My bad tasting deer . . .

• Were eating much of their diet in a Minnesota cedar swamp. This was just a little gamey, but not all that bad.
• Was gut shot and meat was contaminated. Clearly had a bad taste, but we made a lot of spaghetti sauce with it and managed.
• Was shot in hot summer weather by a neighbor with an ag-damage permit and given to me. It stunk so bad I did not even try to eat it.

On the other hand, deer harvested from areas with agricultural food sources that are cleaned out well, quickly dressed and cooled, tasted almost like beef. And if you take care to trim off contaminated meat, even a gut shot or shot up deer tastes good. Had a gut shot deer 2 years back that was fine. And if it is warm (over 45) I immediately quarter and toss the quarters in the freezer to chill.