Well I've hunted for over 30 years and for me the meat is the leanest you get. I add 10% beef or pork fat to my ground burger or sausage.
200 lbs burger runs what $150 - $175.
I've spent about $60-75 this year and have close to 200 lbs.
Push it maybe $100. Then the hunt,,,priceless!
FirstBow

Is Beef, chicken, pork, lamb or fish needed ?
I love to hunt. My family loves the wild game we suppliment out diet with. My lady makes a super stew with venision and dark meat wild turkey.
I don't eat tofu!

The reason I asked is because of the antler size not suppoesed to be important. Some people say they need it to feed there family when they do have a store to go to if they don't get anything. I am going on my third year without a deer because I have passed up on the smaller bucks.

id go with venison way before beef

100%REDNECK

its not needed in my family...but i love it and hate going a year without it..thats why normally the first legal deer i see goes down for the freezer...i never had a "gamey" taste..i think its all in your head...if i gave you a steak and told you it was beef i bet you wouldnt notice it..i gave my sister squirrell and told her it was chicken she had no idea...then i told her and now she loves it...i love venison and never tasted a gamey tase of any kind...i like it more than beef...beef needs spices and sauces to make it good...i eat my deer steaks plain usually...maybe i add some seasonings and once in a while some sauce but plain beef gags me....plain deer steaks are fine by me...and i think its cheaper...a basic cut of a deer is about 50 bucks here...you get about 40-60lbs lbs of steaks and chops from a normal deer i believe...and we also get suasage bolgna and kabosi and some ground for spagetti or chilli...i doubt you can get beef steak for about 1$ a pound....

At $7 a pound for a good beef steak, I don't think it is cheaper. Of course its not cheaper! Plus, deer hunting is funner and you can't have fun getting food off a shelf.

If it's brown, its down

Well, it is allin who you know. I raise my own beef and a neighbor that mixes his own feed gives me all I want, so it is cheap for the beef and I love a good steak. My hunting gear is all payed for and I do butcher what I kill myself, deer, turkey,squirrel, and the ocasional rabbit. We love the taste, nothing gamey about it. The beef goes to the slaughter house. So, one way Ipay for a licence $35 for 4 deer and other game and the cost of shells. The other way I pay for the slaughter. About the same, just not the same thrill driving to the slaughter house.<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

The best of luck in all your hunting endeavors!!!

God Bless,
Dave

Buckmine, good for you for passing deer and wanting to set a standard for yourself. In your first post you never mentioned anything about antlers. I am a headgear hunter (trophy hunter brings heat<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>), I love the meat as well. I am lucky to live in an area that has both good bucks and other game to hunt on a yearly basis...as well a doe tag(thats for the freezer). I have never gone a season with out either deer, elk or moose in the freezer..in fact most times elk or moose and deer. I have a small family and we eat wild meat 2-3 times a week, fish at least once and like many others said it much better for you and is very good. I look at hunting as the experience, nature, friendship, rest, peacefulness, excitment..etc The horns and meat are just desert and an after dinner drink. Some may(maybe many) actually be able to say wild is cheaper than store bought meat, I can't. I hunt as much as I can and drive home with only images and memories many times. I know it isn't cheaper but I love it so much I could careless. BTW I do all my own cutting, wrapping, sausage making, etc. Why? It is another part of the experience...plus I still do like to save a penny now and again.
<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Is deer meat really needed? <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

Well, I don`t what else would keep the hide from falling off!
Beside`s, it taste`s pretty good.

NRA,UBP,BASS Member
New Stanton,PA

Buckmine,
Try soaking your steaks in italian dressing for 24hours (48hrs if you shot a buck in rut) and I guarantee you won't even have a hint of gamey taste. I trim any fat or connective tissues out,tenderize with a meat mallot a bit, lay them out flat in a zip lock bag, cover with itallian dressing, flip the bag over once or twice during the 24 hrs. and broil them for 2min. on one side and a min.on the other side. No longer or they will get tough and tasteless. This all works best if you have your steaks cut fairly thin, say about 1/4 in.or a little more. Makes for a great meal with some ,mashed potatoes and gravy,veges, and a glass of wine.