Waterbuck

[chromedome]

Hi, to all the hunting guru"s .
After a 5 year absence from the old hunting grounds, I will be returning in May 2010 to hunt with my old army buddies.( Lydenburg area.)
On the menu for this trip will be , Eland, Kudu, B/wildebeest and or WATERBUCK.
I have heard many reasons for not hunting the waterbuck. Perhaps you guys can give your opinion / experience.
Some of the reasons for not shooting waterbuck are as follows.
The flesh is very oily and spoils quickly.
The flesh has a rancid smell, therefore not suitable for the pot.
The long hairs on the hide are a breeding ground for parasites.
and the best one I have heard is , the meat tastes like turps(turpentine)??
I have googled many hunting site's and the vast majority of game hunted has been the eland, kudu etc, with very few waterbuck.
I was introduced to hunting by my army buddies in 1978, and since then my hunting group has never hunted waterbuck.
I was surprised to hear that waterbuck will be available to hunt.
Any other reasons why the waterbuck is not hunted ? confused0083
Thanks
Thanks

[deonh]

and the best one I have heard is , the meat tastes like turps(turpentine)??

This is a myth, well kinda. At a simplest level, waterbuck have very strong scent glands that do give the hair/skin a turps like smell that aids in waterproofing the animal (and some say predator and pest/parasite avoidance). Fact is that bad carcase preparation leads to the myth that waterbuck deliver poor venison. Do not let anything that comes into contact with the the hair/skin come into contact with the meat and you're good to go. I've eaten a fair amount of waterbuck and it tastes pretty ordinary as far as venison goes, much like blesbok or kudu.

Oh there's another myth that seemingly makes waterbuck unpopular to hunt and that is that they "cry" after being hunted / killed. Again, partial bullshit. It's an (overproductive) ocular gland.

[Sean Murphy]

Waterbuck meat is good and makes excellent biltong. It is the skin and the oil on the skin and hair that are the problem. When the animal is skinned make sure that it is done by at least two people. One person holds the skind and makes sure the hair or anything that has touched the hair never comes in contact with the meat. The other guy just cuts the skin away from the meat and must be carfull never to touch the outside of the skin or hair. If any of the strong smelling oil gets onto the meat it contaminates a large area of the meat which will now taste terrible.

Sean.

[MyLani]

Eaten Waterbuck many times without a problem.
As Deonh and Sean mentioned, have 2 people skinning it.
One person holds and pulls the skin away while the other cuts.

We are on the safe side, so to avoid the possibility of contamination we cut the hocks off the animal in the veld.
We were told that the glands there can secrete a substance that sours the meat.
Don't know if it's true or not as we've never taken the chance.

[chromedome]

Thanks guys, I will be adding waterbuck to the list for 2010.
cheers

[Sean Murphy]

Good hunting.

Sean.