[Guns_and_Labs]

The problem: I've been invited on an exotic hunt (actually two) in Texas, and I'm supposed to choose my target preferences. Unfortunately, while I've seen pictures of them, I've never tasted most of the choices. So, if taste is a bit ahead of trophy, what are the leading contenders for my table, choosing from:

Axis Deer
Sika Deer
Fallow Deer
Black Buck Antelope
Aoudad Sheep
Ibex cross
Barbados Ram
Texas Dahl Ram
Catalina Goat
Corsican Ram
Mouflon Ram
Black Hawaiian Ram

[phantomak47]

Not to be rude, but please tell me this isnt a petting zoo hunting operation?

[2RCO]

Ah seriously a canned Hunt.. I won't even go into it cuz I don't want to Flame anyone. But for one other than the obvious knee jerk complaints they are a huge waste of cash. Save your money go to Africa and hunt in the wild! Then your friends won't make fun of you behind your back when you show them the mounts.

[PotatoJudge]

Not to be rude, but please tell me this isnt a petting zoo hunting operation?

1) The hunt is likely on a ranch with high game fence, so it depends on the size and number of animals on the property. Whether it's got "petting zoo" density, that's a judgment call. If he's happy with it, who cares?

2)The fact that the OP is asking about the meat means it's not just a "sporting hunt" but rather a meat gathering hunt, in which case I don't care if he says "I want that one" and the guy plucks it out of the lobster tank. All depends on his opinion of the kill, which none of us can really speak to. Now if he was to brag about his "trophy" I'd be more interested in the circumstance of the kill, but meat is meat no matter how you get it.

I haven't eaten any of the animals on the list, but don't get the Barbados for food. If you want to eat one of those get a lamb for $20 at the local livestock auction.


The problem: I've been invited on an exotic hunt (actually two) in Texas

Wish I had your problems. Enjoy your hunts.

[Guns_and_Labs]

Well, I've never been to either ranch. One claims 25 square miles, which seems small for that diversity. The other claims "hundreds of square miles", which sounds like marketing, not ecosystems.

But as I said, I'm not in it for the trophy, I'm in it for the meat, and for the camaraderie of the guys hosting it. I figure I might as well try it -- but I haven't cancelled my fall wilderness hunts either.

[PotatoJudge]

1 square mile equals 640 acres. Those are both big places.

[Kurt S.]

I have eaten axis deer meat and blackbuck antelope. If I hadn't known what I was eating I just would have thought the axis was a venison steak off a whitetail. Similar for the blackbuck, just like antelope which I can barely tell from deer anyway. I love the taste of both antelope and deer, though.

Aoudad are generally hunted for the heads. I have never tasted the meat but supposedly it is pretty nasty except for very young lambs. I've heard the same about Mouflon.

Enjoy the hunts, I know for a fact that most of those specialty ranches really treat hunters like royalty.

[Triple S]

The axis and the black buck fare the best from this group as far as taste goes. Typically, these species get better reviews of their meat quality over wild, native animals becuase of thier diets. Most imported exotic species (like the axis) are grazers, not browsers like white tail. In return, this gives their meat a less gamey flavor. If you are strictly in it for for the meat, shoot a younger buck or doe of either species. They are much like many other animals in that the mature bucks can be a little gamier in flavor. Take the outing for what it is and you might suprise yourself on how much you actually enjoy the experience. Tanning the hide of the axis make beautiful throw rugs or covers to lay over couches or chairs.

[Jimmy Newman]

Axis is very nice meat. I've been told it's one of the main things you get in restaurants when you order venison (it being illegal to sell native game for commercial purposes). They also have beautiful fur, if you're interested in a throw or something.

Sika deer, at least that I've seen, tend to be smaller. Fallow deer are pretty big, but I've heard some people say they taste great and some people say they taste awful - I haven't actually shot one, so I couldn't tell you from personal experience.

[phantomak47]

1) The hunt is likely on a ranch with high game fence, so it depends on the size and number of animals on the property. Whether it's got "petting zoo" density, that's a judgment call. If he's happy with it, who cares?

2)The fact that the OP is asking about the meat means it's not just a "sporting hunt" but rather a meat gathering hunt, in which case I don't care if he says "I want that one" and the guy plucks it out of the lobster tank. All depends on his opinion of the kill, which none of us can really speak to. Now if he was to brag about his "trophy" I'd be more interested in the circumstance of the kill, but meat is meat no matter how you get it.

I haven't eaten any of the animals on the list, but don't get the Barbados for food. If you want to eat one of those get a lamb for $20 at the local livestock auction.


Why? Because there are clowns out there literally buying goats and other exotics from actual petting zoos and putting them in small pens where in five minutes you will either be shooting an animal or having one coming up to let you pet it. I am sorry but that is far from hunting.

[Leadbutt]

If hunting for meat, leave the goats alone, go for the Axis and Blackbucks

[quicktime]

Dang another missleading thread title. I thought it was going to debate the best strip club in Texas. As for the thread I have no idea but maybe H&H hunter will drop by he has been to Africa a few times and wopuld probably know what a few of the critters taste like. Good luck and have fun on your hunt.

[.41 magnum man]

I have eaten Barbados ram and wouldn't go for that or any of the rams if you are looking for the best meat. The meat didn't taste too bad, but the smell is awful. I have never eaten any of the exotic goats, but have had what I guess you call farm raised goat, and it was good. It had a beef/venison flavor. I would go for the axis and the blackbuck as I understand their meat is the best.

I took the barbados ram at 42 yards on a bow hunt on a 300 acre game ranch in Oklahoma. I know some people don't like the idea of hunting such a place, but I enjoyed it. It wasn't a guaranteed hunt either. The animals were wild, and in several days of hunting this ram was the only critter I got a shot at. The way I look at hunting game ranches is this: First thing, I have plenty of deer, turkey and bear here at home to hunt, and I am not going to pay to hunt the same thing somewhere else I can get here. If I go somewhere else to hunt I want to get something different, and I cannot afford to go to Africa or Alaska. I personally like a place where you actually hunt, not just go into a pen and shoot, BUT if someone else wants to do that, I don't have a problem with it. I don't see it much different than some cattle ranchers who kill a big steer and mount the head. If the place guarantees an animal and a person pays money for it, then as far as I'm concerned they bought it and they can do what they want.

[Skoghund]

Have eaten sika and fallow. Go for a young one. Never shoot a fallow buck in the rut. The smell used to make my old dog cough.

[Nathanael_Greene]

The best game I've ever eaten was axis venison. I highly recommend it.

Given the choices you've listed, I'd take the axis every time. And the hides are very decorative, as someone said.

[Art Eatman]

A number of hill country ranches in west-central Texas have the exotics so as to have year-around hunting. The terrain and vegetation combine to mean that any pasture of several hundred acres or more is fair chase.

Art

[22-rimfire]

There are lots of ranches in Texas that have exotic game, especially South Texas and the Hill Country. I would not make the assumption that you're shooting them in a pen somewhere.

I had a man ask if I wanted to take a really nice exotic buck... don't even remember the animal name.... beautiful horns/antlers... I passed as it really was like shooting one in a big pen. But he just wanted to get rid of the old animal and thought I'd like to take it. Big rack though. This deal sounds like a "hunt". I thought about it just to have the antlers for knives.

I have heard that Axis meat is pretty good.

[MCgunner]

Why? Because there are clowns out there literally buying goats and other exotics from actual petting zoos and putting them in small pens where in five minutes you will either be shooting an animal or having one coming up to let you pet it. I am sorry but that is far from hunting.

I've seen a couple of those penned animal places. Don't think of it as hunting, think of it as going to an animal farm where you have to slaughter and butcher it for yourself rather than letting some illegal alien working for 5 bucks an hour do it for you. Well, some of those places probably hire illegals to do the butchering, too, though. :D I'll never spend what most of those places want, personally. I can get T bones at Walmart or HEB a heckuva lot cheaper and they're cut, wrapped, and ready for the broiler!

[H&Hhunter]

Axis Deer, Haven't tried it but am told they are good eating

Sika Deer, Same as above

Fallow Deer, Same as above

Black Buck Antelope, Haven't tried it but I've heard it is not the best

Aoudad Sheep, I've eaten this quite a bit. It is good meat but the old rams will be a bit tough and gamy

Ibex cross, I've eaten both Siberian and Persian Ibex. A Persian ram is inedible IMO. It stinks it's tough and I won't have it in my house. A Siberian milder but still a stinky old goat.

Barbados Ram, Couldn't tell you but if it's an adult sheep or a goat I generally won't eat it.

Texas Dahl Ram, The Texas Dahl is NOT AN ALASKAN DAHL sheep that has been transplanted. It is a Corsican ram hybrid and I would guess that it falls into the category from above. But in reality I have no idea. A true Dahl sheep or a bighorn are good eating. That ain't what this is.

Catalina Goat, There is a reason that cultures who eat goat tend to bury it and burn it for several days before they eat it.

Corsican Ram, See above

Mouflon Ram, See above

Black Hawaiian Ram, Stinking, rotten, little bastards.

Enjoy your hunt. And just because it is high fenced doesn't mean it's "canned". There are some good operations and some lousy ones.

[rbernie]

I think that a lot of folks posting in this thread are passing judgement on the OP or the hunt without having any first hand experience.

Texas allows year-round hunting of non-native species. That means that many ranches with oodles of untillable land and a bunch of scrub have found a new source of income; enclose the ranch in a high fence, stock some non-native species, and hire a PH/guide. Remember, guys - Texas has a LOT of land that's not much fit for farming. Maybe there are some small 'lobster tank' kind of outfits, but I've not seen one yet. The smallest I've hunted has been well over 1000 acres. (Most outfits that do 'guided' hunts also allow unguided individuals to hunt on foot when they have no payin' customers, and that's what I usually do rather than try to maintain a lease..)

IMO - anyone that sits on their dead butt in a stand over a feeder or feed plot has no right to suggest that stalking non-native deer thru the hot TX scrub for hours on end represents anything less than 'fair chase'. ;)

ETA : Last fall's hunting story: http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=3179331&postcount=27

So, if taste is a bit ahead of trophy, what are the leading contenders for my tableThat rules out all of the sheep, according to most... If anyone has a decent recipe for eating it, I'd love to hear it. I've been scared away from trying any by the tales of how nasty it can be. Most folk that I know that hunt the sheep do so for the pelt and the trophy, and leave the meat for the hogs.

Any of the deer will be fine eating - my kids love both the fallow and the Sika and I can't tell the difference. The Sika has a really nice hide that is well worth having tanned.

I've not eaten Black Buck; most folk that I know that hunt them do so for the difficulty of the chase. They're pretty small. Well, in fairness - all deer and antelope in TX tend to be smaller than those further north. A decent whitetail or Axis or Fallow or Sika buck will probably top out at 120lbs and most doe are in the 75lb range.

How are you planning on transporting the meat back home?

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

IMO - anyone that sits on their dead butt in a stand over a feeder or feed plot has no right to suggest that stalking non-native deer thru the hot TX scrub for hours on end represents anything less than 'fair chase'.
Excellent point.

[MCgunner]

Well, opinions are like a holes.....

Now, I need to get that feeder goin'......

[jaholder1971]

Why? Because there are clowns out there literally buying goats and other exotics from actual petting zoos and putting them in small pens where in five minutes you will either be shooting an animal or having one coming up to let you pet it. I am sorry but that is far from hunting.

Congratulations! You've perfectly described the kill pen of every slaughterhouse I've ever seen, other than the method of shooting them may be different. If this bothers you so try going Vegan.

BTW during deer season the area I go usually has so many deer it's more like deer shooting than actually hunting.

[MCgunner]

:D In some parts of Texas, the best method of deer hunting is on a 300 mile x 50 yard stretch of land using an F150 at 80 mph.....:D

[Geno]

Some of the ranches that I have hunted in Texas were massive! The owners claimed over 50,000 acres. The game was none too easy to get near, and I was plenty glad that I had my .300 Wea. Mag zeroed at 300 yards. Everytime the game saw the Jeep, or even just a human, they bolted!

I hunted a couple of Dall and a Corsican. The meat was great. We had a meal with the family to which we donated it. They had become recently unemployed, and the guide tipped us their way. It seemed the right thing to do.

The hunt was near Mt. Home, or was it Kerrville,TX? It was beautiful there!

[kevin davis]

i would recommend the fallow and axis. i have eaten sika, fallow, axis, whitetail, blackbuck, red stag and think those two are the best. now if you had ther chance to get an eland, go for that, because it is better than all the rest.
i chased an axis buck all day long in a 1000 acre high fence area in south texas, and never saw him again after the first 30 second introduction. that is not a canned hunt. maybe he could not actually get away, but i sure could not find him either. for those that do not know, it can be 80-90 degrees in the day during our deer season down here, so don't knock a nice shady blind.:D

[Art Eatman]

Yeah, Doc2005, that area around Kerrville is neat country. All along the Guadalupe River, for that matter. Back when Charley III ran the Schreiner Ranch (At 75,000 acres, it was the remains of the original half-million), I knew some of the guides and hung out there from time to time. C-III had Sally the eland and quite a few other exotics as well as some pretty good whitetails. He had one Himalayan Mountain Sheep which could stand flat-footed and jump atop an eight-foot high shed. Mrs. C-III had several jaguars and cougars in her own sorta-zoo.

Art

[Guns_and_Labs]

How are you planning on transporting the meat back home?

Probably bone it out and throw it in my monster coolers with some dry ice. Might as well drive. Between TSA, overbooking, and air traffic control, flying doesn't save much time anymore.

Sounds like axis is my best bet, and maybe get a throw rug out of it too.

The black buck antelope is supposed to be the best hunt, according to a friend that has hunted there before. Evidently even the jeeps can't get in range, so it's usually horseback and then walk. No charge for rattlesnakes. Sounds like fun.

Thanks for all the input... and thanks for the warnings about the unethical hunts. I'd heard there were a few out there... I hope I don't ever run across one.

[Geno]

I think the place where I hunted was called "Texotic"? There was a business relationship between them and Weatherby. If you bought a Weatherby, you could go on a hunt free of charge at Texotic. One had to pay the guide fees, etc. The guide said they also had deals with other close by ranches for access.

There sure were a lot of real decent people in that area. I did a Google search and didn't come up with any "Texotic" any longer. They must have gone out of business or changed the name.

[Jimmy Newman]

Guns_and_Labs,

Be careful about planning to bone it out there - in Texas there are some funny laws about processing past quartering on-site. If they have a cold storage/processing facility (which is pretty loosely defined, it can essentially be a shed with a refrigerator in it) and keep a cold storage record book, then it is legal, if they don't, then it is not.

For further information see: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/annual/hunt/carcass/

EDIT: Just realized, this probably doesn't apply to exotic deer, but it is not clear in the annual. It would be worth clarifying.

[Guns_and_Labs]

Be careful about planning to bone it out there - in Texas there are some funny laws about processing past quartering on-site.
<snip>
It would be worth clarifying.

Thanks for the tip. I'll check into it.

[TehK1w1]

I have to aggree with the people that say not to knock it if you haven't tried it. I just started working on one of these leases, a company-owned lease on the King Ranch :D, and the lease is about 42,000 acres. The ranch, of course, is a whopping 825,000 acres :what: The only exotics on this lease are Feral Hogs and Nilgai, but boy they are fun. Only downside is even with Barnes X-Bullets out of a 300 Win. Mag (Smallest gun the lease allows for Nilgai), if you don't made a perfect shot (through the heart, and nicking it doesn't count), it WILL run off. At that point I, being the "Hunting Guide" (Read: 2-legged retriever), get to go looking for it among the fields of 15 foot tall !@#$%^& sunflowers (Yes they do get that tall)

[skinewmexico]

Just realized, this probably doesn't apply to exotic deer, but it is not clear in the annual. It would be worth clarifying.

Doesn't apply to non-native species. And Texas now has more free-ranging Axis, Nilgai, and Blackbuck than their native India. Don't think about trying to eat any of the rams, and good luck if you see them. I can't imagine eating Aoudad. I've only seen one shot, on what some of these know-it-alls would call a canned hunt on a five section ranch. Took a few 350 yard shots across a canyon, and three hours to recover and take to the truck. But it was the nastiest, smelliest creature I've ever been around. I made 4 trips to that ranch for Axis, and never got close enough for a shot. I hunted a high fence ranch (5000 acres) with 3-400 Blackbuck, and none of the 4 of us ever got within 500 yards of one for a shot. So anyway...........get ready to work your butt off. And if someone laughs behind your back, send them down to try it. Axis is by far the best tasting, but I also have fallow and sika in the freezer right now too. I'd have to give Sika the nod tastewise (barely), but the fallow are prettier.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/891136/DYHIP-image[1].jpg

[Selfdfenz]

Based on all the "canned-hunt, high fenced this" and "canned-hunt, high fenced that" comments made by various I-net experts, the uninformed will think Texas is the poster-boy state for canned hunts. They do it there but to say or think it’s the majority hunting opportunity in the state is just wrong.

I doubt many people who haven’t spent time driving the TX country side are aware certain exotics escaped over the years and have established growing populations of free roaming examples and their range is slowly spreading. In the case of the axis deer, not so slowly. Not sure there was ever a “game farm” in the DFW area but I have seen free roaming axis deer in the area. Always singles, never even a small herd but perhaps I didn't see everything. In ten years or so we’ll know if they like N. Texas. Apparently camels seem to. I wish a few of the free-range axis deer herds I used to see running wild and free all over some parts of the Lone Star State would wander up to NC.

There were a couple of news items over the years regarding ostrich and emu farms that went belly-up and just turned loose the whole flock when the money and Purina ran out. I had ostrich once or twice. I thought it was very good eating. So good in fact I doubt free roaming ostriches will ever become a reality in the US.

S-

[Art Eatman]

The aoudad population is expanding like mad in the Big Bend Ranch State Park, as well as around it. Danged things are territorial, and will keep mule deer away from water points. Down here, aoudads aren't any different from feral dogs or feral cats...

Art

[skinewmexico]

The aoudad population is expanding like mad in the Big Bend Ranch State Park, as well as around it. Danged things are territorial, and will keep mule deer away from water points. Down here, aoudads aren't any different from feral dogs or feral cats...

I used to know guys who would let you shoot them for free, just so the Aoudad would quit breaking their feeders. Then they found out tourists would pay $3500 to shoot one, and now the population is exploding...... Of course, blackbuck will kill whitetails to keep them away from feeders too.........

[Selfdfenz]

So $3500 for an inedible smelly old sheep. :)

When I think of the leases I could get on for $3500 that whole comment about one being born every day comes to mind.

S-

[H&Hhunter]

Audad is a stinky ole sheep not a goat!;)

Actually closer to an antelope.

[Selfdfenz]

Thanks H&H :)

S-

[2RCO]

Truthfully I have ended the lives of a few pheasants in my day and they of course are non Native species. I have no problem with big ranch hunts for feral hogs etc. but the fellas that put an Elk in a pen and let you shoot it and afterwards move it to their backdrop and let you take a picture like you went on a big hunt kinda make me sick. If you have to track it and it won't eat from your hand then OK it's legit. But the Petting zoo operations do exist. I spent a couple years in Southwest Texas and I have seen a couple questionable operations there as well as some in Missouri.

[rbernie]

IMO - anyone that sits on their dead butt in a stand over a feeder or feed plot has no right to suggest that stalking non-native deer thru the hot TX scrub for hours on end represents anything less than 'fair chase'.
Well, opinions are like a holes.....

Now, I need to get that feeder goin'......I'm not busting on anyone for using a feeder - there little difference to me between a mechanical feeder and deliberately planting forage or even finding natural forage and settin' up camp there. I just can't stand it when someone who stand-hunts over a feeder or sits on a metal platform over a patch of carefully planted forage somehow decides that my hunting is not 'fair chase' because the two square mile ranch that I still-hunt is surrounded by a high fence.

Probably bone it out and throw it in my monster coolers with some dry ice. Might as well drive. Between TSA, overbooking, and air traffic control, flying doesn't save much time anymore.Don't forget that CA has the AZ/CA border check for fruit and such. Shouldn't be an issue with meat - just smile and tell them that you have no Medditeranean Fruit Flies.

The black buck antelope is supposed to be the best hunt, according to a friend that has hunted there before. Evidently even the jeeps can't get in range, so it's usually horseback and then walk. No charge for rattlesnakes. Sounds like fun.It is. Bring sturdy boots and pants, and don't be tempted to wear short sleeves. If you're going for black buck, you're probably going to have to assume a prone shooting position in some pretty flinty prickly stuff, so no exposed skin. A brimmed hat (not a baseball cap) is a good thing, both to break up your silhouette and to keep the sun off your neck and ears. Bring a pack or something upon which you can rest the rifle.

[Art Eatman]

Any knocking of a member's hunting style is likely to produce unpleasant results...

Art