance from the truck. I bought an easton pickup that has a meat shelf last year. Was thinking about loading a 40lbs sack of deer corn on it and calling that a comparable load of meat. Maybe 2 loads? What say you?

 

[npaden]

I would guess about 50 pounds of boned out meat from a BIG pronghorn.

There are plenty of folks who just field dress them and then load them up whole and haul them out.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Not as much experience as others, but for mine, 40 pounds would've covered it. Maybe with a little room to spare.

 

[whiskeydog]

bone it out and with the head you'll probably have ~40 pounds. throw it all in your pack and there will be plenty of room left for a jacket, spotter, and all the snacks you can carry. I have never made more than one trip for anything from mule deer on down...elk are a different story.

 

[Poke 'Em]

If you have a backpack and bone out the meat, it's an easy haul.

 

[Bukwild3]

So it is worth boning out in the field?

 

[npaden]

I would say it depends on how far from the truck you are.

 

[Walkathon]

So it is worth boning out in the field?

You can pack it out with the bones in it and it shouldn't be more than 50 lbs

 

[Bukwild3]

Thanks! Gonna load up the sack and test it out. Just gotta draw a tag for some field research! Had some antelope a month ago and can't wait to see what kind of tasty creations I can fix up with it!

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Antelope are an easy packout with less than 50# total most of the time if you bone it out and tie the cape/head to the outside of the pack. We didn't want to risk screwing up the 84 4/8 B&C buck my buddy shot in 2014, so we just gutted it and he packed the whole buck on his back 1 1/4 miles to the truck and we went right to the taxidermist with it so he could do a perfect caping of it.

 

[Bukwild3]

Wow......... Don't think my pack can do that. Or me!

 

[Lv2hnt]

Due to the heat here in Arizona, my hunting buds have found that rinse-washing the meat well before putting it in the ice chest helps alleviate any gland stink transmitted to the carcass from field dressing.

 

[Nunyacreek]

If at all possible I wouldn't bone it out. Boning out is great to save weight but it exposes a lot more meat to the air, or you end up with a dense hot bag of solid meat, neither of which is wonderful. If you are contemplating making two trips you could probably cut it in half and easily carry out half an antelope. Do not be intimidated. Also bones out meat gets tricky with evidence of sex requirements (important and for you probably unfamiliar) Good luck!

 

[Bukwild3]

This should be head or utters right?

 

[WapitiBob]

Complete bone in Antelope.

 

[whiskeydog]

This should be head or utters right?

Depends on the state...for MT it has to be "evidence of sex and species naturally attached to its carcass or a portion of its carcass." If the head stays on the animal then that is all you need, but if the head is removed, then it has to be either the male or female parts...head alone won't work. However, MT has never defined what exactly is meant by "portion of the carcass". My definition is probably a lot more liberal than what a lot of people do, as I consider a "portion of the carcass" to be a piece of meat the size of a very small steak. Some on here might disagree with me, but I have never had a problem and have been through more game checks than I can count. Regardless, make sure you review the regs for whatever state you are hunting as they may all be slightly different.

 

[Bukwild3]

Thanks yall!

 

[Flatland Crusoe]

I've weighed a few antelope boned out and I remember netting like 36 lbs for a buck and 31 lbs for a doe in meat alone and a packout will be plus bones and a head or skull plate, basically 40 lbs. I can get a whole antelope in one game bag and have been able to pack one out by tying the game bag off to the top carry strap of a day pack and looping 2 compression straps around it. With a good pack like a Mystery Ranch or Exo with a load cell you can take 2 out at once trip.

 

[BuzzH]

This one time, I shot a mature pronghorn buck on a leftover license.

The bone in quarters, straps, t-loins, and perfectly caped head fit in a MR crew cab.

Packing a pronghorn out whole makes no sense...30 minutes and you can cape, quarter, and leave the mess in the field. If you don't worry about the cape, you can be done in less than 20 minutes.

 

[Hunting Wife]

You will really enjoy antelope hunting. It's my favorite, and I love the meat. We probably average between 35 and 40 lbs of meat. They are pretty dainty critters.

If you have to bone out/cut up your animal to get it out, most wardens are going to expect to see evidence of sex naturally attached to a hindquarter. Yes, you could bring them evidence of sex attached to something small, but it will probably get their "something ain't right" senses going because evidence of sex is a pretty common thing for people to try to cover up when they've done something illegal. If you bring them something weird, expect scrutiny. Just sayin'. On an antelope, a hindquarter isn't very big so you really shouldn't have a need to cut it any smaller, if you break it down at all.