Have any of you tried making venison biltong?

The f does the taste have to do with the dogs chasing the deer?

I've heard it has to do with the buildup of the lactic acid in the muscles from being chased, and possibly raised cortisol levels in the bloodstream. I have no experience with running dogs and eating the deer, just what I've been told.

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Stress can have a big impact on meat quality.

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If that was true deer meat would all taste like shite. They are the most stressed animals I have ever seen

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Never seen a rabbit?

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I can get within 15 yards of a rabbit easy before they run off. Deer here look at me in a box stand from 100 yards away looking like their about to drop over dead from fear. When their turd hits the ground they jump in fear from the sound

My point is they are absolutely stressed to the max on our property. I don’t think it harms the taste of their meat

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You don't think that there is a difference in stress/adrenaline/lactic acid levels between a deer feeding in a food plot vs one that was dropped after being chased by dogs for a few hours?

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No

I have killed does with a pack of dogs on them. I have killed a big doe that had been run around and raped ragged recently by a buck. I don’t notice a thing in their meat

ETA: buddy killed a deer that had just been shot the day before and had a freaking hole in his arse. Tasted nothing different.

What about a buck that loses 20 lbs during rut from running/chasing and covering so much ground. Y’all don’t eat that?

I shot a BEAUTIFUL 2.5 year old doe this year at my dad’s lease with my .308 at about 85 yards. She dropped where she was standing, and I pulled the trigger while she was looking away. She never heard it. She is one of the best tasting deer I’ve ever taken. It was like eating a juicy, flavorful tender steak.

Same lease this year, I shot a weird four point about the same age with my bow. His hide was covered in warts, which is from a protein deficiency I found out..I’ve been hunting my whole life and never seen a deer covered in warts like this. It was kinda gross to be honest but I was told they didn’t affect the meat, that it was surface only. I noticed his meat was not as tasty as that doe I took with my gun. It was just slightly different but not as tender, a little more game flavor to it.

I don’t know what this has to do with stress or whatever but I could definitely taste a difference in the quality of meat.

You’re way over estimating this taste difference thing and your ability to detect it.

I’d give it a try. I lived off biltong when I stayed in South Africa for 7 months. Got busted trying to bring a few kilos back. Damn beagle in Atlanta.

Any farmer that has slaughtered and processed a lot of his own meat will tell you that the animal that gets all excited and rambunctious just before the bullet puts it down will not taste as good, nor be as tender, as the one that is totally calm and at ease at the moment of it's demise.
Took a doe this year that had just run 3/4 mile after being flushed from a neighbor's grove and it was BAD compared to my usual venison.