Preferred Deer for Table Fare

[AKBowman]

Im interested to hear what everyones opinions are. Of course this assumes everything being equal doe vs doe or buck vs buck.

[NWWABOWHNTR]

Grew up on Ohio whitetail,  they were corn fed.. yummy.  Came out west many years ago,  and couldn't wait to get me a muley... well the first one was anm old buck.. 5x5 who had a diet of sage... the gravy was even tough.. LOL  Now the blacktail to me is the best.... never had a tough or gamey one...

[DoubleJ]

I was always told Westside deer Eastside bear.  Don't know how true that is though.

[shoot-em-dead]

blacktail

[270Shooter]

i have only eaten central montana grain fed mule deer, never had anything else. It was good though.

[Bigshooter]

I like blacktail the best.  But I have read many times that midwest whitetail is the best.  I know from eating all three that mule deer is in last place for me.  A young one is ok, a big old migrater is horrible.

[SkookumHntr]

-Its the other way around for me! I like Mule deer the best and Blacktail the worst!

[turkey buster]

I have not had the pleasure to try mule deer yet but as good as w/t is I like B/T better

[high country]

I have killed a fair number of whiteys and mulies.....I can't tell the difference. of course I take good care of my meat.

[ribka]

Have eaten all three. Take care of the meat and all tastes good.

I do think the does eat a little better than the bucks though. Especially the older bucks when rutting:twocents:

[Alan K]

The Idaho WT put all the blacktail I've ever taken to shame. Second only to moose IMO.

[agchawk]

Have eaten all three. Take care of the meat and all tastes good.

I do think the does eat a little better than the bucks though. Especially the older bucks when rutting:twocents:

   Same here. I've had all three and liked all three.

   I will say this...species does not have as much to do with it as the primary diet of the deer in question (Been elluded to in some of the other answers).

   A good grain fed deer, whether it's a whitetail or mule deer, is always better than one feeding on local wild vegetation. Again, just my  

[high country]

Have eaten all three. Take care of the meat and all tastes good.

I do think the does eat a little better than the bucks though. Especially the older bucks when rutting:twocents:

   Same here. I've had all three and liked all three.

   I will say this...species does not have as much to do with it as the primary diet of the deer in question (Been elluded to in some of the other answers).

   A good grain fed deer, whether it's a whitetail or mule deer, is always better than one feeding on local wild vegetation. Again, just my 

I have a tough time buying into that. I fed a buddy who shoots field deer some of my "pine needle and sage brush" tasting deer. he loved it....I think it boils down to care and handling.

[high country]

not to say that is what you call them, but he told me hecould not stomach a sage old mule deer buck. I fed it to him under the guise of it being elk.....he did not know the difference.

[wsucowboy]

Had all three and they all taste good. I liked mule deer the best though. If you know how to cook it then it taste good. If you don't know how to cook it then it doesn't matter what kind of deer it is or how old it is or what it's main diet is it's not going to taste good.  

[chester]

I have some of my buddies wt, my mulie, and my little bros bt all in my freezer right now. all shot in different parts of the state. i could feed someone and there is no possible way of know if its all from one deer or all 3. high country has it right. its all in how you take care of the meat.

[Alan K]

I've taken top notch care of every animal I've ever taken and can taste a difference. 

[shedcrazy]

Get the hide off, cool and hang. Great eats!!

[carpsniperg2]

A lot of it depends on the diet of the deer. I have had great deer and bad deer, the worst deer i have ate. Have come from areas, that the deer are eating a lot of sage the acorn fed deer are the best

But i could not vote, because our bench legs are both mule and black makes for a tasty combo

[bobcat]

I have had all three and they all taste the same to me, so I didn't vote either.

[Deep Forks]

I like them all and I also believe it's how you care for the meat from death to wrapped and in the freezer.

[NWBREW]

I choose WT. It seems to be all I kill anymore.........till I get drawn anyways.

[krout81]

I have only ever had Lewis County blacktail, and 1 pacific county Blacktail.  I would love to try whitetail and mulie, but I don't think I will ever hunt the east side.  

[jason4429]

I have had all three.I've had sage brush mulies and high mountain mulies.They all tasted the same to me.I've also shot some old rutted up BT's and they tasted just as good as a spike.

[high country]

I killed a bad stinky whitetail in 97' or so and I remember my friends being mad at me because it stunk so bad. after it was skinned and aged......it was great.

[mjbskwim]

Blacktail,cause that's what's in the freezer.
But she isn't gammy at all.I got her early bow season,she would be eating the nice fresh greens.

[boneaddict]

I think it depends on their table fare.   Usually whitetails have tasted better to me but its because they are more likely to be eating alfalfa and corn and such.  If you happen to nail a muledeer eating the same or are grainfed, well then the vote would be different.  Rutted up, muleys don't seem to be as stinky to me as a rutted up whitey.

[Angus]

For deer in this state I prefer BT, that being said, the Sitka blacktail I've taken in S.E. Ak. put them all to shame! 

[nwwanderer]

Generally speaking, go for the young and fast growing early season critter, get them cold fast and taste test before deciding end use.  All the species can be very good but an individual can surprise you.  A taste test solves that problem.  Finally, the fat is solid at mouth temperature so trimming all of it helps a lot.

[Hunterman]

I have had the pleasure of having all three for our table  With the proper field care all three can be hard to beat, improper field care( and I have tasted quite a few from people who thought they knew) and I wouldn't give you a plugged nickel for it..I did vote for the Blacktail though...

Hunterman(Tony)

[steen]

A grain fed whitetail is good but I don't have any problem with any of the others.  Even the old bucks taste good ( We've eaten an 8-9 year old blacktail and couldn't tell from the younger bucks).  Just take good care of the meat before it hits the table age the older ones a little longer.  Usually aging meat depends on time for us if we have the luxury and a cooler to use we can age them beyond a week but very seldom.

[go4itlab]

It's a toss up for me between  WT & BT, have only had mule deer a couple times and it was not that good but I would say it could of been because it was a high country old buck and I don't think it was cared for right, had a bit of tallow on it(not my deer). I would love to give the muley another shot tho

[chester]

I also quit "aging meat" the last 3 deer i have shot have been cut up and wrapped within 36hrs of death. I did it the first time because it was warm out. and it came out better then the ones that had been hanging for 5days so i think it has alot more to deal with getting ALL the fat and silver skin off them. then the length you hang them. twice ive sent buddies in the house for getting hair on the meet while skinning. its a pain to clean but worth it. if they start doing more harm then good trying to "help" they go on time out. 

I might just be overly protective of my meat tho. 

[high country]

chester, when temps are warm......36 hrs may be the perfect time. aging does not affect flavor as much as texture/toughness

shooting an adrenaline filled critter that you have been chasing nd pumping lactic acid into will have more effects on flavor. fat/tallow goes rancid pretty quick, so keep it out of your meat.

[elkboy]

I think the biggest factor is their diet.  The blacktail I hunt eat a lot of conifer foliage (50% of their diet), and the taste definitely appears in the meat.  The whitetail I hunt are Palouse deer, and fatten all summer on wheat sprouts and garbanzo beans.  I am not sure they would taste too different were they to be given equal diets.  But aging the deer and cooking creatively go a long way to making the odds even!  And at the end of the day, any venison is a gift. 

[saylean]

Ive had lots of black tail and muley, but only one whitey and i would take a whitey any day of the week. They taste excellent!

However, I am thankful and enjoy blackies and muley's just the same.

[singleshot12]

For deer in this state I prefer BT, that being said, the Sitka blacktail I've taken in S.E. Ak. put them all to shame! 

For years I thought a corn fed barren whitetail doe could not be beat but would have to say Sitka blacktail(buck's or doe's) take the lead for taste.

[chester]

For deer in this state I prefer BT, that being said, the Sitka blacktail I've taken in S.E. Ak. put them all to shame! 

For years I thought a corn fed barren whitetail doe could not be beat but would have to say Sitka blacktail(buck's or doe's) take the lead for taste.

I think my dad would agree with you guys. all he ever hunted was wt in wisconsin, and sitkas on montague island. he prefers the bt

[AKBowman]

For deer in this state I prefer BT, that being said, the Sitka blacktail I've taken in S.E. Ak. put them all to shame! 

I grew up on Sitka BT. NOTHING in the deer world compares to it. Ive heard the Roosies out on Afognak and Etolin are amazing too!

Nothing like Sitka BT I totally agree!!

[raekmike]

Any deer you harvest yourself is the best deer available imho...
That being said...
I prefer large bodied BT spikes.
Good quantity of meat along with tenderness of veal and mild flavor...