As I mentioned earlier, wild game animals are not a consistent "product" like commercial beef!
We have had some oddities over the decades as well--which is why Eileen has so many different cookbooks, with techniques for compensating for odd flavors and tough meat. One of the weirdest was a young cow elk I killed early in our marriage. It was perfectly healthy, and killed on a cool day in late November, with a neck shot that went through the carotid arteries as it trotted through lodgepole timber.
Had to leave it in the woods overnight, so field-dressed and left it spread-eagled on a log, to lift it enough so air could circulate, even though the night was going to be quite cool (though not really cold, at least for Montana). Went back with friends the next morning, and quarter it with the hide on, then aged the quarters for several days before butchering. It was tender, and didn't exactly taste bad--but had a mild but distinct livery flavor we've never tasted in any other elk--or for that matter, any other big game animal.
At the other extreme, I once killed a 6x6 bull on September 12th, into the rut but not very far, when they're generally fine. Instead of being gamy, it was the BLANDEST elk we've ever eaten, nice and tender but just about zero flavor. Had to use various techniques to enhance the meat.
Have also had meat from herd bulls taken in October that had a definite musky taste.
The biggest bull I've ever taken, in both body and antler, was killed in early November, when it had time to recover from the rut. The flavor was great, but had to age it TWO weeks before the backstrap became pretty chewable. But between the aging and various cooking techniques, we enjoyed eating every piece of him.
Some kinds of male deer are notorious for turning gamy during the rut, especially caribou, which can get so raunchy even sled dogs won't eat 'em. Mule deer can become a little that way as well, and fallow deer. are often worse. But with mule deer there are exceptions, such as the big 3x3 Eileen killed a few years ago toward the tail end of the rut. It had been rutting so hard there was just about zero fat on the carcass--but the meat turned out to be tender and mild.
One thing we've learned about gamy/musky flavored male animals is the flavor is often concentrated in the connective tissue between muscle groups--and can "grow" the longer the meat's in the freezer. Eileen killed a big 5x6 mule deer on November 17th one year, right out of the herd of does he was tending, and while the bigger cuts were fine, the stew meat and burger acquired a musky flavor after about six months, and he had to turn them into relatively spicy sausage.
On the other hand, we've never had an off-flavor whitetail or pronghorn buck taken during the rut, and we've taken a bunch of both in several states at various times during autumn.
Black bears are notorious for varying in flavor depending on what they're eating at the time. Have had black bear meat several people could not distinguish from cow elk meat cooked at the same time, and some that had been eating gutpiles that were barely edible.
