Deer Meat

FishFinder97

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Clearly we're liars, though. No way anyone can get 70 pounds of meat off a white-tailed deer when it seems like 50 is the magic number. Moose, maybe. Deer, no way.

:::

I'm a firm believer that more beers does not yield more meat. I stay pretty sober during my carcass-butchering process, and it appears to result in a more filled freezer.

But what do I know. I'm just a schmuck on the Interweb.
I don't see why it's so hard to believe, not every deer will yield that much but a few years back I ended up with 68 lbs of meat off my buck after trimming. It can be done if one is not super picky.
 


Allen

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Sheesh, is cabin fever setting in already? WT bucks, I've shot relatively mature WT bucks that weighed as little as 120 lb on the half shell and as much as 210 lbs on the halfshell (gutted only).

MD bucks I have shot have about as wide a spread in weights, but slightly heavier.

I'm not going to give anyone a hard time about what they make use of in their wild game, nor the use.
 

LBrandt

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When I was a little younger I only kept the tongue and hide off the buff I shot. :;:cheers
 

KDM

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A good rule of thumb is just under 50% of the carcass weight (gutted) will be boneless meat for a white tail. If you use a band saw for your ribs you will obviously get more of a return weight, but bone is a bit hard to chew. I've gotten just under 80 lbs of meat from a BIG minnetucky buck once in my life. That is the exception. Most 2.5 to 3.5 yo bucks will yield 50-60 lbs of meat if you take everything you can. Mature does will be around 40 lbs, give or take a bit. These numbers are from deer that were NOT shot through the front shoulders, but in the ribs. If you blast through both shoulders, you're out a good 1/3 rd of your possible meat recovery. This is just my experience processing multiple deer per year for 30 years.
 


Paddledogger

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I skin my deer the day it takes the dirt nap, wash or rinse off the carcass, let it hang overnight and dry a little before taking torch over it to get whatever hair might be on it. Crack open a Busch Latte. Then shave off excess fat on hind quarters and straps. Trim off shank meat and get it out of the way, since it is typically 75 fat with slim meat layer. Trim hind quarters, remove front shoulders, (another latte) remove back straps, pull tenderloins, then trim front shoulders (whatever not hemorrhages from shot). Then trim back strap meat into smaller steaks prep tenderloins. Bag both so they don’t go into grinder. (latte break) cut meat into smaller chunks, rinse and go through it again. If I can get around 30# off a doe and 40-45#’s off a buck, I’m happy. I would rather have good lean and CLEAN meat going in the grinder. People may bitch and blame the meat processor/butcher for bad meat when they dropped off boned, unclean meat. He’s a butcher, not Chef Ramsey. You take in shitty meat, you wasted your money getting shitty tasting sausage/jerky/Slim Jim’s. Clean meat taste the best!

Anybody ever save the heart, if not shot up, and fry it up?
 
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Kurtr

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Yep the heart is great my kid really likes it. I really do prefer gutless in the field I think I get more meat and it stays cleaner than the traditional gut and skin at home way
 

Paddledogger

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A buddy of mine does the gutless method out in the field. He really likes it by just skinning back the hide, cutting off the quarters, shoulders, straps. Then make simple cut behind the ribs to access the tenderloins. The landowner we bow hunt on did not want us to leave the carcass out there, thinking it might bring more coyotes in the area.
 


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