If you have harvested an Oryx, please give me an idea of what the meat tastes like compared to elk, antelope, deer, rabbit, quail, pork, chukar, cat, rattlesnake.

With this information I will know how to prepare mine for the freezer.

Any idea of the weight boned and freezer ready?

Thanks

I can't offer any help but to say that a South African I worked with said the Oryx (Gemsbok) was the best table fare available.

10-4 on that..finer than elk, but like venison it needs to be cooked rare or medium rare..
grill it.
Handle and treat it like its the finest meat available...cause it is!

IMO, it is the best of the readily available game species. Here in New Mexico, when someone you know gets an oryx tag, they have a lot of volunteers who want to go along and help in order to be rewarded with some of the meat. In two trips to Namibia, I was able to sample the meat of most of the common plains game species, and I thought oryx was the best, although kudu was not far behind.

Depending on where you hit it and what you shoot it with, you should end up with between 60 and 100 lbs of boned out meat. However, I know a couple of hard core cutters who claim that they can get up to 120 lbs from a mature bull. These are the guys that hang around the check stations and "help out" those out of state hunters who want to fly home with just the horns and the cape.

I killed a nasty ol broken horn bull.....still the best dang meat I have ever eaten. Even better than Nilgia and even Axis deer. I would love to go kill a young cow. I would bet that would be some fine eatin.

The one I killed a few years back was quite good. IIRC, it was about 100 pounds of meat.

I made the mistake of giving half of my oryx away! Still pissed as it's some of the best meat you'll ever eat

Can't add anything, but like everybody else it is my favorite.

Great on flavor!

I thought they were bigger.

Can anyone tell me what a good size bull would measure from tip of nose to base of tail?

The top of the range for nose to base of the tail is about 6.5 ft (stretched out flat in a straight line). Although weights for gemsbok bulls (the southern oryx, which is the one we have in New Mexico) are commonly listed as 180-225 kilograms (395-495 lbs), it is very unusual to find one here that weighs in excess of 400 lbs live weight. Perhaps those that live in zoos here in the U.S. could make the upper limit, but the ones that live on White Sands or the Jornada del Muerto do not, in my experience.

Are you talkin' about the the gemsbok, or a scimitar horned oryx?

I was in a South Texas hunting camp a few years back and they had some gemsbok meat that they cooked into a carne guisada. NUTHIN would have tasted any better than that stuff did at the time. It was fantastic.

I was referring to Gemsbok in my post, though Ive eaten scimitar horned..its similar,but not quite as good. Have killed and eaten a bunch-o-gemsbok...REALLY like them...

haven't eaten Gemsbok, but have eaten Scimitar horned and it's some fantastic meat. If gemsbok is better it must be fantastic.

Absolutely. Once you taste Oryx, venison will be a poor second. jorge

Actually to me they are pretty close. jorge

Gemsbok

Actually, the best is from a gemsbok/scimitar cross. But those are a little scarce, except very occasionally in Texas.

Can't believe no one said it tastes like chicken.:)
_________
NRA Life,Patron or Benefactor since '72

That's because it doesn't!

However, I do believe the part of the great taste of gemsbok is due to the fact that it's almost always eaten after you have been hunting at least part of the day in Africa.

Though it is damn good. At one point I briefly considered living part of the year in Namibia, and one of the reasons at the top of the list was being able to put a gemsbok in the freezer....

It tasts like a strong beef to me. Very good and I do like wild game. AS was stated earlier though, depends a lot on how quickly the animal expires. I do disagree though, having been in on 3 different animal kills and their associated butchering they are around that 500 lb range quite often. Also, having worked on Holloman AFB and driven through the range many, many times there are a lot of them in that lb range I would estimate and a few larger. Obviously there are smaller ones but for the most part I would say the mature bulls are in that area, maybe +/- 50 lbs. Excellent meat thorugh.

I haven't taken a gemsbok in the U.S, but my biggest in Africa weighed just about 300 pounds--the hanging carcass with guts, skin, head and lower legs gone.

They have a formula for live weight, proven by many weighings. According to the formula, my bull weighed around 550 on the hoof.

Not doubting you, but I would really like to see a picture of that animal, just for reference, if you have one. Thanks!

I'm not JB, and in all fairness we didnt weigh this dude, but body wise, hes the biggest I ever killed. The books all have them maxxing out at #450 to #500...and if I ever came close to that, it would be with this dude..

Thats me in the back at a dainty #260 for comparison...

you need to sit farther back next time so the critter will look bigger.

it's quite good! A little on the pale side for a true red meat that's similar to well-cared-for pronghorn but a little "blander".

Glad to hear the meat is fantastic. Hopefully I am successfull in March in NM and I get to take all of that deliciousness home.
Thanks,
W.:)