Rutting Sika Venison Flavour

smithp18

Well-Known Member

Do members on here find that Sika like Reds in the middle ofthe rut find the venison with tainted flavour due to the high levels of testosterone.

Phil

 
That's the answer I would have expected Phil, but I have never been brave enough to try one :-D, straight into the dealers, now a young staggie in August is a completely different story!

John
 
This has always worried me, I would not think of eating any stag shot in the rut, but I do feel sorry for the poor punter who decides that they are going to try venison for the first time and gets a mid rut testosterone filled and fight battered piece of meat. First impressions are important and this would not be a good one.
 
so i cant eat first Sika stag next week :-( not a cheap outing and I wont even get to fill my freezer!!
 
Had a couple of young Sika spikers in Aug and to good for the game dealer!!!.
The farmers and keepers on the land were saying that there are regular injurys so I will be sending to game dealer if required.

thanks

Phil
 
I've always avoided them too Phil, the smell being enought to put me off.

Leads me to the question: is it an 'urban myth' that some dealers export rutty red/sika stag and fallow buck carcases as 'the Germans and some Continentals positively prefer them?'

Nick
 
As Jayb says early August stags are good eating, especially young ones.

Nothing beats a young hind though in early November, full of fat, no smell, clean as a whistle...
 
I've always avoided them too Phil, the smell being enought to put me off.

Leads me to the question: is it an 'urban myth' that some dealers export rutty red/sika stag and fallow buck carcases as 'the Germans and some Continentals positively prefer them?'

Nick

That's what my dealer told me, and let's face it for the French any way the smellier the better
 
I've always avoided them too Phil, the smell being enought to put me off.

Leads me to the question: is it an 'urban myth' that some dealers export rutty red/sika stag and fallow buck carcases as 'the Germans and some Continentals positively prefer them?'

Nick

I was in my game dealers yesterday and saw at least one hudred red stags hanging up, all destined for the continent, Germany for the most part. When this particular dealer started up and got his first German contract, he made sure it consisted of the cleanest most sweet smelling beasts available to him, he was confident. It got sent back with the buyer complaining it was not real wild venison as it was too good! Needless to say since then he has not made the same mistake and as shipped off the smelly ones.

John
 
As is often the case there are a lot of opinions based on nothing other than accepted wisdom here.
While we would expect that the venison of a stag in the rut would be strong or tainted, there are no comments from anyone who has actually skinned and tried it.
Try it yourself. Be the first!
S.
 
As is often the case there are a lot of opinions based on nothing other than accepted wisdom here.
While we would expect that the venison of a stag in the rut would be strong or tainted, there are no comments from anyone who has actually skinned and tried it.
Try it yourself. Be the first!
S.

Wrong.

I have and that is why I know that a young hind shot in November tastes better....;)
 
OF the Sika I've killed here in the USA only one or two were killed during the time we call their rut . And to be perfectly honest I didn't notice any difference .

However..................................... I've only taken 9 Sika stags and or hinds !


With whitetails in this country I've taken in excess of 200 over the years in all phases of the season . Typically most of the bucks I kill are killed during the rut and I don't think they have a bad flavor . The only ones that don't taste so great are the ones that have been run a pretty good ways with deer hounds .

And I'm not an advocate of of running deer with hounds . It's okay if others like to do it , I just never cared for it personally .
 
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