fastfire

Guys the reason for increase in prices are -
1. health department
They want a complete scrub down of every thing and I mean
complete before butchering any other animal.
Not just a wash up A complete scrub.
2. Insurance
Do you have any idea how many butchers get sued?
Hunters think they did not get all their meat.
A field dressed deer weighing in at we will say 150 lb
will not get you 150 lb of meat.
Go down to a person that proceses deer and ask about what they go through.
3. Rising cost.
Paper cost more.
help cost more
electric prices out of control
saws & grinders do wear out
4. Some people are just greedy

Don' t get me wrong I' m not sticking up for them.
This is just a little of what a good friend of mine goes thru
every year.
Ps: I butcher my own then I get the cuts I want!

jsasker

This year i decided to start doing my own and it can be very overwhelming to say the least.The first one is the most difficult--then it gets easier each time you do it.If you don' t have a meat grinder you might want to try cutting everything you can into roast or steak cuts.I would say if you have any friends that could show you the basics first hand would be the best route.jmho.

wimp

I do my own. Started probably 6-7 years ago when I was living at home it was much easier with my mom and Dad helping. Now I chop em up by myself nad it can get a bit long. My girlfriend helps, but complains that I should pay to get it cut up. As rough as it is to deal with, I can' t bring myself to paying someone for it.

farmcntry

I normally butcher around 20-30 deer a year. It' s hell hunting with old lazy men who just want to shoot them!
Really the guys I hunt with are in their 60' s and I' m in my 20' s. I don' t mind it as long as it doen' t stop me from hunting my deer.
I usually quarter them. Freeze the backstraps whole, butterfly the tenderloin, cut the hams into steaks, freeze the shoulders whole, and cut the neck out for roast. I will also freeze the ' extras' along with the neck for roast. This process usually takes about an hour and a half per deer.

badshotbob

Can one butcher a deer with only a really good sharp knife, or do you need all the saws and whatnot?

MassHntr

After a 25 year absence, I got back into hunting about 4 years ago. (You know the drill -- career, business travel, soccer, scouts, band). My cousin had me work beside him on the first buck I got and it really helped. I' ve now butchered several more on my own. I recommend working with someone for the first one so you can learn the landmarks. I have a video, too, which helps. I bought a reasonably-priced butcher set (under $30) which sharpened up nicely - skinning, boning, and butcher knife, clever, meat scissors, steel. And a good bone saw. I do shoulders, neck, torso, hind quarters. I bone everything and divide into roasts (shoulder, top, round, loin, t-loin, etc), prime stew, and grind. If you' re patient and do a careful job cleaning and trimming, you' ll get high-quality meat. I think most hunters ought to butcher their own. Give them a greater appreciation for what they accompished and a good understanding of anatomy. Good luck.

jimmya

i skin and quarter my deer filet the loin and backstrapps and cut as much of the meat off the neck as i can and put it in a cooler layering it with ice to cool down quicker. i gennerly leave it in the cooler for 2 to 3 days draining the water off and adding ice as needed. if i harvest a deer near home i just field dress and hose off and put it in the walk in cooler for 3 to 4 days.
i cut the loin in half and freeze it. i bone the hind quarters and grind it into burger or cut steak. the frount quarters i bone and grind into sausage salamie or whatever. (the shoulders are a poor cut of meat has a lot of ligaments in it.)
a bone saw and a good knife is all you need if you have access to a grinder it would be nice. bone saws are cheap and there are ways around the grinder. like a food processor. do not be afraid it is easy

jerseyhunter

Yes badshot you can but a saw helps even if its only a hack saw to cut the ribs, neck, or hooves off to make the deer more manage able. But this all can be done with a knife at the joints. All except for the ribs. MMM ribs

Clint.

You guys are doing a lot of work. The people in Pennsylvania who pay all that money to get their deer cut up....that is robbery! I killed 2 deer so far this season--one with a bow and one with a rifle. I took them to the same local processor to get them butchered. The first one cost me $45. He skinned the deer, cut it up completely into steaks, tenderloin and stew meat. He then wrapped it in individual, meal sized packages.

The second deer was slightly larger. This time, I paid $108. I had it cut into steak and tenderloin. Since I already had plenty of packaged meat for stew from my first deer, I had the stew/roast portions of the second deer processed into summer sausage (beef and pork added), slim jims (beef and pork added),(delicious by the way), and a local concoction called Watson burger (venison ground up with pork added along with onions and peppers). The increased cost was for the addition of beef and pork as well as the necessary smoking to make these 3 products. As a side note, a friend of mine recently killed a 186 lb buck....he got it made into steaks and 46 lbs of slim jims.....he loves ' em.

I plan to to make jerked venison out of many of my steaks myself.
It all makes for additional variety in eating venison. Come on up to upstate New York and get yours!

Clint

Mossy_Oak_Bounty_Hunter

my first deer this year was $160 for half Summer Sausage and half slim jims.
my second deer was larger but about 140, dont remember what all it was cut in.
ive been thinking about cutting up my own all year to get the parents off my back about how i cant keep huntin cuz it cost too much to get it processed. Im planning on killing a small one next to try to cut up myself. thanks for that link with the instructions whoever posted it, it will probably help