Hunting the rut?

[buckguy]

Hey there fellow hunters,
Curious about your opinions regarding hunting the rut.I have heard contradicting info on wether hunting is a bad idea during rutting due to rut stink(meat is permeated?)Any info would be appreciated. :???:

[mark]

Very Bad idea!!! Dogs wont eat the meat! I reccomend all hunters not hunt after Nov. 1

[Will]

The "Rut" makes Zero difference to the taste of the meat....All the Stink is on the outside, unless your field dressing skills are not up to par:wink:

I can only assume that the socalled "Rutted up" taste may come from the age and or size of the Bucks generally shot during the rut much more then the meat somehow becoming flavoured because of it........IMO

I shot a Big, rutted up and very stinky Buck... which made my eyes water he stunk so bad :?

Guess what ? He tasted just like a Deer:mrgreen:

[mark]

This Will guy is bull of B.S. Trust me, if you must shoot nothing larger than a spiker!

[Fall_Guy]

No problem with hunting the rut. Just make sure you get those scent glands off ASAP.

[quadrakid]

the number one reason for hunting the rut is that your chances of success go way up. as for stinky bucks,take care when gutting ,skinning and hanging your meat,as you should always,and your buck should be great table fare.having said that you should also be aware that if you shoot the biggest buck you have ever seen very late in the rut or just after the rut don,t expect him to taste like a fat forkhorn in september.

[Big7]

I'd have to agree with "this Will guy"....if you want tender deer meat - shoot small bucks....if you want good meat (sometimes not as tender!) shoot larger bucks. Field dress them well (cleanly) - avoid hair, scent gland etc. contact with the meat and it will taste just fine. If you've got it in your head that it tastes "gamey" after all that...make sausage - there are a ton of varieties to suit anyone's taste buds!!

[BCrams]

Those muley bucks stink to high heaven during the rut.

My recommendation to you and others is to stick with shooting spike, and forked antlered deer in September or October.

[Big7]

This question can be solved with the following...if the taste of "wild game" bothers you...DONT HUNT!...I hear Safeway carries a ton of meat that tastes fine no matter when it's "harvested"!! LOL

[WoodOx]

Definatley dont hunt the rut. Cold weather, stinky deer that might as well be thrown away if shot anytime after october 25th.

Smalll deer in october is the way to go it.

Evern better yet just do up north, way more game upthre and better tasting meat (moose) to boot! :evil:

[Derek_Erickson]

You all LIE

[WoodOx]

In all reality though, buck guy, its impossible for scent to permeate meat.
I am stil entirely unconvinced that scent glands can even do a damn thing to meat taste.

Meat is muscle. Rut smell is urine and various secretions/pheramones that are excreted externally from the body, onto the deers fur.

Having these secretions ruin the taste of the deers muscle would be the equivalent of deoderant or cologne permanantly permeating your skin and flesh and having you always smell like your perfumes. I just dont see how its possible.

Now, I suppose if you opened up your deer, got all sorts of shit, piss, scent glands, and hair into the meat then it would taste like hell. But then again if you did this no butcher would accept your meat.

Kill it fast, clean it well, youll be good to go bud.

[Wildman]

In all reality though, buck guy, its impossible for scent to permeate meat.
I am stil entirely unconvinced that scent glands can even do a damn thing to meat taste.

Meat is muscle. Rut smell is urine and various secretions/pheramones that are excreted externally from the body, onto the deers fur.

Having these secretions ruin the taste of the deers muscle would be the equivalent of deoderant or cologne permanantly permeating your skin and flesh and having you always smell like your perfumes. I just dont see how its possible.

Now, I suppose if you opened up your deer, got all sorts of shit, piss, scent glands, and hair into the meat then it would taste like hell. But then again if you did this no butcher would accept your meat.

Kill it fast, clean it well, youll be good to go bud.


From my experiance I agree with you almost entirely on that one....besides the part about fur....you meant hair :wink:.

......but a younger deer does taste better than an older one.

[WoodOx]

From my experiance I agree with you almost entirely on that one....besides the part about fur....you meant hair :wink:.

......but a younger deer does taste better than an older one.


Mmhmm, I always get hair and fur, antlers and horns mixed up.

And yes Id agree, a younger of any kind tends to taste better, be it deer, moose, elk, or beaver ;);)

[horshur]

Many rutted up bucks are not fit to eat despite what is being said here.......my opinion not even very good for sausage.

Think about it....they are half starved,dehydrated,beat, and hormonal driven. Much of the fat they layed on over the summer may be all gone from the few weeks of breeding season and stress.

Some is not so bad but I guarantee I can tell you when it was shot usually when it's being cooked.

A fat deer on good feed without any stress living the good life will almost always taste better by a long margin.

Perhaps you should ask these guys wives or mothers instead of them.......you will get a better answer providing they have had the opportunity to taste a few shot well before the rut.

[WoodOx]

I do my own cooking actually. Want me to pass on some receipes for your mom? I understand where your coming from, but have you ever eaten a mouthful of deer fat? Deer far is what tastes the worst on the animal.

If you think about meat all it is is muscle. for a deer to be dehydrated and fat-less, effects his muscle in a minor way. His body begins to eat his muscle for energy as the buck isnt eating and has used his fat reserves.

Having stress affect meat is a complete fallacy. Now, one thing that may affect the taste of the animal is testorterone and endorphins.

Testosterone levels are high at the beginning and throughout the rut, I dont know enough about where testosterone flows to know its effect. I dont think (?) it moves through muscular systems either though.

Endorphins apparently make deer taste bad as well, meaning if you make one or many bad shotss on a buck not killing it quickly then endorphins enter the muscle giving it a particular taste. I dont know about this either as I havent eaten any bucks that have taken ages to kill.

my 0.02 cents

[BCKID]

I've never had a bad tasting or tough buck shot during the rut. I believe the key is keeping things clean. The old vinegar wipe down inside and out!! Enjoy. BCKID

[rocksteady]

I agree with Horshur, SOME bucks during the rut are so run ragged that they can and do taste poorly....Even when field dressed and cleaned properly.

Also agree with everyone elses comments that the key is to keep it clean and uncontaminated.

In my opinion, Mule Deer tend to get gamey more than Whiteys....Think it has a lot to do with their forage (browswers versus grazers) but a lot depends on the particular animal. I got a mule deer once that I think had spent his whole life in a barley field and he was excellent.

Have shot several mulies in the latter part of the season that were so gamey that I don't think my dog would have ate it...

Keep it clean and hope for the best...

[horshur]

Augacher--I do not remove the fat on september deer--it's good to eat on a healthy deer on good feed--ribs roasted fat and all over charcoal hard to keep the flare ups down--just like fall lamb. Also do not need to debone. A steak actually looks like a steak bone in.
The removal of fat-deboning -the use of vinegar betrays the fact you have a gamey animal--I don't need to do any of those things even on a large deer if it is shot before November 1st.

[Sharkey]

Doens't hanging time affect the meat as well? I thought if you hang a deer for a bit longer than usual, it helps to minimize the gamey taste on a stinky ole Rut Buck.
~D

[WoodOx]

It might Sharkey, that is apparently why they hang beef for 21 days. I think someof the protein begins to break down, and as such its not as tough.

Mabye I just dont ever eat the fat, as I find it tastes the worst. I cut it off extremly well, and as sucham left with only muscle.

[Drachen Jager]

Agaucher,

Testosterone is found in the muscles. It's the most important hormone for muscle development. Just think about all those athletes taking steroids to beef up.

It works by increasing the protein synthesis in the muscles, allowing the muscles to grow larger and repair faster.

[NEEHAMA]

I cut my own meat. with my late nov mulies i cut the steaks thin. approx 1/2" at the most. some even thinner. it makes great "fast fry" dinners.
the garlic and other flavors go right through and i don't taste the gamier cuts as bad.

big thick roasts and steaks hold stonger flavor deep with in the meat.
i don't care for that myself on the rut deer.