There are standards given to beef; Grade A, Choice, Prime, etc. I read these in a book on butchering various animal years ago and am sorry I can not remember the title or author.

Before I go any further, I am NOT comparing venison to beef. There is no comparison, VENISON wins out as far as I am concerned. I just believe the different age and sex of the venison can be classified in categories just as beef, pork, whatever.

My opinion on the taste and eating qualities:

Young (yearling) deer = veal. Very tender but lacking taste.

Does that have dropped fawns = choice beef from cows. Much tastier.

Older does that have dropped fawns for more than 1 year = prime. It doesn't get any better than this.

Young bucks (1.5 - 2.5yr) = I have not noticed any difference in meat qualities as compared to older does provided the bucks are not heavily in the rut and their bodies have not began consuming their fat due to lack of browsing.

Older bucks in rut = Can be a little gamy but if allowed to hang in the proper conditions, temp and time, they can still be good table fare if prepared right.

As for condition, if the deer does not exhibit any abnormal behaviour or "look" then I do not hesitate to harvest the animal if given the opportunity.



Shoot often - Hunt always