A friend gave us some venison last week and I cooked the back strap last night and it was sooo good. It was already tenderized so I just seasoned it and put it in buttermilk to soak for about 30 mins and then floured it and fried it . It did not have a wild taste to it.

I don't really care for deer but I agree that tenderloin is the best part. I've had deer in Iowa (shot in the corn fields, hence "corn fed") and mountain deer in CO. Interestingly enough, the CO deer always tasted better. Wild meat cooked with apple juice or cider also helps with any gaminess. (I prefer elk and bear meat.)

Bear is stringy.  I've never prepared it, although in WV they'd have bear and ramp feeds every spring.  As I recall the bear was generally cooked in a stew.

When Ken got his bear, we took it to a butcher and had it all processed into breakfast sausage. It was fun to cook it up for lasagne and serve it to a group of people who would rave about it...and then find out it was bear meat. Some people were OK with that and others couldn't eat another bite. I forgot we ate antelope too. Ken isn't able to hunt anymore so we have to buy good ole fashioned "meat on a styrofoam plate wrapped in plastic with a price tag, an expiration date and an USDA inspection sticker on it!!"