From the stand

[osage outlaw]

I'm taking a break also BJ.  I might sneak out a time or two next week.  I'm trying to take it easy until the rut starts and then I'll hit it hard. 

[sleek]

Am I the only one who doesnt like rut? Unless its a doe, buck taste bad when taken in rut.

[osage outlaw]

I've killed a lot of bucks in the rut and I've never had one taste bad.  I think the flavor of deer meat is greatly affected by how its handled from recovery until its processed and in the freezer.  I butcher my own deer so I know how its been handled.  I've been inside a few different butcher shops and I'll never take one in to be processed.  When I recover a deer we field dress it and skin it as soon as possible.  I quarter it up and hang it in a fridge set just above freezing.  I let it hang for around a week before I butcher it.  Now that my state has online check in that has greatly reduced the time it takes us to get one from the field to the fridge.  With a quick recovery I can have one done and cooling off in the fridge in under an hour from the shot. 

Last year during the peak of the rut my Dad killed a buck that was 4.5 years or older.  I've been getting pictures of this buck for multiple years so I know it was at least that old.  I cooked steaks from that deer at Moontree, the Classic, and Marshall.  Nobody seemed to mind the taste. 

[Stringman]

That was some of the finest deer I've had.

[sleek]

You probably have a point there. All the rut deer I have had were shot by a buddy of mine who takes his to a processor. I do all my own meat too.

[osage outlaw]

I'm sure not all deer processors are the same but the ones I have seen didn't impress me at all.  Deer bodies piled up or hanging packed together.  You might have been careful not to rupture the stomach and bladder when you field dress it but the deer next to yours might be covered in nasty stuff.  And you can't be 100% sure you are getting back the meat from the deer you dropped off.  My neighbors used to process deer.  They didn't keep the meat separated and just gathered up some packages to fill an order.  Somewhere I've got a picture of a big pile of deer at their place.   

[BowEd]

Yes deer are'nt moving as well as they could here either OO.They will though.A few but mostly other critters within bow range like squirrels and possum so far.Got busted walking back to the house about dark....lol.Think it was a small buck.I really would like some cooler weather.
I used to think buck deer did'nt taste as well as does back in the muzzle loader shooting days,but I gotta say that 5 year old buck I shot last year tastes as good as any does I've eaten.I cut a little beef or pork fat with the hamburger though and the loins and back quarter steaks and roasts are straight deer.

[bjrogg]

When our girls where younger they knew "they didn't like venison ". My wife would cook a vinison roast and a beef roast together. I'd smile to Myself as our girls would always take the venison and leave the beef saying how good the beef was.
As for the rut, I've never been able to hunt it allways to busy then. The only deer I remember not tasting great was one old buck my brother got in the U.P. I,m not sure if it was what they eat up there and I don't know how it was processed that was when I lived in Detroit area. I used to think the does taste better as Ed said but I don't think so anymore and the buck usally have more meat. We allways process our own same way Osage does. It's nice to have an old fridge in our shop for just such occasions. The deer around here eat better than the cattle most of the year and they taste very similar to beef but you don't want to over cook them
Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

PS now our girls "know they love venison and can't wait for the back straps" I usually make a lot of jerky and I gotta hide it good or it's all gone as fast as I can make it.
Bjrogg

[BowEd]

Lordy....They'll probably have to teach their husbands how to eat venison properly....lol.Once I had a whole deer made into pepper sticks....Kind of expensive I know,but man did I make lots of friends!!!
I cook practically all  my sectioned back straps and roasts in the crock pot slowly with a cup of onion soup mix in there and veggies.Very very tasty!!!Robin loves it.Hope I don't start a cooking forum thread here now.....lol.

[bjrogg]

Good thing I took some 10 month old jerky with me this morning cause all this talk about venison really got me hungry. I'll try getting us back to hunting here. I decided not to hunt last night and went to church instead so I could hunt this morning. Weather sounded great, possible frost, sunny light and variable wind (usally that means steady off the lake east wind here) good opportunity to hunt my favorite spot. I got up early did my morning routine walked outside wind was blowing about 8 mph out of the west. So much for my favorite spot. I decided to try my stand in my east fence row. The air was cold and damp and the light and varible 8 mph wind was really sinking in. The sun hide behind the cloud bank refusing to shine its warmth on my little piece of earth. Finally it broke out and I tried to sook up as much as I could. I didn't get to sook up much before it started raining. Having seen nothing and approaching hypothermia I decided to go home. It's probably sunny 10 or 15 miles away from the lake but not here.
Bjrogg

[Pat B]

Like Clint said, it's all in how the deer is processed from the time it is shot. Aging the meat is a big help in how it tasted and how tender it is. The beef you buy in the grocery store has all been aged for at least a short time. The controlled decomposition is what tenderizes the meat and affects how it tastes. The deer that I have processed have been done like Clint does.
  I shot a doe at Chris Cade's farm 2 tears ago. It was shot with a rifle, dropped in its tracks and didn't hardly move after that. We took it back and gutted, skinned and cut up the meat but I didn't age it. It was some of the toughest deer meet I ever killed. Even ground it was tough...most of which was due to lack of aging. IMO

[bradsmith2010]

I dont have any pics,, I saw deer every day I hunted in Texas last week,, but they were too far for a shot,, the last morning I was getting really close ,, was ready to draw my bow,, and the doe went the wrong way(right way for her) and out of site,, the temps were hitting 90 in the afternoon so not much movement,, I really enjoyed being outside with my bow and made some great shots on some cactus with my blunts,,,

[PEARL DRUMS]

I whiffed on a buck last night. 10 yards broad side, looking away, front leg just ahead. Perfect you say? Sure was! And I sent a shaft right under his chest. I was too nonchalant and took the shot for granted. Oh well, maybe next time.

[osage outlaw]

You will get him  next time Pearly