[NVDave]

You just said the most important thing about good venison - was the deer calm when killed? If it was chased and chased hard, no matter how cold you get the meat in a hurry, it’s going to taste “off” or like hammered crap.

The lactic acid build-up from hard running or fighting in the rut will make meat taste bad.

Then the part about not allowing some meat processor to substitute meat on you - how VERY important. I’ve had that happen to me, and it pissed me off and then some.

Now I cut and wrap our own. I’ll never trust another meat cutter again after twice getting back meat that didn’t taste at all like the care I put into the kill and after-kill handling of the meat. I knew it had to be a mix of mine and someone else’s meat, or just someone else’s kill.

[dalereed]

You can improve it greatly not only in taste but tenderness if you soak the meat in milk for 20 minutes before cooking!

[ConservativeInPA]

Thanks for recognizing that. I watched a buddy of mine run down a mountainside, chasing a deer that had been previously driven. He took multiple shots and finally killed the deer. Later we had a meal of his venison. It was terrible. If he wasn't a friend, and if I didn't know what was for dinner, I wouldn't have showed up for dinner.

Another tip for good deer is to scout for deer AND land before hunting. Know what the deer is eating. Is it corn from a field? Is it nuts? Is it low hanging branches from shrubs or trees? That effects the taste of the meat as well. This also applies to turkey and most small game even more so than deer.