RE: butchering...
 

I butcher my own. It’s because I’m too cheap, the going rate around here is about $75. I would have to work twice as long/hard to make the money than it takes for me to butcher a deer.

RE: butchering...
 

We do ours together. My bro-in-law and I can skin and cut up a deer in about 45 minutes. We also have the equipment to make brats, grind, jerky, and sausage.

RE: butchering...
 

I always do my own. First off I'm a cheap skate, second, I enjoy the whole ritual of the hunt from begging to end. The first couple of years I hacked the crap out of my deer but I'm actually getting pretty good at it now days.

RE: butchering...
 

Until I win the lottery, I'll butcher my own. I clean the fish I catch, the pheasants, rabbits, and squirrels I take too. No different with deer, only bigger. The going rate here is well over a $100 for a deer to be processed. Can't see me paying someone to butcher my deer, nor clean my walleyes. Now, if I'd win the lottery...that might be a different story.

RE: butchering...
 

I have always done my own butchering. Me and my father have a tradition of skinning out the deer and always grilling a fresh backstrap.mmmmm deosnt get much better than that!

RE: butchering...
 

I do my own unless I have the deer turned into sausage links. Thats when I pay the man. I bought a Foodsaver and package everything into usable portions and into the freezer. The meat stays freezer burn free for a very long time if not for ever but it gets cooked so I'll never know that answer.

Most of the time I will take the deer to a locker and hang it there a day or two so it was good and chilled. By doing this the deer comes apart much more easily and you can recover from you hunting trip for a day or so first. I ususally process my meat in the garage and have something fresh off the carcass on the grill. I shot a hog a couple weeks ago and when I was buthchering I had a rack of ribs on the girll. When I was done and all cleaned up the ribs were done!

RE: butchering...
 

I have been cutting up my own deer for 15 seasons now.I really get more satisfaction eating the meat that i cut up with my own 2 hands.I will do all the work myself from skinning the deer to caping it for a head mount .I will usually have friends help out .If I was hunting with the gang we will all do our own on sunday morn after pictures.This is a very enjoyable part of hunting.

RE: butchering...
 

I always do my own deer, I just finished grinding up the last of the burger meat from my sons deer with a grinder I made exactly as fieldmouse described. I have my own smokehouse for making hams and jerky, mix up my own summer sausage and smoke it. Make Italian, brats, and potato, and breakfast sausage and just eat plain old steaks and backstraps. I live off venny!!!:D

RE: butchering...
 

I've been cutting up my deer for quite some time now. For me it's just an extension of the hunt. I did 2 does last week. I cut and wrapped one for the freezer and canned the other. The canned deer makes great stew.

RE: butchering...
 

We have butchering our own for some time now. On a good year between me and my two bro's we'll cut and wrap 6-8 a year. The Foodsaver thing a the way to go no freezer burn and easy to use.