I've heard the myth that wild game doesn't benefit from aging a bunch of times over the years, and often the fat in beef is mentioned. The only benefit from the fat in beef, as far as my research indicates, is that it results in less moisture loss during aging, since it usually covers most of the outside of the carcass.
Which is why leaving the hide on wild game--if possible--results in less moisture loss. This has also been documented by the U. of Wyoming meat-science department. (A good example is
www.wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B594R.pdf)
Not only does most deer and elk meat benefit from aging, but gamebirds as well. Aside from meat science "shear tests," made with a sharp knife connected to a pressure gauge, we've proven to ourselves many times how much more tender wild game from Hungarian partridge to bull elk can be after aging.
That said, one problem with wild game is it's not a "uniform product," like commercial beef. Younger animals don't benefit as much from aging as older animals, and even different species vary. Pronghorns and pigs, for instance, don't have as much collagen in their muscles as deer and elk, so don't require much aging.
All of this is explained in far more detail in Eileen's book SLICE OF THE WILD, a "cookbook" that details how to deal with big game from bullet to table.
