Post rut late season deer?

[ajr5406]

Been out of commission for the last 6 weeks with a back injury, so haven't been out. Thinking another week and I'll be good to go. I know it's late in the season, but is there anything different hunting late/post rut? What's the meat like on these bucks after going through the rut?

Cheers.

[Big G Hunter]

Stinky and strong (gamey) but good if you make pepperoni or anything with lots of spices in it.

[Glenny]

Aint over yet.

[.264winmag]

Wt rut seems to be slowing down a bit, bucks are starting to feed hard in region 8. Find food source and sit on it. If there's a doe coming into estrous them big bucks will still be doing the rounds though. As far as table fare, never had a bad/gamey wt, mulie only good for sausage to my palate by now...

[GROOTSKY]

I'm able to bow hunt 4 point mulies til December 10. Lots of small bucks and does have been showing up at my blind/ feeding area with the occasional big guy passing through, will the bigger guys start hanging out & feeding more frequently during the next few weeks or will they continue cruising untill after seasons end?

[Looking_4_Jerky]

I know this remains a hotly debated topic on this forum and among hunters in general, but some of us think that rut mulies (or post-rut, same thing) are disgustingly gamey and hence basically cougar, coyote and wolf food. Turning it into pepperoni and/or jerky basically equates to disgusting pepperoni/jerky if you are sensitive to the "game" taste. This is in my opinion worse than disgusting steak or chops or roast because you usually have gone through added effort and/or expense to get cured meats done.

Some people aren't bothered by it at all, and that's great. If you're palate is averse to gamey venison however, it isn't usually masked by smoke/spices. A good friend makes a great pastrami that seems to eliminate the taste, but it's a lot of effort and there's really only so much pastrami a guy could eat. If you don't mind gamey, fill your boots, you still have time. If you detest gamey, wait until next year.

I agree with .264winmag, WT for some reason just doesn't seem to get bad, or at least not that I've found yet.

[.264winmag]

Definitely had some MD that no spice could fix. Seems to differ from area to area though, had some decent late season mulie from farmland that was fine. But ones from the mountains, meh...

[Dash]

Hmm.. I was eager to try again next weekend but being new and not knowing this, I'm a little hesitant now. Good info though. Now I know :)

[.264winmag]

Hmm.. I was eager to try again next weekend but being new and not knowing this, I'm a little hesitant now. Good info though. Now I know :)
Ahhhh, don't take these comments as a discouragement to get out in the woods n mountains! You can't fill the freezer or shoot a buck of a lifetime from the couch:) And you always gain valuable info for future hunts.

[TrickleCharger]

Everybody liked my 4 pt from November 27th last year even the wife and mother in law. Just do a good job of trimming the fat. There is some gaminess in the burger but it doesn't bother anybody in spaghetti, chili or whatever and I think it comes from the fat that's ground in. The steaks and roasts were delicious with no gaminess at all. I found the same with a mid November buck from a different area. Neither were from farmlands either. My brother in law had my wife grossed out about eating "rutty buck" but it wasn't an issue. Don't be scared!!

[Dash]

Thanks guys. That makes me feel a bit better. I was kinda worried lol. I think I'll give it another shot next weekend. Would have loved to this weekend but have been under the weather. If I'm not successful then at least I've got some good experience and scouting in.

[rocksteady]

Rut is just kicking in on WT... go kill one...

[Max Ranger]

I have hunted deer,moose & elk since early 1970's. Almost all mulie bucks I've taken in November were gamey tasting-
especially the big ones. This was the first year of last 4 that I had time to go hunting. I lucked out and shot a young
4 point on Nov. 10. I hung it in my woodshed for 4 days then cut it in half lengthwise and we cut and wrapped one of
the halves, trimming off all the fat, blood, etc. We cooked and ate the tenderloin that evening. It was good but a bit
musky tasting. Next we made some venison stew. The gamey taste was still noticable but we ate it. My Wife and I
discussed what to do with the rest of the meat. I don't believe in feeding my venison to the dog but would do so as a
last resort. In the past we have tried all methods of cooking, marinating, seasoning, canning, sausage and jerky making as ways of making gamey tasting meat more palatable but this time I was ready to quit shooting mule deer
bucks in November ever again although it can be the most exciting time to hunt them. Due to a busy schedule I let the other half of the deer hang for another 8 days before we cut and wrapped it. The weather was cool and clear,
temp. near freezing at night. We cooked the other tenderloin. Surprisingly it tasted fine! Next day we fried some
loin chops. Tasted great! Good as any opening day venison We've ever had. So, I'm wondering, was it the extra
week of hanging that tamed down the gamey taste of this rutting buck? I seem to recall an oldtimer saying that bucks taken during the rut should be hung longer than those taken before the rut. Has anyone else experienced this before? Just wondering.

[swampthing]

Every rutted up stinky November deer I have shot has been fine. Once the hide and such is gone so is the smell. Trim all the fat off and bone the meat out. Its fine. Some people just don't like mule deer.

[Looking_4_Jerky]

Although I have determined that Nov and beyond MD is not for me, many people I know are not bothered in the least. I honestly think that the only way you'll know where you stand on the matter is to grab one (I hope that part goes well for you), pay careful attention to the cleaning and processing, and then try it. You'll know if it's your thing or not. If you are lucky enough to not be bothered by the taste, you'll be able to have the awesome experience of hunting late season MD. I miss it alot... just not enough to make me tolerate even the tiniest taste of rutty MD :)

[ajr5406]

Although I have determined that Nov and beyond MD is not for me, many people I know are not bothered in the least. I honestly think that the only way you'll know where you stand on the matter is to grab one (I hope that part goes well for you), pay careful attention to the cleaning and processing, and then try it. You'll know if it's your thing or not. If you are lucky enough to not be bothered by the taste, you'll be able to have the awesome experience of hunting late season MD. I miss it alot... just not enough to make me tolerate even the tiniest taste of rutty MD :)

Old thread, but... Does this apply to does too, or just bucks? I put in for a LEH antler less so curious about does (if I get it of course)...

[plumberjustin]

Old thread, but... Does this apply to does too, or just bucks? I put in for a LEH antler less so curious about does (if I get it of course)...

November mule does are tender and delicious. I've never experience the "gamey" flavors that people talk about, only the flavors of what's in their diets, which in my area is sagebrush. I think that stench of a rutting buck and meat flavor from diet are 2 different things, but all meat handled properly in the field should have no issues. Personal preference I suppose, but I've never had a piece of deer that was inedible.

[Weatherby Fan]

Every rutted up stinky November deer I have shot has been fine. Once the hide and such is gone so is the smell. Trim all the fat off and bone the meat out. Its fine. Some people just don't like mule deer.


I agree with swampthing, get rid of the hide right away and bone the deer out and you will eliminate a lot of the strong flavor, been doing this for years now and no issues.

[smallfry14]

Old thread, but... Does this apply to does too, or just bucks? I put in for a LEH antler less so curious about does (if I get it of course)...

Mule deer does taste great all through the year in my experience. Also, I shot my first ever rutted up muley in the 2015 season, and he did stink pretty bad. The meat was definitely a bit "gamier" than an early season buck, but not bad at all. I even took a steak out of his huge rutted up neck and it was totally fine. It definitely wasn't enough to put me off of rut hunting anymore. I'll be back next November :D

[tomahawk]

Unless an animal has been injured and allows the rut smell inside through the wound, the only stinky meat or gamey taste your going to get is when you field dress your animal improperly. Like it or not that's how it gets any unusual taste. Tenderness on the big boys is down but they still taste like mulies if there treated properly. When they shoot piss and sperm on their hide and hair it doesn't and cant go through the hide. If your getting shitty meat then you best look at what your doin wrong, except in a rare case here and there. Deer and moose that are rutting are all we eat and I'm picky about taste, been eating only wild game every year since 1977 and only had one bad one and it was my screw up.

[North Arm Knives]

As others have said I think a huge part of it is how the meat is treated after it is shot. I hunt mostly blacktail. I have had lots of people tell me that blacktail is super gamey. Every buck I've taken has been from early november through early december and I have never noticed even a hint of gaminess. Even friends who don't eat game meat can't tell that it is venison. Perhaps mulies tend to be "gamier" than BT's but maybe it is also the way the meat is processed.

We always field dress within a few minutes right where the animal dropped. For us that consists of gutting only. We are always very careful to avoid the bladder, stomach and intestines. We don't skin in the field as the hide helps protect the meat. The next priority is getting the animal cold as quickly as we can. Usually we achieve this by getting it into a river or creek to cool for 30-45 minutes. Not only does this cool the meat very rapidly but it also rinses out the cavity and gives the whole animal a bit of a wash. After that we pack the cavity with ice or snow if it is available.

When we get the animal home we give it another rinse out before hanging it. We usually hang for between 7 and 12 days with the hide on and bones in. Keeping the meat between .5 and 3 Celsius. I know a lot of people say that bones have to go right away but that has not been my experience. Maybe that is partially species related, I think precise temp control has a lot to do with it too though. After hanging we skin it and then do all the standard butchering.

That may sound elaborate but like I said, I've never had a gamey tasting cut off of the deer me and my hunting partner have taken. If that's what it takes I'll gladly do it. So far I haven't had any reason to change my methods and will keep doing it this way until I do! I don't bath the meat in over powering marinades either. Just salt pepper and oil and garlic for steaks usually. That's just a preference thing though.

cheers,
mike

[wideopenthrottle]

As others have said I think a huge part of it is how the meat is treated after it is shot. I hunt mostly blacktail. I have had lots of people tell me that blacktail is super gamey. Every buck I've taken has been from early november through early december and I have never noticed even a hint of gaminess. Even friends who don't eat game meat can't tell that it is venison. Perhaps mulies tend to be "gamier" than BT's but maybe it is also the way the meat is processed.

We always field dress right away, for us that consists of gutting only. We are always very careful to avoid the bladder, stomach and intestines. We don't skin in the field as the hide helps protect the meat. The next priority is getting the animal cold as quickly as we can. Usually we achieve this by getting it into a river or creek to cool for 30-45 minutes. Not only does this cool the meat very rapidly but it also rinses out the cavity and gives the whole animal a bit of a wash. After that we pack the cavity with ice or snow if it is available.

When we get the animal home we give it another rinse out before hanging it. We usually hang for between 7 and 12 days with the hide on and bones in. Keeping the meat between .5 and 3 Celsius. I know a lot of people say that bones have to go right away but that has not been my experience. Maybe that is partially species related, I think precise temp control has a lot to do with it too though. After hanging we skin it and then do all the standard butchering.

That may sound elaborate but like I said, I've never had a gamey tasting cut off of the deer me and my hunting partner have taken. If that's what it takes I'll gladly do it. So far I haven't had any reason to change my methods and will keep doing it this way until I do! I don't bath the meat in over powering marinades either. Just salt pepper and oil and garlic for steaks usually. That's just a preference thing though.

cheers,
mike

fairly close to our routine except guts out at the kill spot...hide comes off as soon as we hang it in camp then we slosh 5 gal pails of cold water and wipe all guts and blood out of body cavity... take off any front quarters that have blood shock and wash them out so meat is not wasted...if the ribs aint white, there is still shit or blood on them and you need to rinse better...game bags then go on if it is getting too warm and flies are coming out.

a couple of years ago I was shown a technique of skinning using a pointed fist and a turning motion..it allows you to skin around all the paper thin flank meat and leave no knife cuts in the meat or hide (especially good if you wanna keep the hide)...