RE: self butchering
 

Last year I butchered my deer myself, it was the first time I had attempted it. Once the skin is off, it's really easy. Nothing to worry about. I took off the loin(backstraps), and the roasts I wanted and took the rest to a guy who does ground meat cheap(he charges extra for adding beef fat or making sausage, which I didn't want). After I took the roasts and loins, I wound up with 35 pounds of ground critter. I think if you do it once, you'll never go back.