Water Deer and Muntjac

[TWC]

I was out with a friend between lockdowns and we visited one of his permissions which is small but has 4 of the 6 UK deer species on it; red deer, Roe deer, Muntjac and Chinese Water deer on it.

We were targeting the later two and I'm not sure they come under the 'big game' tag of this section but certainly the 'other'.

I believe the UK is the only place in the world these 2 deer can be hunted, and the UK now has a higher population of the water deer than China. Unusual deer in many ways, such as their small size but probably most well known for having tusks which the males use for fighting.

We had a good morning, seeing lots and I shot a water deer and Muntjac and my friend shot a water deer and two muntjac. The water deer is the best venison ive had. The water deer and Muntjac i got happened to be representative young bucks.

 

[Dave N]

Very nice! How do they compare to Roe deer as far as body size?

 

[Jape]

Is the table fare comparable to anything we have in the states?

 

[TWC]

Very nice! How do they compare to Roe deer as far as body size?

My heaviest Roe buck weighed in at 21kg - that's big for a Roe. The average I would say is around 16-18kg.

Muntjac tend to come in around 8-10Kgs for males, females a little smaller. Water deer are similar.

All larder weights.

 

[TWC]

Is the table fare comparable to anything we have in the states?

Ive only had Mule deer and Antelope. Comparing them to those 2 I would say not. The Mule deer tasted similar to our Fallow deer but I couldnt match the antelope to anything we have.