Rutting bulls nasty?

I shot a big Pahvant bull last year and several people told me that it would taste like shiz because he was rutting.

I have shot plenty of cows and I eat elk 2-3 times a week. I have been eating elk for the last 7 years.

I can honestly say that the meat from this bull is better than anything I have ever had in my life. Even my wife raves about it.

So to all you fellers that think that rutting bulls are nasty, you don't know what you're missing.

This stuff is awesome!!!

I agree with you 100%. My biggest bulls have been as tender (maybe more so) than smaller bulls and cows. They have definitely been the best eating. People think I'm crazy too, until they eat some.

i agree, but also dissagree with an "*"

i've eaten elk my whole life, lots of differenet examples to compare.

IMO- young bulls/cows are just EASIER to make good meat out of,or lets say you just dont have to go the extra mile to make it great table fare.

OLD RUTTED UP BULLS can be great eating, but you deffinatly really need to go a little out of your way to take extra care of the meat- meaning getting it boned and cooled as fast as possible.

a few yrs back i called in a bull that ended up being 11 yrs old for my buddy. we were 8 miles away from vehicle approved roads. it was also pushing 100 degrees during the days. well he didn't make the best shot, so it took us 4 hrs to find the bull and finish it off. we then took lots of pictures. by no means did we just let it sit there a rot, but we weren't in any hurry to get that meat boned and chilled. that was a VERY gamey, tuff bull to eat.

now i've learned alot since those days.

last year i shot an 8 yr old bull, temps upper 90's. i took just a few pics and really went to work hard at getting all that meat boned, packed out, and on ice as soon as i possibly could. the bull has been absolutly awsome eating.

looking back, i can see 100% what we did wrong with that other old bull. when dealing with old bulls, consider them more like antelope!(usually awfull tasing, but when taken care of are really good eats!)

i have been lucky enough to harvest 8 mature bulls, ranging from 6 yrs to 9+ and they were ALL better eating then ANY cow or spike that i have eaten.....they say you can't eat horns, but the ones with the biggest horns have the most meat...

Toughest bull I've eaten was a late season bull. Even the backstraps were a little tough. Hardly any fat on him, either . . . Still good meat though!

Nastiest Bull I've ever eaten was the one that got away!!!! Tag Soup sucks at the end of a 2 year plan!!! This year, if it's got horns I'm whackin' it.... if it doesn't have horns...I'm whackin' it!!!!


Best of luck to ya'll...


"I'll see you on the hillside, and if I do it's my own fault because I didn't get far enough away from the road!!!"

Bull I shot last year did not even make good jerky it was so tough. Glad you guys like it because if it is not jerky it is not going in my house. Learned my lesson long ago.

Just like 300 said, properly handle the meat and it will be just fine. Take forever to get the hide of the meat, take an amazing photo session and you'll have littlejoe type experiences.

I remember a few years ago my brother came home from idaho with a oct bull.He cooked a roast the first night back ,I took one bite of it and it tasted like what a bull in the rut smells like.I asked him if he made sure while he was boneing it out that he didnt touch the hairside of the hide while skinning , said he didnt even think of it while boneing.All the meat tasted like a rutting bull,you could cut the outer rind off the meat and it tased fine.
I am sure this is what happens to the antelope that people try and dont like, them things put a stink on your hands that wont go away and if you touch the meat it all over it.