Here is my take, venison does take up the flavor of their food, my deer almost always have been eating my apples and I can taste and smell apple flavor in the meat. I can also smell a stinky swamp deer and won’t eat them. I do not like strong tasting venison and some not all older deer can be stronger tasting. If you don’t like “gamey”, strong venison taste shoot young ones bourn this year, they are very very mild tasting. Oh by the way got a 3 or 4 year old 8 point 20 inch spread last night while he was eating apples off the tree. Slice and dice today after work.