I hunt mule deer and whitetails in eastern Colorado and western Kansas every year, both buck and doe. I cannot tell any difference between the meat of the deer killed in sandhill sagebrush and that from cropland areas.
I myself prefer the taste of the whitetails, but the difference is small and very subjective. This year I killed a very large rutting whitetail buck. There is zero gaminess to his meat. On the other hand, mule deer bucks with even a little bit of swollen neck will have an off smell and some slight gamey taste. Not much, but enough to tell the difference. I actually think it's more of a perception of smell than taste. Both are excellent. The only bad-tasting deer I ever had was a immature yearling mule deer buck. Mountain mulies have a distinct flavor that sets them apart from plains deer. Not bad, just different.
My preference when meat hunting remains with the plains whitetails of either sex. Next best are dry mulie does. Mule deer bucks and wet does come in last ... but not so much as to pass on a good shot. I wouldn't make my choice of tags based solely on the meat ... and I'm a meat hunter first and foremost.
Last edited by plainview; 02/05/16.
