Clint.

Another factor no one has mentioned here.....you "horn hunters" are welcome to your horns....especially big rutting bucks. Chew on them horns if you want....give me a young buck or a doe any day. That's good eatin'.

Clint

5 shot

Well I agree with most here. My family and I will eat 3 to 4 deer per year. If it doesn't taste good, my wife won't eat it. I think the keys are fist field dress as quickly as possible. Get the deer cooled off quickly as well. In cold weather I like to hang one for a day or two before skinning. This firms up the meat and seems to help. In warm weather I skin the deer as soon as I get home, quarter it and put the meat on Ice in the cooler. I have kept meat on ice for up to a week with no problems. Infact I find that as long as you drain the water off every day and add Ice as needed the meat becomes a bit more tender after a few days in the cooler. I will debone every piece, cut off all the fat, and "silver skin", along with any dried up or "funny looking meat. Even my burger meat is "cleaned" as well as possible. by taking these steps I end up with a little less meat than some, but every peice is tasty, flavorful, and ready to cook once packaged. I also agree that younger deer, especialy the yearlings are the most tender and flavorfull of all. I try to shoot one every year for that very reason. Older mature bucks can also have excellent meat, but you do have to go to the steps above to get the best possible meat.