We do all of our own as well. My grandpa has a comercial grinder so we make our sausage at his house, but we always cut them up at camp. Doesn't take much time and its also a great opportunity for a BS session, reflect on the hunt, all that good stuff. And, if you do your own, you can have backstraps when they are still steamin'!

I only killed one deer. The butcher kept Half the meat. I'm a city guy and I guess he took advantage of me. Unless he does that to everyone. I was so disheartened that Igot a Deer Processing video and will do it myself next time! I have watched the video 100 times and should know how to do it by now. I drilled a hook into my Co-Op terrace ceiling and will hang and butcher it there. I just pray that I don't get thrown out for doing it. It should be interesting! Wish me luck!

If I want steaks and roasts I do it myself, but if I want burger, I debone it and take it to the slaughter house close by. Last year I was paying $15 for 70 - 80lbs of burger.

Me and my family and friends all do our own. It is really fairly simple after you get the hang of it. I deer can be done in about two hrs not bad considering all that you do... good luck dont waist money butcher in your garage. alot cheaper.
JOE

We do our own with very few exceptions. We do the meat the way we want it done, and we're sure to get our own meat. My boys have gotten old enough to help me and dad, and I am a firm believer in teaching kids where meat comes from. My theory is if you can kill it you can clean it.

Its also amazing what processing a few deer does to a kids opinion of gun safety. Haven't had to say a word about muzzle control since they helped grandpa process a doe he whacked with his 25-06. They realize now that you bust someone with your deer rifle, it ain't like the movies, they probably aren't even gonna make it to the hospital...

I normally butcher my own. I enjoy doing it and it gives me more time to spend with my dad and brother.

I also wonder sometimes about the cleanliness of the butcher. Not to say that all of them are dirty, but some of them may be.

I did have an entire deer ground into burger last year minus the tenderloin. It only cost 45$ and they also gave me some trail sticks!!

Always do my own. We have a "meat processing room" at our cabin. It is more of a shed with all the fixin's for processing. We have a 10 foot by 3 foot butcher block counter that we cut everything up on. It is great and in the long run will save us a lot of money. We average 6 deer per year. Not alot but as a group it works great.

I do all my own as well.I make my own jerky also.I will see if I can hunt up my recipe and I can post it for you all to try out.It is pretty good.Some what spicy yet it isnt hot at all.Everyone who tries it loves it.I send some deboned meat in to have slim jims made as well as some summer sausage.But deboning and all saved so much money.

I don't do it to save money, I do it because I get a lot of satisfaction out of it. Over the years I have learned about the cuts, how to can meat, how to spice for sausage and how to make jerky. To me its just part of hunting and it pretty much always has been right down to keeping my knives razor sharp. I enjoy doing it and I enjoy teaching the young'ins how to do it. It's a great tradition I enjoy keeping alive. I even enjoy learning new ways of cooking it. Nothing like sitting down to a fine venison dinner, or agreat breakfastwith venison sausage,or chewing on a piece of jerky that I pretty much provided the whole thing. I highly recomend it. For me it enhances the whole hunting experience. One of my fondest memories when I was a youngin was the first venison dinner my mother,father, sister and I sat down to that I killed the deer and helped my dad butcher.

So my advice to you buckstruck is get started and don't even think about the money you will save. To me that's only a tiny fraction of the reward.

I was fortunate to have a grandfather and dad who butchered their own game. Watching and helping someone that knows what they are doing really makes a big difference. After the game is butchered I will then take some to be smoked or made into bologna and sticks. Doing it you not only saves money, but you also get YOUR meat. Some people don’t take care of their game. Some hunters drag deer through leaves and dirt or do not remove the cape to cool the meat down and the big one, recovering game two days after the kill in warm temperatures and still using the meat. If you help someone process game a few times it becomes second nature and actually a lot of fun.