Reloader Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 I like hunting but rarely have lots of money hanging arround. The last place I lived (northern VA) it cost $60 to get a deer processed and you only got about 50# of meat...that is over a buck a pound. I don't know what the fees are arround here, but if they are anything like VA I may need to start doing my own butchering! What are the butchering fees in your area? Anyone that does it themselves...how hard is it and what would I need to start? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VtBowhunter Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... I do all my own and all you need is a good filet knife and a few hours of time. I also bought a vacuum sealer to seal my meat in before freezing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... A couple of good sharp knives, a grinder for making burger, a vacuum sealer, or some freezer paper, and a couple of hours, that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VtBowhunter Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... I feel that processing your deer is a big part of the whole hunting experience, and if you don't at least try it then you're cheating yourself out of that experience........you'll appreciate the meat that much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchies Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... I butcher 1 a year myself because I like to keep the quarters for smoking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTbowman Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... [ QUOTE ] I feel that processing your deer is a big part of the whole hunting experience, and if you don't at least try it then you're cheating yourself out of that experience........you'll appreciate the meat that much more. [/ QUOTE ] Well said. I agree. However I had brought mine to the butchers for convience of having no time to do it myself, or to hot to hang it, etc. I know my coworker and huntin buddie, BobD, has just outfitted himself will everything to process deer this fall and I have access to it as well. Now I just need the "deer" part.. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfletch7441 Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... I do all my own, and it's not hard at all. It just takes a little time. Like they said, a good sharp knife or two is a must, a vacuum sealer makes the packaging a lot easier, and a good (1 hp or so) grinder is worth its weight in gold. If you try it once, you'll never ba able to justify paying someone to do it again. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spineshot Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... in ohio most of the fees are around 75-80 bucks for a buck, some a little less for a doe. Get a good knife kit, some rope, make yourself a good buck pole, and a book that explains everything. Takes a while at first, then you can do the whole thing by yourself in a couple hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierbuck Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... I also do it myself, and agree with the others. I am super picky about the handling of the meat, and can assure that my family eats nothing but the best prepared emat this way. Well trimmed and no hair! I don't have a vac. sealer, but use a layer of saran and a layer of butcher paper (the cheap, uncoated kind.) I just used a roast last night that was buried since November of '04, and it had no freezer burn or quality loss with this wrapping method. It's a labor of love for my family, and really makes you fully appreciate taking the animal. HB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beagleboy Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... I usually do it myself unless its extremely hot out. A good set of knives, vacuum sealer, meat grinder and your in business. A butcher in NY gets in upward of $90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest generallee Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... I have done it myself in the past. BUt i dont have much time to do it. The place i take mine now charges: small-45 medium-55 large-65 then they charge an extra 20 for those people who dont field dress the deer themselves, but I would never pay 20 bucks for 5 minutes of work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedicast Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... [ QUOTE ] I feel that processing your deer is a big part of the whole hunting experience, and if you don't at least try it then you're cheating yourself out of that experience........you'll appreciate the meat that much more. [/ QUOTE ] I agree with this 100%. It isn'tthat big of a deal, and the time invested is well worth knowing exactly what is in each packege you take from the freezer. I enjoy the fact that when I cook venison, I know that I did everything from harvesting the animal, right up to serving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshM Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... Need something to hang the deer from...And a good clean table and some good knives....They your all set! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... i dont know who beagleboy gets to process his deer but hes gettin ripped off. the butcher shop i goto charges $60 , but my 9 point was $80 due to the fact i had jerky made and had it caped out. That includes the meat on a plastic tray and wrapped like from a store, cutlets, steaks, chop meat, stew meat, roast, etc for the base of $60 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reloader Posted November 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... Any sugestions on books or web sites with step by steps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest asilvia68 Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... There is a guy near me that does butchering for around $60 a deer. Also depends on what you want. He makes some killer garlic&cheese sausage!! Last yeat my hunting buddy and I decided to do it ourselves. Needless to say we wont be spending the money on butchering anymore. It is a little work but a great fun time. Also there is some German sausage mix I think you can get from Cabela's that makes the best breakfest patties!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... There is place here locally that charges $45 for a standard cut. That is about the cheapest around. I like to do my own though. Nice to know you are getting your deer back and that it is processed cleanly. Some good books out there. Got one from Monte Burch from wal mart that has been helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... It's definately expensive to have done commercially. Now in Northern VA, its running $75 per critter. A link that has been posted a few times and is a good free on-line butchering video can be seen by clicking here . Its about 15 minutes so if you have dial up its gonna be a while. Good commercial info is available from these: Ask the Meatman Cabelas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Finn Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... Back home, it's $55, $60 if they skin it. I do it myself, but had them do 1 doe last season as I didn't have the time before I headed back home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaCoyote Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... Check out this website. Look at Bill Hesselgrave's Care and Processing of Venison. www.hessvideo.com He guts, skins, bones, cuts and wraps a deer all with only a knife. This guy is great. I did my daughters and my deer this year and the quality is sooooo good you just can't believe it. Perfect steaks and roasts. No fat, no bloodshot, no hair. You've just got to try it. It only takes about 20-40 minutes to bone one out. I brought in the trim for sausage, jerkey, and grind and paid about 1/4 of what I usually do plus I don't have to worry about order mix ups. Last two years (we are only allowed 1 per year) my order was messed up completely but I still had to pay full price. Never again!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_lou Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... Anything we have to mount gets brought into a processor. Anything smaller we cut up our selves. Nothing like fresh Backstraps on the grill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... [ QUOTE ] Any sugestions on books or web sites with step by steps? [/ QUOTE ] I just saw this yesterday, www.cwdsaferway.com Ranger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydiehard Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... We butcher all of our deer ourselves. Takes some time but sure saves the money. Its about $60 a deer here, no matter the size. We take more time with the deer than a market can. Thus our meat tastes better. Fat left on the meat and then ground up into burger makes for bad tasting burger...in our opinion. We use filet knives, a bone saw, and a grinder for the burger. We wash, skin and quarter the deer and then bone it out. We use zip lock freezer bags and since we don't have a vacuum sealer we squeeze the air out before completely closing. We also can alot of our meat. If you've never tried canned venison, you don't know what you are missing! This process has been working for us for many many years. Also, we are assured that we have our own meat. The same can not be said if you take your deer to a market. In a state with CWD concerns, this is an important issue for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurkeyHunter Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... You guys have it made here in lou,ky its $70.00 to $85.00 depending on were you take it. Size doesnt matter. It could be a 50 pound doe or a 200 pound buck and still the same price. Its getting rediclous the prices keep going up here. Thing is when you ride by ther processor place thier packed! I use to cut my own deer a few years back but the last 2 paid. Enough of that I said this year and already did one deer myself. Its plan and simple to me if I had the money to burn on it I would just to save time and its hard to do in the dark depnding on the weather,time of day, resources ect. Myself like to take the $70.00 and buy more camo cloths nice down payment on a new gun ect.. Oh and sorry for the bad spelling here eating deer chilly and going back and forth eating and typing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Butchering fees vs doing it yourself... I have just started to butcher my own, but I take atleast one deer a year to a butcher I use in Sullivan county ,NY where I also hunt and have a home. He charges only$55, not bad, and that includes all the beer you can drink after you drop off the deer. The local butcher is deer central for the area. It is much more gratifying to cut it up yourself, but one needs the space and cooperative neighbors. Hard to get living 40 miles north of NYC One thing I get at the butcher, is a refrigerated box that the deer ages for a few days skinlesss, before they cut it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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