ironworkerwill
Member
I have killed managed White Tails that had a diet of alfalfa and winter rye. Very tasty over the acorn dieted national forest deer. The meat had a grassy smell and the noses of the deer were green.
Difference in taste?
- Thread starter Ms_Dragon
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I grew up on elk and mule deer. Dad would usually get one elk and two deer every year in the 50s and 60s. In fact, when we did have beef, it tasted greasy.
Elk is better than mule deer, but like others have said, it's marginal. That said, the best big game I ever had was a pronghorn I shot in the head at 300 yards. He never knew what hit him and we had him dressed, skinned and washed out with cold water within the hour.
Dad shot a six point bull elk in 1971 that weighed an honest 1000 pounds. It was all my brother and I could do to drag one front quarter over the snow, and we were both in our early twenties at the time. That meat was so tough we ended up grinding the whole thing into hamburger. Even the hamburger was like chewing a mouthful of rubber balls. OTOH, I shot a two year old dry cow a few years later, and the meat was like veal.
Elk is better than mule deer, but like others have said, it's marginal. That said, the best big game I ever had was a pronghorn I shot in the head at 300 yards. He never knew what hit him and we had him dressed, skinned and washed out with cold water within the hour.
Dad shot a six point bull elk in 1971 that weighed an honest 1000 pounds. It was all my brother and I could do to drag one front quarter over the snow, and we were both in our early twenties at the time. That meat was so tough we ended up grinding the whole thing into hamburger. Even the hamburger was like chewing a mouthful of rubber balls. OTOH, I shot a two year old dry cow a few years later, and the meat was like veal.
A big old trophy bull may indeed be gamey--especially close to the rut. Never had a bad elk, but I have never eaten a 'trophy'.
Antelope can smell pretty awful when you dress them out but wow do they taste good.
Deer are browsers more so than elk and pronghorn (that eat primamrily grass) they can be 'flavored' by their environment.
Antelope can smell pretty awful when you dress them out but wow do they taste good.
Deer are browsers more so than elk and pronghorn (that eat primamrily grass) they can be 'flavored' by their environment.
Fair enough, but the fact remains that there used to be another one that was hunted to extinction because of a preference for the meat.
Lloyd Smale
Member
I guess to be really fair about this youd have to compare year old does from each that were exposed to the best feed. Problem is that doesnt happen. Its probably why i can take or leave elk. All the elk ive ate has been from trophy bulls. Now if i had to compare the meat from trophy bulls id take caribou hands down over any of it.
Husker_Fan
Member
Where I hunt, the whitetail is terrific. They live off of corn, soybeans and berries for the most part as it is agricultural land with lowland woods. The mule deer I've tasted for further west of us was not near as good, but they lived off of grass. Other Mule deer I've had was almost as good as the whitetail I hunt, but it was taken by a friend in Colorado just outside of town and had lived off of neighborhood gardens.
It really does depend on what they eat.
As for elk, I've only had commercially raised elk, and it was incredibly good.
It really does depend on what they eat.
As for elk, I've only had commercially raised elk, and it was incredibly good.
I've had lots of all three and they tend to vary for some reason, diet perhaps.
How they are shot and cared for matters also as already stated.
That said a young (cow or spike) elk or a cropland whitetail are hard to beat, but my all time favorite was a smaller 4 point bottomland muley buck shot just before rut. It was just fantastic.
How they are shot and cared for matters also as already stated.
That said a young (cow or spike) elk or a cropland whitetail are hard to beat, but my all time favorite was a smaller 4 point bottomland muley buck shot just before rut. It was just fantastic.
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