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How many pounds you getting

J

JASmith

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2018
Messages
968
Location
Indiana
I always struggle with this. Been cutting my own deer up for some time. Usually just quarter up, separate muscle groups, trim a few roasts, trim back strap and inner loin, and the usual grind pile. I butcher up a decent two and a half year old buck, actually not my kill, nothing huge but just your average Northwest Indiana buck. Buddy shot up both shoulders a some neck trauma. I never weigh before I start. I ended up with 33# total. I don't think that's terrible, just curious what ya all think. Little back round, I never cut any fat in, family and I love our venison lean. Thanks Jerry
 
Yes, that sounds about right to me too considering the neck and shoulder damage. On a good-sized doe or average buck here, if I get the hindquarters and backstraps and front shoulders processed 33 pounds is right in the ballpark. But I am dealing with smaller Southern deer so an Indiana deer might be a bit bigger overall.
 
I feel like I'm not wasting much, I am pretty picky about trimming off junk. I guess just really making sure I'm not missing something. Thanks
 
a 2.5 year old buck is on average about 140-160lbs live weight. Take guts out...roughly 30-40lbs. Hide and bones...another 30-40 lbs. Conservatively that's about 60-80lbs for guts, hide and bones. Then once you trim away the damaged meat from the neck and both shoulders then 33# is about right. On a 150lb deer...average yield is at a minimum of 30%...so that's 45lbs yield. Now take the damaged neck and shoulders out then you are about correct.
 
Newhunter1 said:
A 150 dressed doe is huge. Did you weigh it or guestimating?
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Around here you'd have to ratchet strap 2 does together to get 150 pounds but I can believe that some of those northern does are that big. I saw some does in Ohio while dropping off a buck that I just stood there at the processor's and gawked at. I know those people there thought I was crazy, lol. But those things were huge.
 
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Years ago I thought I heard roughly 25% of the weight of the deer. I think that’s generally what I’ve gotten from the ones I’ve processed myself.
 
NMSbowhunter said:
Around here you'd have to ratchet strap 2 does together to get 150 pounds but I can believe that some of those northern does are that big. I saw some does in Ohio while dropping off a buck that I just stood there at the processor's and gawked at. I know those people there thought I was crazy, lol. But those thinks were huge.
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Hi, Ohio doe killer here :wink: sike nah.
But I have shot four deer since moving to Ohio and you’re right, they’re just built bigger here. An average 2YO+ doe is easily 160 pounds on the hoof in late October, and the two I shot both surpassed the 175# mark live-weight. Took 40-50# of guts out, they were completely encased in fat, full udders, and their bone structure was just big when compared to DE deer (a sopping wet nanny doe will be maybe 100#). I ended up with 55# and 50# of deboned meat from each.
Two bucks shot, a 2.5YO (about 200# live in early November) and a 5.5YO+ (definitely pushing 275# live weight in late December). Yield from first buck was 60# and second buck spoiled before I got to him but we pulled 50+ pounds of guts outta him and his legs were almost as thick as my forearms. I can only guess at the yield, but I would ballpark between 50-70# of boneless venison if nothing was damaged.

All this to say, yield is highly dependent on regional biological diversity, hunter efficacy on shot and gutting, and of course the processor’s performance. Pre-loading an average yield of about 25-35% from live-weight, and given OP’s info, I would assume the yield was fair.

Just my experience.
 
I might get my tires slash for this, but I don't eat the heart or liver. Too high in cholesterol, I have some issues with my numbers. So those organ don't get thrown on the scale.
 
JASmith said:
I might get my tires slash for this, but I don't eat the heart or liver. Too high in cholesterol, I have some issues with my numbers. So those organ don't get thrown on the scale.
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I like to eat the heart, but I aim for it. Liver, you can keep.
 
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