The meat can 'bone sour' and it can 'hide sour'. There is one other way it gets a flavor and odor which is the most common and I will explain; however, The best way to prevent this is to take the meat off the animal asap and process it asap.
One mistake many hunters make is that they think they need to 'cool it off' asap, so what do they do?....they put the meat in water such as a creek or river. That is what starts bacteria growth and it starts immediately. Bacteria is what what causes the stinchy foul smell and taste and it only take a matter if a few hours. Don't ever put your meat in water and if it is raining when you are cutting it up, then process it asap and get it in the freezer (which is what should be done normally anyway). Once the bacteria starts, it can cause meat to get an odor or taste - even in the freezer!
Don't put ice on it either. Ice can attract moisture which can cause bacteria growth. This would be similar to a glass of ice water on your counter which attracts condensation on the outside of the glass. If the meat attracts condensation, it is like submersing it in water. Keep the meat dry!
I have hung meat in temps of up to 85 to 90 degrees (max daytime temps) for up to 6 days and it was just fine because I kept it dry.
Everyone that has had bad meat tells me they made at least one of these mistakes.
Practice keeping the meat dry and you will have excellent quality meat nearly 100% of the time.
Axle
