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Do smaller bucks taste better than big old ones? A new episode of Field Notes on mule deer is live!



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47 Comments

  1. Its adrenaline. When an animal runs with all that afrenaline and stress it kinda taints the meat. Its not as good as if the deer drops and dies right where it stands….i guarentee the smaller one ran further and survived longer after shot

  2. I shot in Big Buck quite a few times I let him hang for 2 months behind quarters and they're delicious so don't believe the big bucks are bad tasting they're delicious

  3. Doe that you immediately field dress and hang for several days in cooler before processing is the best! Or quarter and put on ice while draing blood off for 3 days

  4. I couldn’t tell you the difference in taste between young and old deer but I will say the youngest deer I’ve killed in the last 15 years was the worst tasting deer I’ve ever had. Them older ones do stank though

  5. In 30 years of hunting I've only had one big buck that tasted horrible. Just a big swamp deer, no matter what couldn't get that heavy rank game flavor out (even what we use on wild hogs wouldn't work)

  6. What I do is get a doe or 2 first week or so of archery in middle of September or mybe early October then I hunt buck if I get a big buck I normally will grind most of the meat up

  7. I like to fish I always kill and bleed my fish so you think shot placement matters if you gut shot one and it runs two miles and you shoot one and it drops will won’t that effect almost as much as how you cook it

  8. Different deer will have different hormone levels. Also, some people can smell/taste the hormones and some can’t. I processed a deer for a guy who could not smell or taste it, and that deer smelled like rotten meat soaked in piss. He loved it. His son went over for dinner and he got some of that meat out and his son made him throw it all away because it was so bad.

  9. Cut the tarsal glands before you gut it amd trim the fat 'till it's almost all gone, you can't tell the difference as long as it didn't run a mile before expiring. That is the big difference maker in my experience and that goes for any game animal, the faster it dies the better the meat will be.

  10. The last big 4 Muley I shot tasted amazing. I fed some to people who were in the “mule deer is dogfood” camp and they were blown away by how good it was.

  11. I like to eat bucks. Bigger bucks have more flavor especially if aged, I have aged 200 pound bucks up to 14 days very good eating. But I like a small buck too.

  12. Game meat quality has to do with the health of the animal, and the speed at which they die. High velocity rifle cartridges that kill swiftly is the best way to increase the chance of having quality table fare. Slaughter houses use captive bolt guns to instantly render the animal unconscious, and the animals brain does not send the stimulus for the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and other stress hormones throughout the meat. A delayed death is the #1 cause of gamey meat.

  13. You couldn't pay me to eat a mature mule deer. I already dont like mule deer, idc what steve says, hes got years of experience on me. Every single trophy mule deer ive eaten hasn't been great. Its not a matter of cleaning them on time. Ive cleaned every mule in below freezing weather gotten all the bad glands out as soon as possible. Mule deer just aren't good.

  14. My opinion…for whatever its worth…which is basically 💩… is that guys will kill a dink because they never kill big deer and use the crutch of “oh yeah I just really wanted a good eater…” bitch please a big nasty ass old buck is just as good as a dink. Just be proud of what you shot they all taste the same

  15. I never recommend eating raw venison, especially from Montana. There may be chronic types of diseases associated with wild game meat. Cook your meat

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