MTMountainMan

Alright, there's a pretty funny thread on the deer hunting board about gutting a deer. It seems that some there are puking while gutting a deer or would rather drive the whole thing to the locker and have the butchergut it. So, how many people here wouldn't dream of taking game to a locker?

I know I am of this frame of mind. I have never taken an animal to a "processor", that sort of defeats the purpose of why I hunt, to get fresh, cheap, well-raised meat. I have done a deer and an antelope already this year and still have a speed goat hanging in the barn. I spent 6 hours gettingthat antelope packaged and in the freezer yesterday, and it was hard work. I dare say it's more traumatic or whatever than gutting onel, but pretty simple and rewarding to have done it yourself.

I just had to post this, because I was hurting after working all day yesterday and the thought of having an elk to do in a few weeks made me laugh when I read that people hated gutting a deer!

DM

I've never taken an animal to a processor either, but the older i get, the more i think about it! lol

We have so many deer here, and they are so easy to get that i tend to just take the back straps and one hind quarter off, and pass the rest of the deer off to some friends who REALLY need it.

Even though i didn't buy any, wejust had a doe hunt that tags were $3.00 ea., and i could get all i wanted here for my place. I just don't shoot an aninial "just to shoot it"... I'll wait a while, and harvest a decent buck, and perhaps a wounded doe that comes by, as there's always a limping doe or twoaround, after bow season starts. [:@]

DM

npaden

People thought I was crazy for hauling my elk that I shot in Wyoming home with me in coolers and butchering it myself. I couldn't fathom taking it to a processor there and spending several hundred dollars to have it butchered.

It did take me close to 10 hours doing it by myself, but I knew it was my elk and knew how well it was done. I spend a lot of time cleaning and trimming that I don't think a butcher would spend on it.

Growing up we lived on wild game and we butchered all our own animals. The most we ever processed in one year was 15 deer, 2 antelope and an elk. We got to make a bunch of jerky that year! (We didn't get to make any jerky untilboth freezers were completely full of steaks, roasts, hamburger, etc.).

I didn't eat my first beef steak until I was in high school on a school sponsored trip.

Windog1

I'll butcher on my if we have a couple of them to do at once and all the right equipment set up. i.e. regular deer gun season.

However, when its just one and only me I will take it in.

txhunter58

Deer I process 100% myself. Elk I do some myself, but have the rest processed. I like smoke rings as part of that processing, and I have never wanted to learn that.

Bocajnala

my dad and I took my 1st buck to one. back in 2001. we ran out of time to stay. so we had them cut it up and my grandpa pickled all the meet up and we got it next time we went to PA. Other then that, We have cut up prolly thirty deer since then. Love doing it on our own!
-Jake

skeeter 7MM

I process most of the meat we eat, be it domestic or wild. Not because it's cheaper but becauseI enjoy it and it's done right/to our liking.

Colorado Luckydog

I just paid $368.40 to have my elk processed. We paid right at $1500 dollars for 4 elk. My buddy and me decided we are going to spend the dough this off season and get everything we need to do it ourselves. So about the middle of Feb when goose season is over, you guys get ready for a bunch of "how to", "and what to get" questions.

BrutalAttack

We've always done our own elk, deer, and I even did a moose once. I'm fortunate that I have options in the fact that if it's cold out, I just hang it on my garage for a few days (whole if deer, quarters if elk). If it's too warm, my buddy has a walk in cooler in his barn I use.

It isn't too hard. I got a really nice commercial cutting board thing from my friend who cooks at a fancy restaurant. We just pick a Monday night and watch football. Me and my dad cut and my mom and my wife wrap and label. It goes fast. Everything that we don't cut into steaks or roasts goes into a milk crate that I do take into have hamburger/sauage made. It's not very cost effective to do it myself. Good meat grinders are spendy and I don't have ready access to beef suet, I can't use pork because my wife is allergic to it.

So, I usually end up taking at least 50-80 lbs of hamburger meat into my butcher.

sss5358

Depends upon what you mean about taking it to a butcher. Gutting it in the field is a part of my hunting. Not a problem. However, making sausage, pepperoni and jerky out of all that meat is beyond me. I typically take the back strap and maybe some small cuts from the lower ribs then take the rest to the butcher for the sausage etc. That's deer. Elk is another story. Just to good to be made into anything. I do that myself. As for puking? Naa. Wouldn't be hunting unless you at least gut the animal yourself would it. At least that's the way I was taught.

Steve