Rheas/Emus

Are rhea and/or emu commonly hunted in Texas? If so what are some experiences hunting them? Pretty fun hunt or a giant turkey shoot? Also how do they taste? I might consider hunting them if they're worth the cost and meat!

Mulie Mike on here was offering Rhea hunts. I am sure he could answer your questions. I hunted ostriches in afrrica a couple of years ago. It was a legit tough hunt.

I haven't seen many since the big bust on exotic birds in the 80's. We had 4 pairs of emus on a ranch I worked on in the 90's. They were dumber than dirt and the meat was horrible. It wouldn't even make passable chili.

You might try a float trip down the Nueces River.

We have a bunch on one of properties. They are wild. I have not eaten one so no idea how they taste.

Emus taste like lean beef, so it's not bad at all. They are also quite dumb, so they're easy to kill.

Rhea meat is very tender and good , but cleaning is unpleasant.. stinks..I will not try again ..

Surprisingly, I got a lot of offers for emu/rhea hunts since I started inquiring! They're not a bad "budget" exotic. I'm thinking I might try for one this fall just for fun. Cheaper than a ram hunt and honestly nothing can be as bad as ram meat!

A friend used to raise Emu and the meat was just fine. We cut it into little steaks and battered and fried it. Hard to tell it from beef.

The meat is similar to venison back strap. You can also render the oil from an emu and use it for hand lotion or on sunburn as a moisturizer.

We killed a few after the prices dropped and folks turned them loose. The emu meat was pretty good I thought but the eggs needed to be cooked all the way through it was not good left runny but would make an omelette for four.

I've been wondering what kind of a trophy one of these birds would make? I don't have the $$$ for a whole body mount, so I wonder if you could preserve the wings and legs almost like a turkey wall display. Just an idea...anyone else got any?

What is the going rate for this type of hunt? Seems like it would be a fun trip.

I've been quoted at anywhere from $900-$350 for a rhea or emu hunt. It depends on the package

One of the ranches I guided on had Rheas. After the exotic bird will make you millions bust, they wanted them eliminated. The ones we shot ALL had some sort of worms, almost like tapeworms, and nobody would eat them. If you can drain the eggs, they are cool when decorated like Easter eggs.

I would shoot them with a Rossi .357 mag, lever gun using 125 grain semi jacket hollow points. When hit it would look like a pillow exploded. Sometimes it would take two hits to put them down for good though.

We do a 2 bird package hunt for $1,000 which includes hogs.

The Indianhead Ranch used to have some Rhea's but they are gone now. After the popularity with them died they were trying o get rid of them and the deal was is they would let you take a shot at them for $100 a shot, but it could only be a head shot and if you hit it the bird was yours.

A group of us were hunting at a friend's ranch several years ago near Talpa. One of my buddies was sitting quietly in a box when an emu strutted in and peaked inside the blind. Scared him so bad he froze. We assume it had escaped from a neighboring ranch. None of the rest of us ever saw it, so we ribbed my buddy mercilessly for years about the encounter.

Could I get the details. Any additional fees, nu mber of days and can this be split between 2 hunters? Recommendations on airport? Wears just looking for a fun daily inexpensive get away.

Trey Kuenstler (ram hunter 1964) offered me an emu at $300 for the animal and $100 per night for lodging (that's for the entire group so if you have three hunters it's only $33 per night). Like all of his hunts, hogs and predators are included free with the hunt. I've hunted with Trey before and I had a great experience so I just booked with him for this October. If anyone is serious about shooting a big bird for cheap give him a shout through here or his Facebook page.