Well, I’ve had reindeer three times, and all three times it was tough and dry and a bit gamy. Once in Norway, twice in Finland. I guess I should try again.
Ostrich is okay so long as it’s not over-cooked, although it’s leaner than I prefer. Maybe I need to find reindeer served rarer.
Elk is superb, though. Again, in my very limited experience.
For that matter, a lot of cows in India as recently as a couple decades ago (probably less true now) would be allowed to roam free to forage during the day and then come home at night.
I’ve heard that because of high population density and the feudal structure, hunting became a very much elite practice in Western Europe in the early modern period, whereas in North America and eastern Europe it was much more of the culture for ordinary people. In a place like Michigan today, deer hunting is definitely not an ‘elite’ pursuit (although it’s not really something really poor people would do either since the expense is not trivial).
One interesting thing about Michigan is that hunting seems to be more popular among white people, not really sure about why that is (at least, none of my Black friends there ever mentioned they hunted deer, while a lot of my white friends did).
Tradition and experience. Certainly, some people take up hunting even if their parents didn’t, but that seems to be fairly unusual. Nearly all of the hunters I know learned how to do it when they were young, mostly from their father or other close relative. It’s also a rural pastime, for the most part.
“Jews don’t hunt, they shop.”
–Somebody or other.
Hunting is popular among some groups like Hmong.
Well, sort of. It’s also a small-city pastime, and there are lots of Black people in Michigan small cities. I think Benton Harbor at 90% Black (in the fairly hunting-enthusiastic southwest Michigan region) is possibly the highest percentage of any American city.
Someone suggested to me that Black people in the midwest have roots in the south, and pre-civil rights era they were forbidden to own guns (through extrajudicial violence) so they never really developed a hunting culture, and prefer to fish instead. That might be part of it.
In lots of places, a black man with a gun is likely to be murdered, because someone is frightened by his presence. I imagine that makes hunting a little less appealing.
Citation needed
Venison has always been a fast foot item. That’s what makes it hard to catch - that’s why it’s dear.
Maybe in England. Here in the US this is more what deer hunting is like: - YouTube
As Ron says, that’s one elusive creature. NOT! 
Moderator Note
Let’s refrain from political commentary like this. No warning issued, but stick to the subject.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
<golf clap>
Note to the SDMB regulars - that it took 90 posts to catch this bothers me a great deal - c’mon people!
For those curious, here’s a couple honest shots of the Arby’s sandwich:
Here in the Chicago suburbs, too. I have dreams of someday building some kind of rig in the backyard that could handle roasting a whole lamb…
Actually, I guess maybe because we have large immigrant populations in Chicago from lamb-eating countries, lamb and beef are priced comparably here. When I’ve seen the whole Costco frozen lambs, they run around $3/lb. When we buy red meat, it’s lamb more often than beef - lamb leg chops or shoulder chops where we shop run $45 - 6/lb., and analogous cuts of beef are more expensive than that.
Higher end pellet gun should do the trick; you can buy them in .22 caliber. Muzzle velocity is a bit less, if I recall correctly, but you probably aren’t going for long range targets.
Apropos You-Tube song :dubious:
Largest cervid (deer-type critter) for sure.
Good video on domestication :dubious:
