I've brought home a lot of mule deer from western states and Canada and have yet to have a bad one.
Among the best was the biggest bodied mule deer I have ever killed,a hog from the Peace River country of Alberta that was killed in early November. Really great.
I hear in the full rut they can be rank,more so than a whitetail, but if on a combo hunt I doubt the OP will bump into that. Most mule deer seasons are earlier and the meat should be fine.
