Mule vs Whitetail

drayweb

★★★★★ Legendary Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2017
Posts
506
Likes
2
Points
123
Is there a difference in taste of the meat or does it depend on what they eat? I'm sure a corn feed whitetail is a lot better than a sagebrush eating mulie.
 


measure-it

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2015
Posts
547
Likes
100
Points
190
Location
Bismarck, ND
Lots of mulies get to eat corn and field greens. Lots of whitetail eat pretty course diets (think of Northern Minn). Field care of meat is much more important.
 

Retired Educator

★★★★★ Legendary Member
Joined
May 4, 2016
Posts
3,226
Likes
183
Points
273
Location
North Dakota
Sagebrush perhaps but it's not like ND is covered with the stuff. I honestly can't tell the difference if they are both taken care of while processing. Lots of mule deer will suffer most of the year while eating some crops, alfalfa , etc. In other words they eat pretty much what the cows eat and no one from the west thinks their cows aren't as good as the cows from the eastern part of the state.
 

Petras

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Posts
1,672
Likes
281
Points
303
Location
Stanley
Lots of mulies get to eat corn and field greens. Lots of whitetail eat pretty course diets (think of Northern Minn). Field care of meat is much more important.

This...

I've shot plenty of both throughout my life and I've had great tasting meat from either...
 

Wild and Free

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2015
Posts
4,815
Likes
53
Points
251
Location
west of mandan
Can't taste a difference but neither my wife or I will cook Muley in the house. We Can't stand the smell of it to the point I won't even shoot them anymore.
 


Flatrock

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
May 31, 2015
Posts
952
Likes
9
Points
171
Can't taste a difference but neither my wife or I will cook Muley in the house. We Can't stand the smell of it to the point I won't even shoot them anymore.

While I've heard other guys say this, I've never had this happen to me at all.

I agree with the others that there is seldom any difference in the taste of the meat. Plus, most guys are just having sausage made anyways and so once it's mixed with pork or beef, it's about impossible to taste the difference. I make duck summer sausage, tell people it's deer and they think it's just delicious.
 

LBrandt

★★★★★ Legendary Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2016
Posts
10,831
Likes
1,384
Points
498
Location
SE ND
Its a mind thing. If its taken care of from field to plate its wonderful.
 

Lapper

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2015
Posts
1,194
Likes
78
Points
223
Location
Bismarck, ND
I am not sure, what I do know is that after my meal last night I wish the entire deer were made of tenderloin!
 

shorthairsrus

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2015
Posts
8,422
Likes
486
Points
383
Tenderloin gets thrown in scrap. They don't taste that much different imo. The big ole muley buck imo can get a little rangey

- - - Updated - - -

PS I had steak the last couple nights. ( I am on a reduced res meat diet but can have all the deer I want)
 


sweeney

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2015
Posts
2,793
Likes
143
Points
313
Location
mandan
mule deer are disgusting terrible stinky animals I would recommend only shooting whitetail does out of corn fields leave the mule deer to us with stomachs like billy goats with no tastebuds left due to over consumption of rot gut whiskey and copenhagen.
 

Kurtr

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Posts
18,240
Likes
1,973
Points
648
Location
Mobridge,Sd
mule deer are disgusting terrible stinky animals I would recommend only shooting whitetail does out of corn fields leave the mule deer to us with stomachs like billy goats with no tastebuds left due to over consumption of rot gut whiskey and copenhagen.

this is pretty much the truth
 

PrairieGhost

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
May 15, 2015
Posts
10,327
Likes
683
Points
443
Location
Drifting the high plains
I have had mostly good whitetail. I have had half the muleys good half bad. My best buck mule deer I had to choke down. I have tried bone and package right away, and I have tried hanging for five days. Best deer I have ever eaten was a whitetail I hung for six days. I have also run into people that think white bass is as good as walleye. Go figure.
 

bigv

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
May 18, 2015
Posts
1,024
Likes
81
Points
228
Location
Northeastern SD
To me they taste the same depending on geographic location. East river deer taste better due to more corn, beans etc. West river mulies or whitetail taste more sagey. I prefer the east river taste. Many people don't realize that the sage grass is very healthy. Very high in important nutrients, minerals etc. But to me anyway, animals eating it dont taste as good.
 

Captain Ahab

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Posts
10,528
Likes
442
Points
418
Location
Timbuktu
White tail in the NE is tough to beat. Their diet is as good as cattle in most places. Mule deer just isn't as good, IMO.
 


PrairieGhost

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
May 15, 2015
Posts
10,327
Likes
683
Points
443
Location
Drifting the high plains
To me they taste the same depending on geographic location. East river deer taste better due to more corn, beans etc. West river mulies or whitetail taste more sagey. I prefer the east river taste. Many people don't realize that the sage grass is very healthy. Very high in important nutrients, minerals etc. But to me anyway, animals eating it dont taste as good.
You may be right. I shot a whitetail in the mountains in Montana that would gag a maggot.
 

HammsRMK

Honored Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
Posts
275
Likes
3
Points
105
Our family shot 3 mule deer bucks last year, I know lucky right. I had already shot a white tail with my bow, we mixed all of them together and it was great. I have shot a mule deer in the dark deep rugged BEAUTIFULNESS of the badlands and he did have a unique taste to him. I would also like to note that two out of the three we shot last year were on the outside edge of the breaks eating in the wheat fields. I think its a mind thing as well. That's just my $.02.
 

Bowhunter_24

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2015
Posts
1,986
Likes
23
Points
221
i shot a whitetail doe in SW North Dakota. I ate the tenderloins last night. It was the best thing I've ever ate. There was no corn fields for miles.

mule deer are a different species than whitetail. They taste different. I still eat the hell out of 6 year old rutted up mule deer bucks when I shoot them.

Diet does have something to do with taste of meat though. Have you ever had grass fed beef? Its not nearly as good as a steer that has been eating corn for a couple months.
 

SDMF

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2015
Posts
10,908
Likes
620
Points
438
Venison confounds me somewhat until it's time to add seasoning and heat. I know I can get the prep done right but trying to guess what I've got before I take the 1st bite of any critter is a mystery to me.

Some of the finest venison I've ever eaten came from a Mule Deer buck that I watched running does for almost 2hrs. Tender, and no "gamey" taste at all, virtually indistinguishable from beef sirloin. Not an ounce of fat left on him. 1yr later I killed another what I believe to be younger deer in a similar situation running does, no fat left, etc and it was the toughest game meat ever. Flavor was fine but it left meat-slivers between every tooth in my head.

Carcass smell isn't a very good indicator either IMO. Elk stink WAY more than any deer. Sagey, piney, pissy stink with a hint of sweaty horse as well. Moose carcasses smell worse than elk. Antelope have that sage hot-blood stink too but elk, moose, and antelope are all exceptional in my experience.

There probably is something to aging game meat. On a caribou drop-camp hunt we had no cooler/ice. The meat layer out open-air in the shade for 5 days. Night temps were just above freezing, days in the low 50's. The backstraps I brought home were "fork-tender" and very mild.
 

bigv

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
May 18, 2015
Posts
1,024
Likes
81
Points
228
Location
Northeastern SD
Problem around my area is I highly doubt you get "Your" deer. I skin, butcher, bone etc my own animals. But I take the meat to the locker for processing. With the high numbers of deer brought in I highly doubt you get the deer you bring in. Probably all mixed up so I don't bother aging etc. I prefer to get my deer if an eastern whitetail but am just fine not getting it if a western muley!
 


Recent Posts

Friends of NDA

Top Posters of the Month

  • This month: 161
  • This month: 136
  • This month: 120
  • This month: 110
  • This month: 105
  • This month: 87
  • This month: 84
  • This month: 79
  • This month: 76
  • This month: 76
Top Bottom