I don't care how big of a deer you shoot or how exciting the hunt was, the best part of taking any deer is cutting those inner loins out and throwing them on the grill the night of the kill. Woo hoo!

When I started deer hunting at 16, my folks paid to get my first deer processed. We were shocked how little meat we picked up from the butcher shop for the price they charged us. That's been 15 years ago, and we have done almost all of our own deer since that first buck. We spent about $60 on a gambrel, knives and a VHS showing how to get your deer from the field to the freezer. The first deer we processed paid for that! You can cut it how YOU want it and you know you'll be getting YOUR meat back. You can get a cheap grinder for about $20 and it will last years if you keep it clean. A dehydrator and a jerky shooter are cheap, and almost everyone likes deer jerky if you don't tell them what it is

The ONLY time I will pay for somebody else to mess with my deer is if it is just too warm for me to do it. I killed a nice buck a few years back on the second day of the season (Oct 2nd) and it was close to 80 degrees here in southern Illinois shortly after the sun came up. I packed ice in the thing's belly and rushed him to the processor.

If you have a place to do it, give it a try. It's a very fulfilling sensation to know that you did it all- killed it, cleaned it, and then cooked it. Thanks aarontriton. Now I'm hungry

rw