so, i hear mules taste different than white tails….hopefully i can get a chance to find out this year. what are some of your experiences with a muley vs. White tail steaks/burger?

also, how big are these north texas mules?

With both them IME is about what they have been eating. I have had great tasting WT and horrible tasting WT and same with MD. For me when I can get a deer skinned and on ice quickly it tastes that much better. If I can let it hang in a walkin with the skin on it for 5 days then skin it and let it hang another 5 days it is just going to taste better no matter what species it is.

Agree with STX, Mule deer that has been feeding on Pinon and sage (Colorado deer) for a couple month, taste stronger than mule deer I have had from West Texas. White tail on corn and browse, taste different to me than a West Tx mule.

I'd say their diet and then how you deal with it afterwards makes the difference.

Got this one a couple of years ago in Gray County

Well, that mule deer looks good. How does it taste?

Whoa!

I've shot several panhandle muleys and couldn't really tell any difference between them and the whitetails I've eaten. FWIW.

I like muley better. IMO it's more tender than a comparable Whitetail. But all the ones I shoot are FAT suckers that have been grazing winter wheat for two months so I'm sure it makes a difference.

The Mulies I have shot where in areas with little wheat and rough terrain...they didn't taste near as good as most the WT I have had. But I have had WT from different areas that don't taste near as good as WT from others. Just depends on what they have been eating.

That is a handsome mulie sir.

Midwest whitetail are probably the best tasting IMO (because of their balance diet of soybeans, corn, milo, etc). I have had west Kansas sage mulie and Georgia acorn deer and both were nasty. It all depends on what the eat IMO. I have had Mulie that live on Corn/Alfalfa/Soybeans are they are very tasty, I still prefer whitetail though.

The mature mulies where I hunt in the southern panhandle all weigh around 300#. The ones near peas, cotton or wheat taste better than the ones on range.

I shot a 7 1/2 yo mulie buck from Cottle county. The meat was tougher than everlasting shoe soles. I ended up grinding it all into burger and sausage. I thought it tasted great but others told me it tasted slightly gamey compared to whitetail.

Had a New Mexico mulie that I iced in a cooler for a week that was very tender and tasty

I've never really been able to taste much difference after marinade, flour and grease.

I have never eaten mule deer, but I've eat many whitetail ranging from hill country, east texas, west texas and deep south texas.

could be some to do with difference in age and management practices, but the south texas deer were I think somewhat better meat quality. seemed more tender and better filled out. also reasonably larger.

the hill country deer seemed to be a slightly darker meat. west texas ones from Brackettville were very light colored meat. all of these deer came from native range with some corn feeding. the south texas deer get some protein.

I have to say I've never had a whitetail that I found objectionable. but they aren't all the same. if I was to choose I'd say I liked the south texas deer better. could be though that that's just my favorite place to hunt.

we eat a lot of game though. I'm not very sensitive to gamey. we tend to not eat the larger boar hogs they've got a bit of stink to them. and mostly because we've got so many, why not only eat the choicest ones.

I dont know much about mule deer but I enjoyed eating the one I shot in WY.. Not as much as white tail but still a good and different type of meat... One thing I wonder is if the muley bucks are better to eat earlier in the year... I helped clean another one time that had been chasing I guess... talk about a musty rough smell.. reminded me of a big boar hog.

Best venison I've ever had period, was three weeks ago. Mulie backstrap in CO, from a friends deer. Deer lived on alaflafa all summer, and was killed in alaflafa. It was very tender and great taste

I have shot 4 mule deer in the southern part of the panhandle. They have all tasted awesome. Peanuts, maize, wheat, and cotton. I have also eaten mule deer from the sanderson area and they taste terrible. It is all about the groceries IMO. They have all been 275# plus deer. I soak all deer meat in milk no matter what. I think that mule deer are a little milder than a WT, and that is just my opinion.

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Like Navasot described I shot one in Colorado first week of Novenber that was chasing does, broke him down and he fell behind some brush across a canyon and took me some time to reach him for a killing shot. Very strong smelling and was properly cleaned and taken care of. Ground some for burgers and chili with some beef suet. First batch I cooked some chili and you couldn't stay in the kitchen. Had to feed it to the yotes. Had killed several before and since and on the norm just as good as WT. I think the rut and stress ruined this deer.

The only mule deer that I ever killed was really good but he had been hitting a wheat field daily for a couple of months.

They both taste like chicken to me

Great deer for Gray county! Congrats