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Did I get bamboozled?

M

MAHunter

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2020
Messages
261
I got my very first buck this season in the first week of Nov. Is was a mature 8point that weighed 202lb dressed. It was a clean double lung with my bow. I brought it to a local butcher to be broken down into hamburg, steaks, stew meat, backstraps, etc.. In the end i had ended up with 67lbs of meat. After getting the deer back and talking to my veteran hunting buddies, they were all shocked at how little meat i got. Ive considered calling the butcher to see if maybe they forgot to give me a box (or 2). But wanted to bounce it off you guys first. What is the expected percentage of meat you get from a dressed buck?
 
Sounds kind of strange, but first off was it an archery or rifle shot, where was your exact shot placement? Even with those questions, yeah you are missing some pounds.
 
That’s a bit low. IIRC meat yield is around 40%? So you shoulda got around 80. That’s for an expert butcher/processor. I’m thinking they’re rushed with a buncha deer hanging waiting to be processed so they mighta left some meat behind. I had an old link from a butcher saved let me see if I can find it.
Edit: found it:

How Much Meat Will Your Deer Yield? : Butcher & Packer, Sausage Making and Meat Processing Supplies

Butcher & Packer How Much Meat Will Your Deer Yield? - Author: Dan Schmidt, Reprinted with permission from: Deer & Deer Hunting, September 2000 Does and bucks from similar age classes yield similar amounts of venison. You likely won't see big differences in meat yields until you can compare a...
www.butcher-packer.com
That tracks with what my USDA guys and rancher friends have told me for meat yield.
 
I would not hurt anything to give the processor a call. I bet they are busy and people do make honest mistakes. That said, if you just got cuts and ground venison (fat added?) I would guess that would be in the ballpark at 33%. If you got sausage that should add more fat, and weight. I figure on a 90 pound live weight doe I get about 30 pounds of ground and cuts, so 33%.

I'll be interested to hear what others have to say. Maybe I'm getting gipped too, lol.
 
I process my own. And I don’t add anything to it. I’d say that’s about right without any added pork or whatever. Not a personal knock on your friends, but most people who don’t process themselves have no clue what they get from a deer. It’s not a steer.
 
I’ve processed my own for years but, that doesn’t seem that far off to me. Here’s an article by DDH discussing venison yield https://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/...g-whitetail-wisdom/how-much-meat-is-on-1-deer

Here’s a table from that article. Notice it is “ carcass weight”, hide, head and guts removed. 180# carcass weight should get you 72# of meat. So 67# might be a little low but not all butchers are created equal.

A34D290B-E27D-499B-8A48-899FFA3141C3.jpeg
I assume since you didn’t mention getting any fat added that you didn’t.
 
Loopwing said:
Sounds kind of strange, but first off was it an archery or rifle shot, where was your exact shot placement? Even with those questions, yeah you are missing some pounds.
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Sorry, I completely missed the double lung with bow part. My bad!!! You are still only missing a pound or 5. I seriously wouldn't call if you plan on using that processor again.
 
GCTerpfan said:
I’ve processed my own for years but, that doesn’t seem that far off to me. Here’s an article by DDH discussing venison yield https://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/...g-whitetail-wisdom/how-much-meat-is-on-1-deer

Here’s a table from that article. Notice it is “ carcass weight”, hide, head and guts removed. 180# carcass weight should get you 72# of meat. So 67# might be a little low but not all butchers are created equal.

View attachment 77375
I assume since you didn’t mention getting any fat added that you didn’t.
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Makes sense. The buck is the only one on the list that works for a living.
 
NMSbowhunter said:
I would not hurt anything to give the processor a call. I bet they are busy and people do make honest mistakes. That said, if you just got cuts and ground venison (fat added?) I would guess that would be in the ballpark at 33%. If you got sausage that should add more fat, and weight. I figure on a 90 pound live weight doe I get about 30 pounds of ground and cuts, so 33%.

I'll be interested to hear what others have to say. Maybe I'm getting gipped too, lol.
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I agree 100%. I always figure about a 3rd of the deer dressed weight and I've weighed literally dozens of boxes of meat coming back from my processor. I do it just for sh*ts and giggles when I get my deer back about every time I shoot one. Stop and think about it this way, 67 pounds of meat is a lot of meat. About 67 meals. Also, just think of how much just the hide, head and bones weigh. You would probably be surprised.
 
Gotta agree about the 33%-40%. Ive always done my own processing. Its easy to do and you know you always get YOUR meat back. For me, if time is an issue, I tackle the neck & backstraps 1st. Inner loins should be eaten by now! Then I take off the quarters and put in my barn fridge. I just pick away at them until they are done over the next week. I also keep the muscle whole when I freeze it so I can cut the way I want according to what Im making. Gonna try venison capicola this coming week.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I also read that 40% rule.
I spoke to a buddy of mine whom is a veteran hunter and processes his own deer. I went to his place to watch him process one of his deer he got. The carcass (skinned, head removed, legs removed) weighed 129lbs and the weighed meat after processing (no pork or other fats added) was 71lb. Which was about 55%. Was pretty awesome to watch him work. I dont think he missed a spec of meat. Just bones and fat in the barrel.

It sounds like my butcher did a pretty good job, especially considering his walk in trailer fridge was full of deer to process.
 
Doesn’t sound too far off. Antlers, hide, hooves, the liquid within the meat, skeleton, eyes and tongues and all of that crap…still contributes to dressed weights, and all of them are variable from one deer to the next. I have heard that you can get 60% or more from a deer, but I have only seen a really pro butcher get even close. So when you consider how much weight is shed just to get to your meat, a butcher throwing 33-40% in your freezer is a hell of a great guy lol. One thing you can also do is just be clear when you drop the animal off that you want as much as you can possibly get off it, and don’t turn your nose up if the “extra” bits they get end up in your ground pile.
I shot a buck last year that dressed around 200, ended up with about 70#. Shot a doe this year that dressed out just under 200, ended up with about 70#.
 
DelaWhere_Arrow said:
Doesn’t sound too far off. Antlers, hide, hooves, the liquid within the meat, skeleton, eyes and tongues and all of that crap…still contributes to dressed weights, and all of them are variable from one deer to the next. I have heard that you can get 60% or more from a deer, but I have only seen a really pro butcher get even close. So when you consider how much weight is shed just to get to your meat, a butcher throwing 33-40% in your freezer is a hell of a great guy lol. One thing you can also do is just be clear when you drop the animal off that you want as much as you can possibly get off it, and don’t turn your nose up if the “extra” bits they get end up in your ground pile.
I shot a buck last year that dressed around 200, ended up with about 70#. Shot a doe this year that dressed out just under 200, ended up with about 70#.
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#200 doe?
 
I've been to a processor in Ohio a few times and I know they thought I was a crazy person because I could just no get over the body size of the does they had in there. These were as big as our Mississippi bucks.
 
NMSbowhunter said:
I've been to a processor in Ohio a few times and I know they thought I was a crazy person because I could just no get over the body size of the does they had in there. These were as big as our Mississippi bucks.
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Yep, that’s where I hunt, central OH where every acre is a grocery store. I was absolutely flummoxed the first time I saw a doe here.
 
I preferred less weight of meat when I used processors in the past. The only way to maximize yield is to keep "junk" meat, some silver skin, and other non-desirable stuff in it, especially in ground meat, so I wanted less to hopefully ensure better quality.

I have done my own processing for a very long time simply because I do not trust ANY processor to live up to my standards. I have shown 2 friends how I process my deer this fall and they were amazed by the low amount of final meat, but also at the quality, which is off the chart better than they've ever gotten from a processor before. It's a personal decision that each of us have to live with if we use processors and just have to understand they will not put in the same time and effort as an individual. It is a business, after all, and time is $.

I also do not eat shoulders, necks, ribs, etc. Those are for shooting and destroying. I bone out the hams, backstraps, and inner loins only using a no gut, no full skinning technique. If I want more meat, I will shoot more deer with our unlimited doe tags. I fine grind 100% of my meat and make it all into prime jerky. When done properly, you can not tell the difference between a piece ready to grind from any of the other cuts of meat. They are all beautiful red with zero silver skin or anything white.

Good luck with processors if you keep using them, but don't critique them too hard unless they are throwing in bloodshot meat and other crud!
 
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