You guys have a secret. I'm a big fan of cooking wild game, especially for those who have never had it before or had a bad experience in the past. It's (mostly) all about meat care and prep, and cooking properly. A rutting buck is the exception, and is why I don't shoot bucks back home unless they are a wall hanger, then I generally turn the meat into sausage. My favorite is a yearling (small) doe which can be unbelievable table fare.
If you read my recent adventure in the AZ forum I finally got my first coues. A nice mature rutting buck with the odor you'd expect from one. I was concerned with how it tastes given that it's #1 a buck and #2 they eat who knows what. But now your secret is out. This deer is phenomenal despite the age and rut status. The deer police may come for me after saying this but it's probably the best deer ever! The myth of the corn (or soybean, alfalfa, etc.) fed Midwestern deer is just that.
It's definitely leaner than MW deer, but most fat on whitetails is external. It hardly tastes like deer at all, it almost has a nutty flavor? And it's tender too. Whatever I'll shoot another one just to eat it! I can't imagine what a doe would be like if they were legal to shoot.
One big tip is to allow the meat to cool slowly, the worst thing you can do it throw it straight into an ice filled cooler. I killed this deer in the mid morning and let the quarters hang in the shade until dark even though the high was 60F. It was cool to the touch at that point (evaporative cooling helps with low humidity too). Then I put it into a cooler with ice. Anyway don't let anyone tell you that MW farm country deer are better table fare, or better yet don't tell anyone coues are delicious!