Guided? If so, ask your guide as to what you can expect to see of either species. Either way you'll have a blast! What county are you going to?
Whitetail vs. Mule Deer
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Guided? If so, ask your guide as to what you can expect to see of either species. Either way you'll have a blast! What county are you going to?
ICMDEER
Well-Known Member
I'm a mule deer guy, so I admit my bias. But as has been said, I would shoot the first buck that meets your standards. I'm also going to SE Montana in November and odds are I will end up with a whitetail. There are not great numbers of trophy mule deer there and from my perspective, the odds are better of me finding a good whitetail. I'm not much on score, so a buck that has age (4+) and some mass will get pursued.
I think the whitetails are easier to kill. Even during the rut, their activity will be focused along the rivers/creek/riparian areas. And you can lay up on a bluff or high spot and spot, then shoot them from distance. The mule deer are less apt to be congregated in the bottoms, so you'll need to hike more and spend more time looking at more country to find a good one.
I bet you'll have a fun hunt. Should be nice country with good deer populations.
I think the whitetails are easier to kill. Even during the rut, their activity will be focused along the rivers/creek/riparian areas. And you can lay up on a bluff or high spot and spot, then shoot them from distance. The mule deer are less apt to be congregated in the bottoms, so you'll need to hike more and spend more time looking at more country to find a good one.
I bet you'll have a fun hunt. Should be nice country with good deer populations.
Benhunting
Well-Known Member
No guide
Benhunting
Well-Known Member
No. We are hunting block management properties
Then whichever species is on the BMA, is what you go after.
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RUFFIAN R - NY
Well-Known Member
You can keep MULE deer- if for only the rack- Whitetail much better eating and offer much more of a challenge than the rabbit running mule's. Hunted out west for years offered the guide a trip to either NY or PA free trip to hunt whitey and refused to go on several occasions hunted out west for at least seven trips / seasons with him from elk-big horn - mule - coyotes just refused to go.
Can you get B tags again? Whatever you can get for a B tag shoot the opposite with your general tag. I drew a whitetail B tag for a spot close to home this year, so I'm going to try to shoot a big muley buck this year. That's usually my plan anyway and a whitetail hunt comes as the end of the season freezer filler. I think mule deer are more fun for the way I like to hunt.
One of my coworkers and his BIL went to Montana a couple years ago and shot 2 nice muley bucks up in the Milk River area on public access land. Took them 2 days. Another coworker from years ago drew a tag for MT and drove over there to west side, drove in next morning and shot a small 3 point WT and drove back home that day. I got a couple packages of the meat, didn't really like it. He said the locals from there don't shoot Mule Deer because they smell like cat pee when hanging and the meat is not good. Whatever...I prefer Mule Deer, even a little better than BT, which is my normal deer hunting. The Muleys I've ate meat from were not from alfalfa fields either. It is all about personal taste, some people like asparagus and brussels sprouts and I just don't see the point.
I would just shoot whatever came by that was satisfactory to me.
I would just shoot whatever came by that was satisfactory to me.
I have killed both mule deer and white tail from the SAME area, seen them in fields and creek bottoms together, bot tasted just fine
but like all things, diet can alter flavor, just as what happens from the time an animal is dead till its butchered, all that can effect taste or quality of the meat
how its butchered too can matter,, just like how its pepped, handles and cooked before eating!
then there is also AGE of the animal in itself, that can effect TASTE or tenderness!
same can be said for sex of the animal, BOTH male and female have times when hormones are higher or lower, scent glands a flowing, or making contact with meats from hands that handled them and so on
LOTS of things effect taste of a animal we shoot and kill!
I would NOT be hunting MATURE animals period if quality of meat was my concern ! I'd be targeting the young, that will have more tender cuts of meat.
but I doubt many will travel far or spend a LOT of $$ on hunting weapons and supplies and assorted costs to go hunt small young animals! Like it or not, we all (or most of us I bet) some sort of a trophy hunters, be it if we target ONE class of animal, be it mature, nice antlers or size/age critter! we all set standards we follow, as to just shooting the first LEGAL thing we see! yes some do shoot first legal thing we see, but a LOT of us if honest DON"T!
IMO< nothing wrong with it any way you go about it as long as its done legally!
TASTE again is not a 100% deal on "X" species deer is better to eat than the other too many variables to have a standard IMO!
they can all be good or lesser or BAD!
but like all things, diet can alter flavor, just as what happens from the time an animal is dead till its butchered, all that can effect taste or quality of the meat
how its butchered too can matter,, just like how its pepped, handles and cooked before eating!
then there is also AGE of the animal in itself, that can effect TASTE or tenderness!
same can be said for sex of the animal, BOTH male and female have times when hormones are higher or lower, scent glands a flowing, or making contact with meats from hands that handled them and so on
LOTS of things effect taste of a animal we shoot and kill!
I would NOT be hunting MATURE animals period if quality of meat was my concern ! I'd be targeting the young, that will have more tender cuts of meat.
but I doubt many will travel far or spend a LOT of $$ on hunting weapons and supplies and assorted costs to go hunt small young animals! Like it or not, we all (or most of us I bet) some sort of a trophy hunters, be it if we target ONE class of animal, be it mature, nice antlers or size/age critter! we all set standards we follow, as to just shooting the first LEGAL thing we see! yes some do shoot first legal thing we see, but a LOT of us if honest DON"T!
IMO< nothing wrong with it any way you go about it as long as its done legally!
TASTE again is not a 100% deal on "X" species deer is better to eat than the other too many variables to have a standard IMO!
they can all be good or lesser or BAD!
I am fortunate to hunt a friend's property that holds both WT and muley. They are non-hunters but allow us to hunt on their ranch because the deer feed on their alfalfa and wheat fields. Either species taste good.
We have 22000 acres under lease on the Pecos over by Sheffield, not too far from Iraan. We do have both species, but my observation is that the whitetails will dominate and run the mule deer out. The whitetails seem a lot more competitive for browse, grazing, food sources, etc.
And as wide open as that country is, I believe the mulies who like to lie up on the sides of the caprock are more exposed and vulnerable to hunting pressure. The whitetails use the deep canyons, and thick cover more. Just what I have seen. Wish we had more mulies.
I wish they would label the whitetails as the invasive species that they are and allow hunting them with no tags, season or limits here. Mule deer are struggling as it is.
I live and hunt in Montana. If you are interested in strictly a "western" hunt and have been lucky enough to get drawn, which is getting harder and harder to do, I would suggest mule deer while you have the chance. Sounds like you might already have a place to hunt, and that's always good, but you might also check out the Block Management program (over 6 million acres of ranch land are enrolled). Whichever you decide to hunt, I strongly suggest coming out during the rut - last two weeks of November. Let me know if have any more questions, and good luck!
