Haaaah...but if you'd seen the aged Angus beef sides hanging in the cooler...I don't think this guy bothered with deer meat. He probably threw some beef scraps in there to bump the total up. I always wondered about butchers...who's to say if they "lost" a t-bone or 2 during processing. I know I'd be eating like a king if I was a butcher.

I like the part about, "Until you have processsed a deer yourself".

I think that is the biggest eye opener there is.

Until a person tries it themself and sees how actual little edible meat there is on a deer, they will always believe the processor is holding out on them. JMO.

Tried proccessing my own a couple of times and without the right tools its a pain in the arse. Took a 200lb hog in a couple of weeks ago and got 55lbs back wich i thought was pretty good and it cost me 50 dollars wich i thought was pretty good too! Wild hogs are a pain to mess with.

I do my own processing and if I get 20 to 30 % I feel lucky.

Lora and I have processed 3 or 4 elk now and all of our deer/hogs/javelina for several years.

The biggest hang up in processing is the time needed to get the job done.

Right now, for folks wanting to start doing some of the work for themselves, Cabela's has their bottom of the line power meat grinder on sale for Christmas.

I bought Lora one 6 years ago and it is still working like a top.

The big thing with home processing is to not get fancy with it at the start and figure out what your family uses the most. We will make a few steaks, but most of the deer we get, get turned into ground meat.

I usually butcher my own but this year my wife wanted sausage. Nichols processors in Mertzon did Tylers buck.
We got 15 lbs burger, 18 lbs breakfast sausage and 8 lbs summer sausage, plus 10 lbs jerkey and 5 lbs steaks.
YUM!!!

I processed deer for a few years. 30% yield is good average, if there's not much damage from the shot. Most bucks I received field dressed at around 90lbs and most does were in the 70lb range. In my experience after processing several hundred deer, the most damage occurs when the shot is just above and in front of the shoulder bone. For some reason, when hit there, all the meat on that side and for several inches around the shot (6-8 inches) the meat turns to jelly - it's gross. (Gives you a whole new appreciate for gun shot victims.) I few complaints, but if you tell me, "I had to shoot that sucker about 7 times with my 7Mag to bring him down" don't expect much meat in return, it's all blasted to hell. Secondly, as you all probably know, any gut shot quickly spoils the meat's taste - clean that up as soon as possible. It's easy to do it yourself if you have the right equipment, grinder, big table or counter, wrapping paper, sharp knives, and most importantly knowledge of a deer's anatomy and bone structure. When you drop off those deer at the processor's, don't leave those tenderloins, take'em out yourself as soon as you gut that deer, they are so tender that the exposure to the open air in the cooler (or back of your truck) dries them out and you loose up to a quarter inch of the whole surface area (and they aren't that big to begin with) and be careful when gutting, I've seen those tenderloins hacked to pieces - that is the very best cut of venison IMO. I'd be willing to give a class for free if someone has a fresh deer - need 5-6 "students" and at your house.

oh if your including guns and corn and land then this deer cost....
Land payments 2 years (did not get a deer last year) $13,000.
Corn $800.
Gas to and from ranch $500
food plots $400
feeders $500
blinds and tripods $1000
processing $160

Grand total $16,360 divided by 30lbs of meat thats $545.33 per lb. Thats a good Deal!!!! I hope the summer sausage is good I can wait.

THAT AINT NO CHIT.

If you know someone with the stuff to process your deer even better! We process them our self and make it into steaks and the neck and stuff thats like that we ground!! That way you know you have all your meet!!!

I have never gotten less than 40# of meat from a deer (that was a button buck). BAYOURAT stated "Deer are bred for horns not meat yeild". I personally do not care about the antler, I'm in it for the meat to eat.
I really liked the cost:benefit ratio one hunter came up with- "Grand total $16,360 divided by 30lbs of meat thats $545.33 per lb". I killed two deer this year and the smallest one (doe) yielded 59# of processed meat (minus the 2# of beef fat added to burger). Lets see what my cost was (mind you this is one deer):

CORN - $0.00 (illegal to bait deer)
GAS - $11.00 (only live 25 miles from property)
PLOT - $0.00 (just not needed)
FEEDER-$0.00 (see corn above)
BLIND- $10.00 (used old lumber from a deck I took down + cost for nails, bolts, & screws for construction)
PROCESSING- $1.00 (did it myself + 2# beef fat at $0.50/#)
LEASE- $300.00
GRAND TOTAL- $322.00 / 59 = $5.46 per #

....and this is exactly why I process my own and take only what I want made into Summer Sausage or Jerky to the "processor." I fed the darn thing, I watched it grow up on my lease...by Golly, I want to eat the same deer...not someone elses that was slung over the hood of a hot trcuk or the likes. Hunters Choice in Sanger has been GREAT to me for the past 15 years.

Before you run to far down the road, keep in mind that Texas deer are not Missouri deer.

We have full grown bucks down here in some areas that might weigh 150 pounds Live Weight.

A lot of the does will do good to weigh 100 pounds live weight.

cheaper than fishing......25000 dollar bass boat, a few hundred dollar rod and reels, minners, a truck to pull the bass boat and you get a 10 inch white bass.......thats about 40000 a pound