atse,
One other factor is that some hunters don't judge game-meat flavor on how "mild" it is.
I've been convinced for a number of years that because commercial meat has become milder in flavor, due to growing everything from chickens to beef cattle faster on blander feed, that most Americans aren't used to game meat that has more flavor. I'm not talking about "gamey" taste--which is mostly caused by the rut or poor field-handling--but MORE flavor.
Good examples are lamb, or domestic ducks and geese. The demand for all has gone downhill in recent decades because so many Americans think all poultry or mammal meat should be very mild, like 6-8 week old chickens or corn-fed 2-year-old steers. God forbid any chicken should have more flavor than a McNugget, or anybody eat lamb, which these days has more far more flavor than grocery-store or average-restaurant beef.
I have many friends who claim they shoot deer fawns and calf elk because they "taste better." I even had somebody semi-chastise me and Eileen last year when she shot the biggest cow elk either of us have ever taken, because "calves and young cows taste better." But we have taken not only fawns of several species, but both elk and moose calves, and find them bland. We much prefer more mature animals, whether female or male, because they have more good (not "gamey") flavor, and we know how to age or prepare game meat so even older animals are plenty tender.
If you prefer the mildest-flavored game meat possible, then that's your choice. We don't. Our favorite gamebirds to eat are Hungarian partridge, which have a flavor that combines white and dark meat, but even "mild" flavored ruffed and blue grouse beat the hell out of today's commercial chicken. We also prefer more mature big game to younger animals, because like mature grass-fed steers have more flavor than younger corn-fed beef.
Probably the case.I like milder meat, wild and domestic. We raise and butcher our beef at about 900lbs. Less than 2 years old. Don't much care for lamb or mutton. Don't care for wild duck or geese either. Grouse is my favorite. It likely depends on what you are used to eating and develop a taste for. Time of year and food sources will affect deers flavor. Mule deer living in and eating sagebrush tend to be stronger flavored an example.
