Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Deer meat smells like rut

Just had backstraps from this dude, taken with a single round November 3rd and aged on the bone overnight in virtually perfect conditions. The "rut taste" is definitely there, but not too much so. Gave him about a 6 hour marinade, which may have helped.



A lot of it is biology. Caribou bulls start to drink cows' piss in October as a biological marker to induce rut activity, and become inedible from there on out. Don't think deer really do this, but they definitely stop eating and start burning body tissue as fuel, which doesn't do their eating quality any favors. Archery season deer are way, way better in my experience.