I use to use what ever knives I had around the house to butcher with. I now use a processing kit i bought at Academy. Same thing as my kitchen knives, just have a seperate set for butchering. The kit also has a bone saw, and cleaver.

As for aging, I like to let mine hang for 5 days to a week. I am lucky enough to have a seperate fridge i use to hang them in if the weather is warm. I quarter them, cut the larger cuts (like backstrap,chops, and loin), remove all the meat im going to grind, then put it all in the fridge to age.. I like to set it on racks I made for this purpose. It works great. After about a week, I get to it.

Shedd33/Burniegoeasily,

Just curious as to how your spare fridge is set up to hang or lay the deer quarters in? Recently purchased an older fridge for $20 to do the same thing and am looking for ideas on how to modify the inside. Any ideas/designs you would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated.

MD Piney

I don't hunt deer but I've butchered hundreds of goats and pigs that me and my friends have caught. I even helped to butcher a buffalo once. Usually I will cut the meat from the bones and separate the individual muscles.

I wrap the muscles in suran wrap so that it is air tight and then wrap it in freezer paper. I write on the paper so I know what pieces they are and when I froze them. They last for a long time in the freezer paper.

My knife is a Gerber Freeman. There's a picture of it at this page.
Freeman Hunter

My buddy and I have butchered the last few deer we've shot. It started out to save the money and get the meat back quicker. Now it's fun and it's nice knowing it's your meat and how it was taken care of. For knives so far we've been using Rapala fillet knives and they seem to be working great.

I butcher my own. I skin, bone, and all that with a small pocket knife, Gerber Gator with a straight blade. I have a little larger knife I use to cut the boned meat and clean off the silver etc.

I butcher my own deer. Years ago when I hunted at a friends we had a home made butcher shop. We bought a big freezer paper dispenser from a hunter clearence mag($89. I think). We made a grinder from an hand crank chummer bought from a yard sale ($5). We had the handle removed and replace with a big wheel($30). We then made a stand and mounted an old washing machince motor to turn it (scrap). With a belt from NAPA we were in business($10). In my own words as the former President of SORE, Society of Redneck Engineers, "It might be an EYE-SORE but it worked". You can put a hand full at a time down the mouth of this beast. It burgers the meat quick.

Now, I cut the back straps and give them away. I bag what's left and freeze into 1-2lbs bags to be turned into jerky as I can. I have made sausage in the casings and do when I have a chance. This is made posssible from my Kitchen Aid mixer/grinder and just ask the local butcher for casings.

The key I have found over the years is to bag in chuncks at the time of butchering. This makes it easier because you can process it into the final product without loosing anything on your own time. Don't do the whole thing at once. Just make a bag of jerky or Slim Jims at a time. When your finished with that batch take another bag out of the freezer and process it.

I butcher my own. Can't waste 100 - 300 on processing fees.[:@] I have my own manual grinder which I use to make all my hamberger and sausage. I also use the weather (temp) to dictate whether I let it hang or cut it up fast. I need it between 20 night time to 45 daytime temps. If its warmer than that, I butcher them as soon as I can.

I use a buck zipper and buck woodsman to do all my chores. Oh, and I also use a fillet knife for cutting up my steaks. And yep, I use the front shoulders because I'm a deer jerky junky!

I butcher all of my own deer. I use a gerber gator for field dressing and deboning. But i usually use my fillet knive for cutting steaks.

Well to start off with my dad amd uncle own a bucther shop use to work there summers when I was younger . The one thing I have to throw at you guys is the knives you guys use for skinning and cutting your meat with are to hard of steel any thing stainlees is very hard to sharpen I am not trying to tell you guys what to use but if we had to use them kind of knives to cut meat and make a profit at it it would be hard to do .

So what to use go to your local butcher shop ask for a knife catolog. The usaly sell them five to a box but there alot cheaper than any knife you would buy at Wallmart. I use what they call a sheep skinner for skinning it has a softer steel easer to sharpen you can bring the edge back faster with just a few swipes on your steel.


My .02 cents

A filet knife is my best friend when cutting up meat. I use a Gerber. I also use a Buck knife for skinning but mostly use the filet knife. I usually let my deer hang 1 to 3 days and then butcher it up. It all depends on the temp!!! I have butchered every deer I shot with the exception of the first which was a lesson that I have been trying to perfect over the last 16 years. I also butcher many others during the season for people, a little extra side cash!!!