Deer Hunting Question

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HereMyGo
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Deer Hunting Question

Post by HereMyGo »

Dist,

First off, I am not a hunter, I have never hunted at all, I am not going to be hunting this year, and probably not even next year either.

I am however interested in bow hunting for deer. One thing I've always been curious about is what you do once the deer is actually obtained. Obviously once you get it out of the bush and into the back of your truck/trailer do most of you butcher them yourselves? Take it to someone to do it for you? What sort of fee is it to have someone do it for you?

I'm also curious as to what the yield is from a deer in terms of edible content? I guess that's a loaded question as there are many things you can do with deer meat (i.e. steaks/pepperettes/jerky) but am ultimately curious.

Appreciate any responses I get to this, as maybe one day I'll decide to get a truck and then start hunting.

Regards,
Sean.
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bradford2
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Post by bradford2 »

You don't really need a truck to go hunting. I've seen several deer stuffed into the trunk of a car.....

I would say about half of hunters butcher their own deer and the other half take it to a butcher.

I do mine myself. The only tools you really 'need' are a couple good knives, a big cutting board, some plastic bins or bowls, wrapping paper, and a grinder. The grinder will be the most expensive part.

I live in a townhouse in orleans..... so when I get my deer home I hang it in the garage. Depending on time and temps.... I might wait a few days, or I'll start right away. Basically, skin it, quarter it, then debone all the pieces. I cut the steaks and wrap / freeze them, and bag up all the trim pieces to be ground into hamburger later.

It takes me about 3 hours to do a deer by myself.... and I get about 1/3 of the hanging weight in boneless meat. So the buck I shot last year was 150lbs hanging.... and i got about 50 lbs of meat.

Taking it in to a butcher is the easiest way to do it, but prices vary. I've only ever had one done and it was $40 all cut and wrapped, but that is CHEAP. Most places are .50 cents per pound hanging weight I think.....
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HereMyGo
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Post by HereMyGo »

Bradford2,

Thanks for this!

I don't think my mazda3 would appreciate me jamming a deer into the back of it. I'm surprised to hear you only live in a townhouse and hang it in your garage...i bet you get quite a look from the neighboors!

So that's all you do with your deer meat, steaks and burgers?

I don't think I'd ever do it myself, because I would fear I'd be wasting meat, and wouldn't know what's good meat and what isn't.

50lb's of meat seems like it's a real good haul, bet that stocked the freezer for a while?

Thanks for the insight!
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Jimmy_1
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Post by Jimmy_1 »

Heremygo,

I have butchered my own in the past and have taken it to the butcher.
To have a deer cut and wrapped is approx $35-$40 depending on where you go. There is usually an additional fee for taking the hide off if you don't do it yourself.

But that $35-$40 is just for cutting and wrapping. This is roasts, steaks, chops and hamburg.

If you want sausages, pepperettes, pepperoni, jerky, summer sausage etc you pay more and it gets expensive. I had 20 lbs turned into pepperettes and pepperoni and it cost me about $70 for the 20lbs!

You don't need a truck per se. But it is generally a good idea to NOT have the carcass in a way that the public can see it.....

J
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Joe28
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Post by Joe28 »

Last year after an unsuccessful day bowhunting I pulled into the Arnprior Tim Horton's drive thru. Fairly busy actually with about 7-8 cars before me including a pick-up directly in front of me with a wooden flat bed that had the nicest buck strapped to it! So I waited my turn to order all the time with this huge buck in full view of myself and all the diners at Wendy's and Timmy's! So I was stuck in a line-up having to watch exactly what I had been looking for all day!
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Post by Joe28 »

I'm going to take my next deer to a butcher. There are several butchers in my area that advertise for this and the cost is about $50. It seems like the best thing to do as they'll no doubt do a better job then I could in the field. I don't hunt far from Ottawa so this works for me.
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