If I kill a big buck in the rut, I try to age the meat as long as I can. They start rutting after it is cold and snowy here, so getting the meat cooled down quickly is easy. I can smell the testosterone in the meat. The longer it ages, the more that smell goes away. Then it is ready for final butchering.
I try to shoot deer before the rut gets hot and heavy now, and will kill a good meat Muley before shooting a rutty buck anymore.
