To gut or not....

[lbirch]

I've been addicted to antelope hunting for the last 5 years and love the meat. I've never tried the non-gut method on an antelope but I do see the importance of cooling it right away. I through my first buck over my shoulders and hiked it 3/4 of a mile back to the truck. There it sat until I got home. Now I take a large cooler and blocks of ice.

 

[sagebrush]

Skin one side, bone out, get the tenderloin. Flip it over and repeat. Done is less than an hour. Get the meat on ice ASAP. Finish caping out the skull and get it on ice ASAP as well. You can bring your taxidermist a cape that is two feet too long and he can cut it down to fit the form, that way you don't need to be too picky about getting the hide off. Getting the hide off the meat, the meat off the bone and on ice ASAP will give you the best mount and best table fare possible.