It appears that you have found a way that you feel satisfies your venison expectations. If you're happy with it more power to you.
I however prefer the taste of properly handled venison and rinsed with, yes - water!
     We emphasize quality not  volume but have still processed over a thousand deer in the last ten years, and every one was rinsed with water. In spite if that fact, we have never had a complaint about the venison we've processed tasting as you put it "like crap."
    It is a fact the the USA has the overall safest meat production system in the world that accounts for billions of dollars in meat sales all subject to rigid inspection standards. And after touring several of the largest meat plants in the country I can report first hand that water is used to rinse the carcasses of beef, pork, and poultry. I have to belive that if water was unsafe for meat, then pure economics and the federal government would have banned it years ago!  
    As part of the space program, several years ago NASA developed a program to control food safety for the astronauts known as H.A.C.C.P. = Hazard Analysis Critical  Control Points
    Because  of the success of this program in preventing food borne illness in the space, it was adopted by the F.D.A. for use in food production plants through out the USA. I am happy to report that I have taken and successfully completed H.A.C.C.P. certification twice and still feel that water is essential in the proper cleaning of a deer.

    Keep in mind that bacteria needs relies on three conditions in order to grow:
        1) Moisture
        2)Temperature         
        3)Time

    1) Moisture: I rinse the cavity of the deer after field dressing and dry it with paper towels. It is then hung in the cooler with the hide on until we're ready to process it. The water has removed a large percent of the bacteria contained by removing the excess blood, stomach juices, fecal material, and foreign material that may have gotten in when dragging it out. The paper toweling has removed the excess water.

    2) Temperature: Undoubtedly this is the most critical point. Bacteria grows at temperatures between 40F - 140F. The longer that the deer, the carcass, or the meat is in this temperature range the greater the bacterial growth. In many cases home refrigerators will be above 40 degrees, and are not suitable for holding fresh venison for five days. [Try it with pork or chicken.] Commercial meat coolers such as ours are held as close to 32F as possible to retard bacterial growth. We've held deer (including my own) hide on, that have been rinsed with water, for up to ten days with no sign of bacterial growth or ill effects.

    3) Time: As mentioned above the longer the deer is in the 40F - 140F temperature range the greater the chance of bacterial growth.
   When we're ready to process the deer, it's brought out of the cooler, skinned, rinsed again to remove any hair, cut-up (boneless only), double wrapped and frozen. Considering we keep our cutting room air conditioned, the carcass has been chilled to 32-34 degrees, and we go from skinning, cutting, and freezing in one operation the meat has little chance for bacterial growth.

    As I said in the beginning we've had no complaints, have many loyal customers, and have enjoyed our own venison rinsed with water for almost forty years.
    I guess we all need to do what we feel is best for ourselves.

Good hunting,

Dave