sandilands

I cut 40-50 deer a yr. For myself and for others. I usea sharp knife..... no saw. Pastic wrap the meat 2x and then into brown butcher paper. Your meat will keep extremely well when froze like this. I can skin, cut and wrap a deer in 30-45min. Its easy and I sure there are video's kiccking around the internet om how to. If you can't find any I will take pics of my next one and post them up.

wilk

i agree i debone all of my deer, i find that the meat tastes so much better when there isnt bone chunks being blown through the meat when you cut it, the only time i need a saw is to cut the legs off down low, i dont use one for anything else, i just cut around the ball joint in the rear quarter, and it comes right apart..
i quarter it and debone it, makes excellent meat,
good luck..

wihunter402

I am lucky to have everything possible. We have the grinder, sausage stuffer, scale, cutting bench, wrapping paper, fridge and freezer, knives and sharpener and many other items. All you would HAVE to have would be the knives and grinder if you want hamburger. Like mentioned above be careful on the grinder purchase. Some are very cheap. Also a hand grinder it not the way I would go. Fine for a few pounds but not something you will want to do 10 or more pounds with. Here is a pic of the "processing room" we have on our land.

wihunter402

Here is the other part with the fridge and freezer.

sandilands

Awesom shop wihunter402. Wish min was as nice. I'm using my garage with a folding table. ANother thing is that if you want burger made you can debone meat and find a butcher shop to do it for you. They shouldn't charge much.

WesternMdHardwoods

Pretty much everyone has said it already! I bought a cheap $70 or so electric grinder from wal-mart last year and so far am tickled with it! I have done them by hand crank PIA in my opinion! We used to my grandfathers old handmade one with a 1/2 HP motor with belt to old grinder...too heavy and another PIA!
Iwould suggest go and get a filet knife or two and a cheap sharpener! It makes deboning so much easier!!

Grinder~~ A must!!(Preffered Electric)....easy on you and easy to move around
Bone Saw~~ i use one for seperating the hind quarters...thats it so you can prob get by wthout
Sharp Heavy Knife~~ Nice for cutting meat into chunks
Filet Knife~~ Nice for getting meat off the bone
Ziploc Freezer Bags~~ Simple and meat lasts forever
Vacuum Sealer~~ I own one and its another PIA---I only usemine to wrap Bologna
Scale~~ Not needed... Just pack the stuff as you see fit to eat(small, med, lrge portions)
Large Cutting Board~~ Needed unless you have an old table you dont care about

That's all I can think that I use for butchering my own deer!

bloodcrick

davidmil

A good game hoist that you can lock at the height you want would be a necessity. Yes to Food Saver. All you need is a good knife and bone it all out. Scales, not necessary. Nice big cutting board, not wood so it's easier to clean. I bone it out and put it on big trays that I've first lined witha lot offolded up paper towels. I then cover the paper towels with wax paper with a lot of slits cut in it. The blood will be absorbed by the towels and the meat won't sit in it. I cover with saran wrap and cool them 2 or 3 days in the fridge and then cut it up and vacumm pack it. I don't grind anything or make any sausage or anything like that. There's a place here you can take all the scrap meat and they'll mix it and make whatever sausage you want at a good price.

bigtim6656

nice it is one of my life goals to have a set up like that

tky1187

I'd recomend a electric grinder and some sharp knives. After you do a few you will have no problem cutting out steaks and grindin your own hamburg