Rutting Mule Deer Buck Meat

[TNKnoxville]

Heading to CO for 3rd season elk and mule deer. Looking for a mature mule deer buck. Question is how is the meat.???? I've heard both good and very gamey. My family loves whitetail, bear and elk. Never had any mule deer???????????

 

[gelton]

Mule deer isn't my favorite...more sagey tasting than gamey in IMO. I have never had moose but I would rank the big game that I have tasted in the following order:

1. Elk
2. Axis (VERY close 2nd)
3. Whitetail
4. Pronghorn - Gamier than mule deer but I like gamey, almost like lamb IMO
5. Mule Deer

 

[spike camp]

I suppose location/diet makes a difference, but all of our rutting bucks have been delicious.

Not a hint of game flavor.

Like all wild game meat, it’s all about the care of the meat and preparation...as well as knowing how to cook the stuff.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Here ya go. I’ve never had a “sagey” mule deer. Probably depends on their main source of feed.

 

[bcnorth]

Mule deer isn't my favorite...more sagey tasting than gamey in IMO. I have never had moose but I would rank the big game that I have tasted in the following order:

1. Elk
2. Axis (VERY close 2nd)
3. Whitetail
4. Pronghorn - Gamier than mule deer but I like gamey, almost like lamb IMO
5. Mule Deer

Moose is also excellent and for me its a close second after elk but i think its because i am biased and love chasing elk above all else.

One year we got a moose and elk. The moose was a spike fork bull and the elk was a large bull 6x6 in charge of the cows. They were so close in flavor most people could not guess which was which but overall the the spike fork bull was slightly more tender.

back to the OPs question - i think care of meat after the animal is down makes a huge difference. I like to get the hide off asap and trim fat, sinew etc. I have eaten mule deer buck in the rut and it was great. Whitetail rut buck was good too... that being said i have eaten a friends rut mule deer buck that was gamey as you can get. The meat was not trimmed well, meat was hung with hide on.

 

[gelton]

Here ya go. I’ve never had a “sagey” mule deer. Probably depends on their main source of feed.

Yeah good point on the feed, the mule deer I have had were low country prairie not high country.

 

[TNKnoxville]

Thanks, looks like I'll bring it home if I'm successful!!!!!! A actually don't mind sage. My wife does not!

 

[Mule3006Elk]

We did a tenderloin taste taste, same day, same preparation, cooked on the smoker, same internal temperature. Test included Mule Deer (MD), White-Tailed Deer (WTD), Elk, and Pronghorn (PH). Sorry folks that's all I had.

Meat I would give to a newbie:

1) Elk
2) WTD
3) MD
4) PH

Tenderness:

Tie 1/2: Elk, PH
Tie 3/4: MD, WTD

Mild Flavor:

1) Elk
2) WTD
3) MD
4) PH

Personal Favorite:

1) PH
2) Elk
3/4) WTD or MD

WTD vs. MD

Same flavor in my opinion but the MD flavor is a touch stronger.

 

[TNKnoxville]

Thanks!

 

[137buck]

My last mule deer buck wasn't good at all, I shot it the last week of season here, gutted it, dragged it out to the truck in a sled, hung it up, skinned it, and butchered it the next day and it was by far the worst tasting deer I've ever had. I ended up grinding everything from that deer and cooking it up and feeding my labs. This was a true mountain deer, so that might've been part of the issue.

 

[PathFinder]

I've never had a bad tasting mule deer. I killed a mountain buck in the peak of the rut with my bow two years ago and it was one of the better muleys I've eaten. I think it helped that I was able to age it longer (2-3 weeks) with the cooler weather in November.

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[Laramie]

Processed myself always ends up great. Take it to a professor and it's a crap shoot. Nothing wrong with rutting mule deer meat.

 

[Kgentry]

IMO keep the meat clean and it’s fine I prefer elk over any deer but that’s me and I feel it all taste good.

 

[cjdewese]

I just got my first one this year and I thought it was pretty darn good. Have given it to everyone in my family and even my wife who I thought would be squeamish said it was really pretty damn good. Just make sure to cook it properly and don't overcook it.

 

[spike camp]

Thanks, looks like I'll bring it home if I'm successful!!!!!! A actually don't mind sage. My wife does not!

Im wondering the point of all the time, money and travel to kill a deer in Colorado, if you were questioning eating the meat?

 

[Marble]

The bucks i kill have up to 2 inches of fat on them from their shoulders to their hams. Sometimes the meat actually has fast marbled into it. They are high country mule deer usually killed the last week of October.

They usually age up to 10 days. Weather and travel dependant.

If I have an animal that has an odd flavor, it usually has something to do with how it's cared for.

A couple of my older bulls have been tough but tasted okay.

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[TNKnoxville]

spike camp, planned on eating it, but if it was super gamey I'd have it ground to hamburger and use it. Would not make steaks or roasts. It's like shooting a wild pig down here, I mostly grind it for sausage if it's big.

I also have people in my office begging me for meat after a hunt, nothing goes to waste!

 

[Dos Perros]

In 2018 I shot a pre-rut MT mule deer living in the sage country. He had 1.5" of fat on his rump and was in very good condition. Then in December I shot a KS mule deer living in the grass/sage country. He was post-rut and skin and bones, hide almost dragging the ground and no fat at all. Surprisingly both tasted great. Both deer were in pieces within an hour of being shot, both were cooled immediately, and both were meticulously processed for the freezer. I'm starting to believe that the care of the meat matters more than the quality of the meat going in, as counter-intuitive as that may seem.

 

[Laramie]

In 2018 I shot a pre-rut MT mule deer living in the sage country. He had 1.5" of fat on his rump and was in very good condition. Then in December I shot a KS mule deer living in the grass/sage country. He was post-rut and skin and bones, hide almost dragging the ground and no fat at all. Surprisingly both tasted great. Both deer were in pieces within an hour of being shot, both were cooled immediately, and both were meticulously processed for the freezer. I'm starting to believe that the care of the meat matters more than the quality of the meat going in, as counter-intuitive as that may seem.

I think you are 100% correct. Imo, the only way to consistently have quality wild game is to process it yourself.

 

[Ridge Ghost]

Mule deer have been hit and miss for me. I take good care of the meat, get the hide off quick and cool it down, and process it myself. Some have come out gamey, some have been fine.

As far as game animals I hunt, I would put muleys toward the bottom of the list for me. Pronghorn is my favorite, followed closely by elk, moose and then whitetail. All have been consistently better tasting than mule deer.