A Little Bit of Venison

[waterweasle]

they are outside to begin the process, yeah I forgot all deer die in the woods in the shade....its an amazing thing that they search shade out to die in, must be more comfortable to die in the shade

[burmjohn]

Another thing that these pictures tell me is that their must be very few hunters who butcher deer themselves these days. Yeah, it takes a bit of time and effort, but a heck of a lot is lost in the whole process of hunting if one has someone else do the butchering. Hell, hunters don't want to walk to their stands on foot anymore. Forget about dragging without an ATV. These pictures tell us they surely don't want to butcher either, so I guess pulling the trigger and killing is the only thing hunters want to do. Quite sad when you stop and think about it.

Always looking at the bright side of things I see.

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[TeeBugg]

Always looking at the bright side of things I see.

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Gotta love it!

[shawnhu]

I think if I had absolutely nothing to do, and I had the space to do it, I'll butcher 3 deer, max. It's quite hard work and labor intensive, IMO.

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[NFA-ADK]

Not everyone can butcher a deer in the garage.  It is a small fee to have it butchered.  Processors can take in many deer this is why you see this.  Those deer outside would be done quick.  I would use them, no problem.  This is part of hunting, reality check! 

 

PS:  Most people are not butchers and have no knowledge how to process a deer, should they stop hunting because of this?

[burmjohn]

Not everyone can butcher a deer in the garage. It is a small fee to have it butchered. Processors can take in many deer this is why you see this. Those deer outside would be done quick. I would use them, no problem. This is part of hunting, reality check!

PS: Most people are not butchers and have no knowledge how to process a deer, should they stop hunting because of this?

Apparently according to some if you don't do it their way you shouldn't do it at all.

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[fasteddie]

Apparently according to some if you don't do it their way you shouldn't do it at all.

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Yeah , a few have the attitude that , " if you don't do it my way , you're doing it wrong" !

I choose to butcher my own deer though .

[Doc]

1 weekend a year is the only time that happens.  So why would a processor have a fridge that can hold that many deer.  It's just not business practical.     But let's take a vote:

 

Would you leave your deer sitting out like that in the sun?

As a matter of fact, when we picked up our meat, it did in fact come out of a refrigerated room, packaged exactly like your average cuts of beef at the supermarket.

 

As far as leaving a deer out in the sun, I'm sure the short amount of time that these deer actually spent there was significantly shorter than conditions in the woods before you actually lay hands on your deer, or get it home to any source of refrigeration.

[Doc]

I butchered my deer for a good many years, but there is no way that I could ever say it was a process that I looked forward to. In fact the word "dread" comes to mind. I can't say that I really miss that chore. For tackling chores that I really hate, I have to assign an extremely high dollar-per-hour value to the time that it takes. For those that enjoy that activity, all I can say is, "have at it!" 

[bkln]

Doc, lose the keyboard and hit the woods already, That's what I'm doing now...LOL Its 5 AM for crying out loud...

[Doc]

Doc, lose the keyboard and hit the woods already, That's what I'm doing now...LOL Its 5 AM for crying out loud...

This part of my season gets real casual now .... lol. Nice leisurely breakfast wait for things to warm up a bit. and then out I go for a nice "sneaky" stroll, doing my best impression of still-hunting. No more sitting like a frozen lump at the base of a tree waiting for the sun to come up. Actually, in the past still-hunting has been my best and most productive way to hunt. There won't be anybody out there keeping deer on their feet and moving, so I have to do the job all by myself and sneak into their bedrooms. And that can wait a few more hours. Maybe I'll get lucky and add to that pile of deer....ha-ha-ha.

[First-light]

The tag never leaves the carcass throughout the whole process. That applies whether the carcass is whole, on the conveyor or on the butchering table. Of all the imagined problems with professional butchers, that is probably the most unlikely. And as far as laying in the sun, I watched that pile grow and then disappear, and believe me most of those deer probably laid in the woods a lot longer than they laid there. I've been using these guys for quite a few years now, and I have never gotten any bad venison. Unless the deer has already been laying in the woods and already begun to spoil, these deer didn't stay there long enough to do any harm to the meat. The trick is not to leave the things laying around for half a day before getting them to the processor.

 

I know I have heard all kinds of arguments against processors and really believe that most of the comments are simply the product of over active imaginations .... lol. These guys don't stay in business if they start handing back tainted meat or short-counts on the amounts of venison. I butchered my own deer for a whole lot of years and I know what quantities of venison I should be seeing. I have never gotten back less venison than if I had done the job myself.

I agree Doc. I have used my guy for 7 years now. Tag stays on the deer the whole way. I dropped off my 4 Sunday at 10:00 my numbers were 74-77 and while there about 10 more came in. My neighbor picked the meat up yesterday. 

BTW he charges 50 bucks for a regular cut no bone. If I lived up there I would do the deer myself, for 50 bucks it's not worth my time.

Edited November 20, 2013 by First-light

[Doc]

I agree Doc. I have used my guy for 7 years now. Tag stays on the deer the whole way. I dropped off my 4 Sunday at 10:00 my numbers were 74-77 and while there about 10 more came in. My neighbor picked the meat up yesterday. 

BTW he charges 50 bucks for a regular cut no bone. If I lived up there I would do the deer myself, for 50 bucks it's not worth my time.

It's the law isn't it? .... that the tag has to stay with the meat? I mean these guys have a fortune at stake if they were ever caught separating the two. And they are prime destinations for game cops and biologists gathering harvest data so I'm certain they don't take any chances with monkeying around re-distributing meat. And anyways, what benefit would it be for them to mix things up?

[Fletch]

Good to hear they are an efficient shop. Like someone else said every profession has good and bad.

I can process my own but really would rather use my time huntin. I am very slow at butchering! I use a guy I trust very much and would rather pay him to do it.

I do not expect everyone to process their own deer, I think they should be involved or try it once to learn deer anatomy and meat cuts better. It is such a great learning opportunity.

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[landtracdeerhunter]

Nice pics Doc and thanks for sharing. It surprises me that this processor let you take pics. I've tried asking at 2 locations, and the response was, No Pics Please!

 

I believe the response was more about the deer, than the establishment itself.

Edited November 20, 2013 by landtracdeerhunter

[Lawdwaz]

Some typical pearls of wisdom in this thread! 

 

 

 

 

 

[GreeneHunter]

Some typical pearls of wisdom in this thread! 

LOL

[Doewhacker]

I have a business idea, for all the wimps on here. Just call me and steve up and we will come gut and drag your deer out and then butcher it up on the spot for you. That way you don't have to worry about chipping a nail or getting mud on your pink four wheelers and god knows you wouldn't want to get any icky blood and guts on you.

 

We will even walk you to your stands in the dark so you don't have to be scared of creatures that go bump in the night.

 

I can see using a butcher but I can't see not ever trying to do it on your own, it doesn't take that long and can be fun with a group of guys hanging around joking. Try it you sissys!

[steve863]

Apparently according to some if you don't do it their way you shouldn't do it at all.

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Sorry to see that there are as many sensitive souls on here as in an all girls grammar school.  You can do whatever you please.  You can even hire a helicopter to air lift it out of the woods for you.  You dudes will be the first to thump on your chests when you make a kill and then tell the world about it, but then you don't want to take the time or get you hands a little dirty the butcher the damned thing up yourselves.  Many these days don't even have a clue on how to do it.  Quite pathetic in my opinion, and you guys fall short of being complete hunters.  My condolences.  

[Doewhacker]

I can see why guys that only kill a deer once a decade are ok shelling out money to a butcher but I would go broke paying for a butcher every year.

[Doc]

Ha-ha .... so it's a "manhood" thing with you guys. If that's what feeds your macho self image, butcher away. far be it for me to criticize anyone's quest to verify their gender ..... lol.

 

This simple post of pictures that I thought would be kind of interesting to most hunters seems to have degenerated into the usual flame fodder from the usual sources. But anyway, I hope the rest of you found the pictures of some interest.

[steve863]

Not everyone can butcher a deer in the garage.  It is a small fee to have it butchered.  Processors can take in many deer this is why you see this.  Those deer outside would be done quick.  I would use them, no problem.  This is part of hunting, reality check! 

 

PS:  Most people are not butchers and have no knowledge how to process a deer, should they stop hunting because of this?

 

 

Oh, I will give this post the prize for being the most ridiculous of the month here.  NFA of all people says that "most people are not butchers and have no knowledge how to process a deer".   NFA the guy who posts essays, poems, pictures and videos of how he roughs it in the Adirondacks, and then doesn't consider knowing how to process your own deer an important element in being a complete hunter???  WTF??  You tell us how you rough it and then run to the butcher when you shoot that deer once every 10 years??  Now that's funny!!  

 

For your information, yes, it actually could be done in a small garage, I've even see a dude drag his deer 3 flights to his apartment and butcher it up in his bathtub.  Where there is a will, there is a way. You guys just want to kill, brag about it, and don't want to do any other real work afterwards.  That's about all there is to it really.

Edited November 20, 2013 by steve863

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Sh!t's gettin deep on here now.  Will be fun to see just how deep she can go!

[Doewhacker]

Ha-ha .... so it's a "manhood" thing with you guys. If that's what feeds your macho self image, butcher away. far be it for me to criticize anyone's quest to verify their gender ..... lol.

 

This simple post of pictures that I thought would be kind of interesting to most hunters seems to have degenerated into the usual flame fodder from the usual sources. But anyway, I hope the rest of you found the pictures of some interest.

 

Ok Drama queen calm down.

 

Hunters are a bunch of sissy's and thats the reality, sorry if you can't handle it.

[steve863]

Ha-ha .... so it's a "manhood" thing with you guys. If that's what feeds your macho self image, butcher away. far be it for me to criticize anyone's quest to verify their gender ..... lol.

 

This simple post of pictures that I thought would be kind of interesting to most hunters seems to have degenerated into the usual flame fodder from the usual sources. But anyway, I hope the rest of you found the pictures of some interest.

 

 

No, it's not a manhood thing.  Are you trying to tell us that hunters shouldn't at least make an effort in learning how to process a deer??  Many these days don't even have a clue how to start.  Come on now, you are older than most here, and I would expect you to consider game processing as a vital element of being a complete, self-sufficient hunter.   If you don't, then I really feel sorry for you to.