Buck edibility

[Chiro22]

I am new to Whitetail, having only hunted high sierra mule deer... I have the opportunity to hunt a ranch in Texas. I can book the hunt between Sept and Dec...Apparently the rut is in mid Nov. Do I want a pre, during or post rut buck, for edibility?

 

[Lvthntitall]

Pre rut would be best, but they are edible during and after rut

 

[cmp224]

Shot a big older buck during rut this past season in west texas and feel like I can tell a difference. But the deer I've been shooting the last several years have been in east texas so my experience is probably regional more than anything if I had to guess

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[deerhunt1988]

Have eaten dozens of southeastern whitetail bucks over the years from all phases of the rut.. From Oct. - Feb. Never been able to tell a difference.

 

[Chiro22]

Shot a big older buck during rut this past season in west texas and feel like I can tell a difference. But the deer I've been shooting the last several years have been in east texas so my experience is probably regional more than anything if I had to guess

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

That's really interesting, why do you think there's a difference in taste based on region, is the foliage that different?

 

[Wrench]

I've killed them from early September through December....I can't tell any difference, and nor can my wife and kids.

 

[ChrisAU]

If you clean them yourself clean the blade after skinning but before cutting any meat. I've never noticed any difference in deer killed October through February...unless you run a piss soaked blade through the meat after skinning the rear legs...

 

[LostArra]

Accurate shots and quick recovery are other keys to meat quality along with good field dressing technique as mentioned above. Time of the season is never a consideration for me.

 

[Titan_Bow]

The key is not touching the tarsal. If you are careful when skinning and butchering, and I mean CAREFUL, the rut is not gonna change or impact edibility in any way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sram9102]

I have never really noticed a difference between bucks from October through to January. Our central IN deer may as well be cattle with all the corn they eat though.

 

[GShaw]

Id say you would be fine with any, preference on Pre tho. If the meat is handled properly, and you can allow it to age, you would the fine with any of the phases.

 

[kda082]

Never noticed a difference. They stink on the outside, but tasty on the inside as long as handled properly. If it's warm, get em in a cooler.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

That's really interesting, why do you think there's a difference in taste based on region, is the foliage that different?

absolutely. Think piney woods vs scrub desert land. The state of Texas is huge and there are 6 or 7different ecologically different zones in Texas, going from coastal plains, piney woods, forest land, plains, arid desert, scrub desert plains, mountain desert, etc....

think of the difference in Colorado deer vs Iowa deer and you get the picture.

 

[Drenalin]

We can tell a difference in taste depending on what deer are eating, but not based on rut phase. I don't know how much of that is proper handling, being desensitized to it, or just having an underdeveloped pallet. The only bad whitetail meat I've had is if it got urine, feces, or guts on it.

 

[KNASH]

People saying their rutty buck is tough or inedible may just be coincidence. Since the mature bucks are rarely on their feet in daylight outside the rut, they're most likely killed during the rut. So it may be more age related than rut phase related.

 

[Sekora]

I killed an 8.5 year old whitetail buck a few years ago that stunk of rut. I thought for sure he would be some tough table fare, but I was wrong. He tasted as good as any whitetail I've ever eaten. The key has been stated many times already...Take good care of the meat after the shot and you will have good eating.

 

[camping1601]

I've killed more than enough WT Deer to lose track of how many and they're all plenty good to eat. I've never had a WT that wasn't good eating. Some do need some ageing, but that's it.
I'm talking farm feed Deer to mountain swamp bucks.

 

[tgus59]

There are too many variables to worry about it, who know's what kind of trip that buck is on. All you can do is make a good shot, and take good care of the meat from skinning, cooling, aging, processing, and cooking, and you will be fine. I think 99% of off flavors can be attributed to poor handling at some step in the process.

 

[idelkslayer]

I have not experienced any difference in taste between young or old bucks. I also have not noticed any difference in taste due to harvest in September vs October vs November. I have noticed a difference in texture between old and young deer. A couple of the older deer were tougher (not much, just enough to notice) but the flavor was the same.

I don't notice a difference due to diet either. I am fortunate to hunt both whitetail and mule deer most years and a couple years ago my wife and I blind taste tested 2 year old mule deer vs 2 year old whitetail. The mule deer was killed in southern Idaho in open sagebrush country the whitetail was killed in Northern Idaho in forested mountains. We couldn't tell the difference.

 

[WannabeHunter]

I'd say that my archery deer taste better than gun shot deer. Probably just pure satisfaction marinade.

When I first started I wanted to keep as much meat as possible, so I probably saved meat too close to the bullet massacre. Now If the shoulder is blown out, I don't keep any surrounding meat.