Average amount of meat after processing?
 

Last year I got back 25 lbs. of meat from the processor for a very small whitetail doe. This year I only got 28 lbs. though I am sure this deer was about 30 lbs. heavier to start with. I know the deer should have been weighed before taking it in to know for sure, but it just makes me wonder. I did shoot the deer in the stomach making a heck of a mess so I am sure I lost something to the lower belly area. But still....
I will surely weigh my deer the next time:D
Is there a sort of general ratio I can go by for the next time?

RE: Average amount of meat after processing?
 

Jen approx. 1/3 of live weight will transpire to boned out meat for the freezer. In your case you'd be looking at a live weight animal of about 85lbs which would only be a few punds heavier than last years animal...so if you think it weighted 30 pounds heavier your meat take should have been 10 pounds more at 38lbs. Again some deer are more and some are less really depends on the individual deer but this would get you close.

As to shooting in the guts, won't ruin much meat. The only thing you'll ruin on a stomach in and out shot is flank and some intercostal rib meat, which amounts to very little in total make up a deer carcass/meat you get. However if you got the deer in the backstraps that can account for a lot of meat loss.

My best advice is do it yourself, than you know your getting what you got. It ain't that hard and plenty of books, videos and people here that will help you out in getting started.

RE: Average amount of meat after processing?
 

PGC offers a "live weight tape" for sale on their website for $1. They used to give out cards with a graph that showed a comparison between live weight/field dressed weight/meat yield. According to this chart, a 90 lb deer yields about 55 lbs of meat.

RE: Average amount of meat after processing?
 

if you shot the deer in the stomach then you harldy would lose any meat, the only meat that would be affected would be rib meat and most butchers dont even cut that out....
but you dont get a lot of meat out of a deer,
i cut my own up and debone everything and believe me you dont get a lot...

RE: Average amount of meat after processing?
 

Why don't you try butchering one yourself - it's really not that hard and doesn't take that long. You will know that you are getting all the meat back from your deer and you can make the cuts that you want.

RE: Average amount of meat after processing?
 

Mike I assume that example is 90 pound deer dressed to yeild 55 lbs of meat? If you have a dressed weight figure about 62% will return in deboned meat 90 dressed =55lbsmeat. A 90 live weight animal will return about 30lbs meat, it can vary slightly but not by much.

RE: Average amount of meat after processing?
 

So... you're saying you only get 1/3 the animals live weight in meat. That sounds a little low to me, but I've only shot about 30 deer. I weigh most of them, but don't weigh the yielded meat.

RE: Average amount of meat after processing?
 

I agree with Skeeter. Of course, deer will vary somewhat, and different butchers do different things. But once you field dress, and lose the head, hide, and bones ...there's really not alot of sheer weight left. Unless of course you get one of those monster canada deer.... then you may have something ;)

RE: Average amount of meat after processing?
 

WV...LMAO our deer are bigger in body size so yes it will transfer to more meat but the ratio stay pretty much the same.

Coolbreeze there isn't a fool proof method other than weighing each animal in each stage and you'll still find differences. The 1/3 is a rough guess but by no means a true indicator, factors such as shot damage, condition of the animal(ie: fat content, development of muscles, etc) all play a role. But the average deer is made up of 2/3rds waste when you factor in guts, hide, fat & bones. Beef are about 1/4 usage only domestic pigs yield higher than a wild animal in usable meat vs live weight. When you put in perspective the amount of meat you get out of a deer is pretty effecient compared to domestic forms...just shear body mass is indicative to low haul. Take a 900 lbs moose your looking at 300 plus lbs of meat, vs a 900 steer where you'll end up with about 200 lbs. I am talking about boned out, trimmed meat here....that steak with the thick piece of fat isn't 16oz of solid meat...catch my drift.

RE: Average amount of meat after processing?
 

I only got one so far, a 7pt .
It was weighed by the butcher dressed (gutted only-hide on) at 130# and I got back about 55# of meat. That means about 42% of the dressed weight was meat.

If the meat yield is only 1/3 of the live weight (as suggested above by Skeeter), then my deer was about 165#(3x55#) live. If the live weight was 165# and the dressed weight was 130#, then my gutpile weighed 35# !!!???

I did not weigh the gutpile, of course, but that sounds about 20 or 25 pounds too heavy. If the butcher shorted me, then this would make even less sense.

Anybody got any other ideas??
No disrespect guys. I'm just learning here, but my numbers don't add up.