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Sika deer is better than beef

PEEJAY

PEEJAY

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2019
Messages
2,088
Location
MD
This meat is phenomenal. The fat tastes as good as any farm raised beef. Surprising too because they live in swamps. I was eating it raw but my wife was getting disgusted haha. If you ever get a chance to try it dont pass it up. So easy to butcher since its just skinning and no trimming. Too bad there the size of a dog. 45 lbs dressed for a mature hind lol. Screenshot_20220312-171549_Gallery.jpg
 
BackSpasm said:
How did you procure said meat?
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With a muzzleloader:grinning:. We have a wild population here thats been here for 100 yrs. They stay in the swamps and never caused an issue so theyre here to stay. They dont really overlap with whitetail habitat and dont compete for food sources. Pretty cool. Basically a midget elk. They bugle and mew and "bark". Very vocal deer compared to whitetail. After meateater did an episode theyve been hit pretty hard by our surrounding states coming in. I wish MD would change their laws, licenses and limits for out of state hunters here. Most of the places i hunt have PA plates parked all over and the deer are thinning out. Oh well
 
Looks like a pretty thick cut for as small an animal as you described. Is that shown backstrap or another cut?
 
Shhhh......don't you know they're a secret? Between you and Rinella blabbing about them we're gonna be overun with hunters! ;) :tearsofjoy:

But seriously, they are amazing. I killed my first one this past year and they a re as good as advertised.

Supposedly, they are contemplating some changes to the Sika regs for next year. There was a survey DNR emailed out recently looking for public input.
 
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PEEJAY said:
With a muzzleloader:grinning:. We have a wild population here thats been here for 100 yrs. They stay in the swamps and never caused an issue so theyre here to stay. They dont really overlap with whitetail habitat and dont compete for food sources. Pretty cool. Basically a midget elk. They bugle and mew and "bark". Very vocal deer compared to whitetail. After meateater did an episode theyve been hit pretty hard by our surrounding states coming in. I wish MD would change their laws, licenses and limits for out of state hunters here. Most of the places i hunt have PA plates parked all over and the deer are thinning out. Oh well
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I was lucky enough to see a P&Y buck and trophy stag from the same stand location this past season. Stag vocalizations were hair raising, most prominently during the final 30 minutes of light and after.

Axis deer are the nearest non-whitetail experience I've had, but wayyyy easier to hunt.
 
Love sika. You can put two deboned sikas in an igloo lunch cooler.....lol.

Agree it is possibly the best wild meat I've had.
 
I was luckily born in Dorchester county and have been lucky enough to hunt them my entire life. The meat is the best that I have personally tasted from a wild animal. Haven’t really noticed them thinning out too much tbh. We have seen the population go from mostly whitetail 15 years ago to predominantly sika now. I saw 8 whitetail all season and anywhere from 5-600 sika. We only killed 4 but it was only 2 of us hunting. If you aren’t from MD a trip to public is really worth it. Waders, canoe, kayak on some of the public is a must.
 
Damn you all....I always knew sika was out of driving distance before I needed to 'talk' with wife. Now I have rethink everything because of that picture.....
 
Wait till you try axis deer.

however that does look amazing
 
Boomah21 said:
Wait till you try axis deer.

however that does look amazing
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Ive heard axis is really really good. I dont know where to go to find them on public though. I feel like its a pretty well kept secret. And im not paying to hunt on a ranch. Those racks are amazing though. Id like to taste them side by side. Is the fat good or do you need to trim it like a whitetail?
 
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