If you don' t butcher and process your own deer: Consider it! I think it is a great part of the experience and you get the cuts you want, packaged the way you want. (and quite frankly, your own meat, not someone elses.)

So what do you need? Here' s what I use.

Good knives, including a Wyoming knife which makes skinning easier. Sharpening stone also.

A vacuum sealer: Eliminates freezer burn, works great.

Permanent marker for marking bags.

Meat grinder: I use the Kitchenaid attachment. I don' t add other meat or fat to my ground venison.

Meat Slicer: For jerky meat. Honestly I only use this sparingly cause it is a monster to clean so I often get lazy and cut it with a knife.

Scale: For weighing out burger and jerky meat. I hope to get a digital scale this year.

Dehydrator: For making jerky.

I package the inner and outer loins for frying. I use the shoulders and the less sinewy hindquarter cuts for jerky, the sinewy, roundish cuts from the hindquarter for roasts, and the rest for ground meat.

I' ve never made my own sausage but I' m considering it this year.

I' m interested to hear other people' s thoughts on this.