Fatty deer

[Campcreek12]

Anyone ever kill a whitetail that obviously had more fat than the other deer in the same area? Harvested one this fall that had an tremendous amount of fat compared to the others I've taken the same area.

 

[manitou1]

Yes, several in differing venues over the years. Who knows why? Maybe like people, some may be "big boned , have a thyroid problem, or be genetically predispositioned", lol.
Or, maybe they are less active or eat more.

 

[83cj-7]

Filling damage permits each summer let’s me “see” lots of deer. I have seen unusually large/fat deer mixed in with normal size deer for the area. One instance stands out though. We were on a farm that had soy beans, corn and apples within a 40 acre plot. The first couple deer we harvested were good size. But one doe was absolutely monstrous. Took us several tries to get her in the bed of the truck. Cant explain why she was so big, but it seemed as if she had walked into WV straight from WI.

 

[SouthernCharm]

Yes in Wyoming back in the day. One deer had fat all over (inside the cavity too) and very long hair. The old timer in the group stated we are in for a long winter. The other deer basically had no fat nor long hair. The winter was a normal Wy winter, cold, windy and plenty of snow. Both ate good.

 

[Campcreek12]

Yes in Wyoming back in the day. One deer had fat all over (inside the cavity too) and very long hair. The old timer in the group stated we are in for a long winter. The other deer basically had no fat nor long hair. The winter was a normal Wy winter, cold, windy and plenty of snow. Both ate good.

This one did not have any difference in hair that I could tell but like yours, the cavity had fat all over it. As soon as it was opened up you could see it.

 

[JGuest]

I hunt a lot of varied area in SD from the Black Hills which are just low pine forest to crop and bottom land on the prairie. What I usually see is that deer with access to crops have more fat, and deer that appear to be between 3 and 5 years old have more fat still.

I shot a real old buck this year who had normal amounts of fat. My brother and dad shot bucks that were in the 4-5 y/o class that were pigs.

 

[CApighunter]

Neighbor killed a blacktail buck several years back on a small private parcel in the middle of vineyards, orchards, and across the road from some closed state land. The deer don’t move around too much and there’s little to no hunting pressure. Most around here bucks are pretty small/lean in August, but this one had fat like a steer. Best tasting venison I’ve had. Just depends on food source and activity.

 

[Rangerpants]

I shot two coues deer two years in a row less than a quarter mile apart. First one was what I would call moderately fat, the other one was an over-the-top lardball. Only deer I have ever seen that would compare was a corn-fed Iowa doe I killed. Haven't a clue what made the difference, and the fatter deer was killed in a year with no monsoon, so food availability was somewhat less.

I guess I have to go with the "big boned" theory

 

[Rangerpants]

Neighbor killed a blacktail buck several years back on a small private parcel in the middle of vineyards, orchards, and across the road from some closed state land. The deer don’t move around too much and there’s little to no hunting pressure. Most around here bucks are pretty small/lean in August, but this one had fat like a steer. Best tasting venison I’ve had. Just depends on food source and activity.

Grape fed deer? Break out some wine for pairing!

 

[Mike Brewer]

Yes, a couple of deer over the past few years had WAY more fat than typical for our area. Like a layer of fat on their backs there were like 2 1/2 3 inches thick. I have no idea why these had so much more fat on them.

 

[WJS23]

I shot a buck 2 years ago in Ohio that was loaded with fat compared to the ones I have shot in Maine and new Hampshire