ORIGINAL: Semisane
That saves a lot of money, it is $80 a deer here to cut and wrap, boneless.
OUCH!
I process all of my own deer - always have. I totally de-bone it, except for the neck (which makes a great big pot of soup). I separate thethe muscle groups in the rear legs and get three nice roasts from each leg, plus trimmings from the shank. I de-bone the front sholders and cut the larger pieces into inch and a half chunks for stew. Then there's the two backstraps and two tenderloins which usually go on the pit. All of thethe trimmings from the rear legs and sholders, and the flanksget ground up and used in chili or sausage. I leave the bones and the rib cage to the vultures - but they don't get a lot of meat.
That is great way---my traditional way is all boneless, hind quarter steaks, loin into chops boneless, 2 roasts and rest ground. If I get a buck over 130lbs, it all goes into roast, stew meat and ground except the loin. I am going to do my own, when I retire. My brother is a bucher, so I shouldn't have a problem learing how to do it right. Right now, I pay because the wife like it better.
Chap