What do you do with ibex?

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helotaxi

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I've got the opportunity here in NM for an over the counter tag for female or immature male ibex with a bag limit of two. Until this point ibex tags have been fairly hard to come by and have been either sex mature tags only with a limited number by lottery.

I'm very likely going to pick up one of these tags. The resident price is fair. The hunt area is close. I've been looking for a good reason to take some vacation days and I'm otherwise out of hunts for this year.

My question is, other than mounting the skulls, and a "devil horned" female would make a really cool European mount, what do you do with an ibex? Is the meat edible?
 
Should be great eating.

If you like gamy tasting goat meat.

Certain ethnic groups swear by it.

rc
 
That's what I figured. Shoot a pair on the first day and sit over the gut pile/carcass for the next 3 shooting the coyotes sounds like fun...
 
I've never eaten goat but I have smelled a few. Definitely worse than an older boar hog. Caproic acid is the culprit in goats. I don't know if there is a neutralizer for it or not. If there are any Jamaicans in your area, ask for a good BBQ recipe.
 
People say the same thing about speed goats; that they are awful and gamey. The only way to find out is to try it. I suspect that if you gut it immediately, cool it down, get the hide off as soon as possible, it will be fine eating. Does and little bucks ought to be especially good to eat.

Where in NM are you going and do you know a time frame yet? If you get the tag that is.
 
The hunt is for the Florida Mountains SW of Las Cruces, basically between I-10 and Mexico, from 21 Feb until 31 Mar or until 125 are checked in, whichever comes first. It's a management hunt because the population is over the bearing capacity.
 
I've had meat from the herd in white sands. It was good and didn't taste like goat IMO
 
Uncastrated male goats are quite gamey but females are good eating. In our area, the Amish raise goats for milk which is made into cheese. Castrated young males are sold for meat. Flavor/texture is similar to lamb.

TR
 
I've had meat from the herd in white sands. It was good and didn't taste like goat IMO
Likely oryx, not ibex. The ibex herd is not on the range, it's 75miles or so to the southwest of the far west edge of the range. The oryx herd is on hte range and they want to confine it there as much as possible.. Oryx is some of the best meat available in the US. Oryx can weigh over 600lbs while ibex are more in the 120lb range.

Oryx

oryx-gazella--oryx_3.jpg

Ibex

ibex_3.jpg

photo credit for the second picture http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Middle_East/Israel/photo33481.htm
 
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My Dad and I ate oryx (gemsbok) in Namibia. We had to order it in a restaurant even though I had killed one. When you hunt there, the hide and head belong to the hunter but the meat belongs to the landowner. It is delicious but I thought that warthog was the best, then oryx and then springbok. Zebra was the worst.
 
OKAY..

I've killed an Ibex in NM my dad has killed an Ibex in NM and the little Persians that live down in the Floridas are just about unpalatable. They stink worse than ten tons of dry concentrated cat piss.

We killed billies. I'm guessing the nannies are better but I wouldn't bet on it. They are however a fantastic animal to hunt as are any wild Mt. goats. They are extremely challenging to hunt I highly recommend hunting them if you get the chance. if you are looking for tasty game meat I'd say pass if you are looking for one heck of a true mountain hunting experience then go for it.

Now a couple of things that we need to get straightened out..

People say the same thing about speed goats; that they are awful and gamey. The only way to find out is to try it. I suspect that if you gut it immediately, cool it down, get the hide off as soon as possible, it will be fine eating. Does and little bucks ought to be especially good to eat.

"Speed goat" is a slang term for the pronghorn antelope which is not a goat at all and in no way related to a Persian Ibex which is from Persia and is a true wild goat and has in no way whatsoever anything in common or anything to do with an American pronghorn antelope.

For some reason this species confuses many people, it is not an antelope either. This explains it very well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronghorn

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Nothing better on earth than bbq goat.....cabrito!

You can't smoke, slow cook, or season the nasty out of a Persian Ibex. These suckers are good for shooting, bad for eating.

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Shoot straight !
They are mean as all get out

Did you forget to put the little "just joking" icon on here, this one ;)? The only thing mean about them is the country they thrive in.
 
if you are looking for tasty game meat I'd say pass if you are looking for one heck of a true mountain hunting experience then go for it.
Got two freezers full of deer and elk. I'm looking for an excuse to get out of the house and spend some time in the mountains. Having something out of the ordinary to spot, stalk and shoot is just a better excuse.
 
Bring GOOD glass, spotting scope, binos and rifle scope. be very patent spend more time than you think you need to glassing. Be prepared for long hard climbs with lots of failed stalks at the conclusion and have a GREAT HUNT!!

These little buggers are dialed in.
 
I was thinking about getting a tag for this hunt but there will probably be a lot of hunters on the Rock compared to every other year. Ibex are fairly easy with a rifle but very difficult with a bow, especially a bow without wheels.

I've been in the Florida's and have eaten Ibex several times. They're not bad at all to eat in my opinion...maybe not as tasty as Oryx but I wouldn't pass it up or throw out the meat.
 
I've got the glass covered. I'm actually looking forward to the climbs and stalks...just not the cold! I found a hunting buddy this morning as well.
 
Heliotaxi:

Good luck on the hunt. I live in southern NM and hunted countless times in the Florida's for quail and and other creatures. Haven't been over there in a couple of years since the quail populations have been so poor. Pretty rough country especially where the Ibex are most likely to be found at higher elevations.
 
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