Switched to a new processor this season, massive improvement over my previous guy. Better wrapped, labeled and so forth and the quality seems very good. Problem is this, I was eating some of the ground (taco meat) and got a piece of bullet. A small mix of copper and lead maybe the size of a squashed BB. I'm sure this is not uncommon but it bothered me because I know it is not from my bullet as I used a Lehigh (monolithic brass alloy).

So what do I do? Should I confront the processor or just let it pass. Is is common to mix up the ground? This guy is pretty high volume so I guess it could have simply been left in the grinder.

Don't want to rock to boat too much but I would like to know I am eating the deer I harvested. Yes, I know processing my own meat would solve the problem but I am not (yet) in a position to do so.

I don't know how long you have been hunting, but when you eat game that has been shot, there is always a chance of finding a shard of a bullet or a piece of shot and I clean my small game and try to get all the shot out of the meat. I can't even tell you how many pieces of shot I have bitten into over 50 some odd years of hunting and small pieces of bullets are no different no matter how careful you are. What should you do? It aint no big deal, chalk it up to eating wild game and I wouldn't be so sure it wasn't a piece of your bullet, you do know brass is made from copper and zink? In addition, they do not clean the grinder between deer so there is a possibility it may have been from the last deer. I wouldn't go running to the butcher and accuse him of giving you someone elses meat without more evidence of what you have. You could asked them if they mix peoples meat when they grind.

Most of our processors around here mix ground meat. They have 20lbs from you, 10lbs from someone else, 53lbs from someone else etc, grind it all at once, then give you your 20lbs back. With smaller operations you have a better chance of finding someone who gives you back all your deer. Unfortunately *most*of the bigger shops are grinding everything in bulk. At least in my area.

-Jake

I agree with Jake on how they do it. Easy fix is to buy a grinder. I got a cheap one several years ago from gander Mt on Black Friday so it was 1/2 price and less than 100 bucks. I go slow since it isn't anywhere near a commercial unit and have processed 3 elk and over a dozen deer so I am way ahead of the game even if it craps out.

Yep it has been known for years that meat gets all mixed up.Glad I do my own.Makes you really think that you are getting meat from someone elses deer and don,t know how it was or wasn,t cleaned and cared for.

never understood why folks would not just take a couple hours and cut up their own deer. it ain't rocket science. but then ,I am cheap and just can't pay someone to do what I can do myself.

Could it be that your deer was shot before you shot it.
It has happened before, deer have been found with broadheads in them also.

You never know.

My grinder is a simple old hand crank flea market buy for a few dollars. Clamp it to the bench attach electric drill instead of handle and grind burger. I get all my neatly trimmed tallow removed meat as nicely ground burger whit all bullet fragments removed.

Al

I bet it was mixed, alot of butchers do that. Its just one of those things you have to deal with when you pay someone else to do it. The only real answer is to do it yourself if you want to know for 100% what you are getting. We do all of ours but I know some folks than "can" do it, but prefer to just pay someone else and not deal with it. My son and I took 3 deer from coolers to freezer (cut, ground, wrap) in my kitchen in about 3 hours.

Did not know if was fairly common practice to mix the ground. That being the case I can live with it for now. As I said, everything else about the product is excellent. Unfortunately my current situation simply does not allow for me to process my own as I would love to spend the $70 on other things. Hopefully one day soon.

Thanks again,