How much venison do you get on average from your processor

[turkeyfeathers]

I've seen conflicting numbers of how much deer live weighed by weight of venison you take home. I've heard 1/2 and I've heard 1/3. My guess would be the 1/3 .  Anybody have a good answer for this? Unfortunately I do not have the place or materials to process my own deer.

 

Ex :47 pounds of venison you take home would equal what to live weight ?

[Paula]

[Paula]

[G-Man]

Depends on bone in or boneless, how well trimmed the meat is,how much fat or pork or beef is added to ground. For me on average an adult 1 .5 year old deer boneless meat is about 60 lbs. Dressed weight of around 125 lbs give or take few lbs. Don't care about live weight personally and we weigh or deer so

[greensider]

i do my own and have been keeping track on a yearling buck i get 35 pounds a big doe 50 a 2.5 year old buck 70 thats the average for my area dutchess county and all boneless meat i hope this is what you were looking for i will never have my deer done by any one else i have seen what comes back

[turkeyfeathers]

I shoot big does and routinely get back between 45-50 pounds of boneless , no pork added , Always thought this was a little low IMO. Meat has next to no fat. Packaged well with basic cuts of ground, chops,steaks, roasts, stew, tenderloins etc. Been contemplating of taken my deer elsewhere this year to see the return

[greensider]

it sounds like you have a good butcher

[wolc123]

It has been a while since I had any done by a processor.  That can be a real gamble and I value venison too much now, with a family of four that all love eating it, to trust it to another.  Growing up, we had a neighbor who was a butcher and cut up deer as a seasonal side-job.  He was very good and very efficient and would nearly always return more than half of the field-dressed carcass weight as freezer-wrapped boneless venison.  If he couldn't get that much back, it was due to my own poor shooting.  You could always count on getting your own deer back also.  Unfortunately, his butchering days are done.  

 

I tried a few other processors with mixed results.  Usually I got less meat back than I should have, and one time a lot more.   I was never certain with them, that it was my own meat I got back.   For the last 15 years or so, I have butchered my own, and I usually end up with slightly under half of the field-dressed weight in boneless meat.   Our family now consumes 4 average sized (aprox 120 lb field dressed) per year.  That means about 240 pounds of meat in the freezer.  Some years I kill them all myself (thanks to liberal dmp permits), but usually friends, or passing motorists help out a bit (they all taste the same). The key pieces of equipment needed to do your own are a good grinder, an old refrigerator (for aging in warm weather conditions), and a vacuum sealer.   

 

The best thing about doing your own, is full control over the aging process, which makes a world of difference in the quality of the meat on the table.  Because seasonal processors get so many deer in at once, it is very difficult for them to maintain control over the aging process.   Other advantages are learning where to shoot the deer to ruin the least meat (hint-center lung is best).   It is also nice to control the size of the packages and to save some cash.               

[The_Real_TCIII]

Where do you take them?

[turkeyfeathers]

Where do you take them?

Buck n doe

[Jeremy K]

I shoot big does and routinely get back between 45-50 pounds of boneless , no pork added , Always thought this was a little low IMO. Meat has next to no fat. Packaged well with basic cuts of ground, chops,steaks, roasts, stew, tenderloins etc. Been contemplating of taken my deer elsewhere this year to see the return.

Are you anywhere near Java ?

[turkeyfeathers]

I drive right thru Java on my way home from where I hunt

[Jeremy K]

There is a guy almost at the intersection of 98 and 78 , he is about a half mile down 78. If i remember ill get his phone number and PM it to you.

[Merlot]

There is a guy almost at the intersection of 98 and 78 , he is about a half mile down 78. If i remember ill get his phone number and PM it to you.

Yeah, I plan on asking this guy to cut up my deer, if I ever harvest one.

[Red]

Ive been using the buck and doe shop for years they package the meat very well. Last year is the only year I thought to myself dam I.thought I was going to get more meat back.

[SteveB]

The only way to get much over 1/3 of the dressed weight, is to not trim all fat and silverskin and to not be picky about what you grind.

[The_Real_TCIII]

My first two deer were does, 130lbs and literally 65lbs. I took them both to Black Angus and got back two identical packages!

[Red]

Black Angus on the Blvd? I went there a few times and noticed the exact same thing it didn't matter the size of the deer I brought in I always seemed to get the same amount of meat back

[cdmckane]

I have 2 trusted butchers that I take my deer to, depending on how I want it cut.  I also have a 3rd that I trust if I need him.  These 3 are all friends and I have no doubt that I'm getting my own deer back.  If none of them can do it, I'll take a day off from work and do it myself, however the wife will be slightly pissed when she sees me cutting up a side of venison on the kitchen table!  She loves venison, she just prefers that it doesn't get cut up in her kitchen. 

 

[Jaeger]

I guess all butchers are different and some get overwhelmed during the peak of deer season.

 

I used to take them to the local deer processor, now I do not because:

 

1.  I don't think I get all my own meat.  I know how and when my animal is shot and don't wan't someone else's.

 

2. A buddy showed me how to handle my own and in a fashion that does not require an all night scramble to get it all processed at once.

 

Real reason:  Our local butcher has a clipboard signup list inside his front door with a list of non-hunting people wanting venison, a whole lot of people on this list and the meat has to come from somewhere/someones deer.  May be legit but raises the question.

 

The last deer I took to them weighed 175lbs field dressed (still have the scale with the weight marker in place, keep it as a "trophy" of sorts).  It was a huge doe off my farm.  I got back a box of 35lbs of meat and that didn't seem right.  (The doe was hit in the head not the body and not on purpose)

 

But based on what you guys say, maybe 35lbs was about right, I just felt like I was cheated, so now I do my own.

[wolc123]

Buck-n-doe was also where I took the one that I thought I got back more than I should have.   It was a rutted-out 10 point buck I killed at the end of gun season.   I skinned it myself, took the head and hide to the taxidermist, and the carcass to Buck-n-doe.   The hind quarters were thin and the carcass could not have weighed much over a hundred pounds.   The meat I picked up, which included lots of "pepper-sticks", some steaks, chops, small roasts, and grind, all totaled 74 pounds.   

 

I was not too concerned about getting that one back, as it looked like he may have been old and tough.  I remember thinking, when I picked up the box,  that they might just put quantity of meat in the boxes based on the information on the tag (10 or more point buck = 75 pounds, 8 point = 60 pounds, smaller bucks/does = 40 pounds, fawns = 25 pounds, or something like that.) 

 

The meat was all good, and those pepper sticks were awesome.   I do think they told me that I would get back the poundage of smoked/processed stuff that they added to the "general supply", but the rest would be my own.  I would definitely consider that shop again for a late-season kill.  They certainly did not "short-change" me that last time I used them.   

[turkeyfeathers]

I guess all butchers are different and some get overwhelmed during the peak of deer season.

 

I used to take them to the local deer processor, now I do not because:

 

1.  I don't think I get all my own meat.  I know how and when my animal is shot and don't wan't someone else's.

 

2. A buddy showed me how to handle my own and in a fashion that does not require an all night scramble to get it all processed at once.

 

Real reason:  Our local butcher has a clipboard signup list inside his front door with a list of non-hunting people wanting venison, a whole lot of people on this list and the meat has to come from somewhere/someones deer.  May be legit but raises the question.

 

The last deer I took to them weighed 175lbs field dressed (still have the scale with the weight marker in place, keep it as a "trophy" of sorts).  It was a huge doe off my farm.  I got back a box of 35lbs of meat and that didn't seem right.  (The doe was hit in the head not the body and not on purpose)

 

But based on what you guys say, maybe 35lbs was about right, I just felt like I was cheated, so now I do my own.

Think you definitely got shorted on that doe !!

[shawnhu]

I'm generally seeing guys getting back 1/3 the gross live weight and 1/2 gutted weight from the processor, based on this thread.

I do my own processing, and not much goes to waste.

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[Paula]

I've seen conflicting numbers of how much deer live weighed by weight of venison you take home. I've heard 1/2 and I've heard 1/3. My guess would be the 1/3 . Anybody have a good answer for this? Unfortunately I do not have the place or materials to process my own deer.

Ex :47 pounds of venison you take home would equal what to live weight ?

I thought you were asking in general what you should get not what everyone gets. lol sorry

[The_Real_TCIII]

Black Angus on the Blvd? I went there a few times and noticed the exact same thing it didn't matter the size of the deer I brought in I always seemed to get the same amount of meat back

the summer sausage they made was amazing though Edited October 25, 2015 by The_Real_TCIII