Siesta Processing, Kaycee, Wyoming. Went to drop off antelope 9AM on 10/19 & nobody to open up until 9:30; should have seen this as bad sign. Owner accepted game & agreed to wrap & freeze, & cape out head by next morning 9AM. He said wold open 8m, but not to arive until 9 as they woud be busy. 9AMA & 3 other groups waiting; after 9:30 someone called his elderly mother to get owner out of bed. He arrives 9:45 & starts taking $$ & returning frozen game, but no other workers on site. 10:15 worker shows up & pulls an antelope out of cooler. You guessed it, mine. Puts 2 hind quarters, 2 rib cages, 2 tenderloins in a plastic tub & owner shoves it across counter, hand out for $60 fee, $20 to cape out just to neck, plus $10 for "rush job". He refuses to actually butcher it, bitches when I dare to insist it at least be wrapped.!! My hunting partners (waiting to drive back to Michigan) had just picked up their properly frozen/wrapped meat. Neither they nor the 4 other groups waiting behind me could believe it. I then learned that town of Buffalo is only 40 miles up I-25 & has two processing outfits. I informed my guide, & will inform outfitter Adam Clements to avoid Siesta Processing. Chaz

Is it bad enough to make you want to stay in michigan?

The ones in buffalo aren't much better. I ended up with aspen leaves and all kinds of grass and shit on elk steaks one year. They all leave animals laying around on conctere floors in the open all day. While some douche bags making 6 bucks an hour wander around rubbing their dirty dick beaters on someone elses future food,in between trips to the shitter.

As for adam clements,his give a damn was busted shortly after you made your final deposit on the hunt.

My friends have used the 2 places in Buffalo and have nothing but good to say about them, How did the aspen leaves get on the elk???? I have been told for 40 years bring clean meat in , get clean meat out. I deal with an out fit in Sundance and also in Craig Colo. and can't complain at all.

The aspen leaves got on the meat one of several ways. The elk meat I got back wasn't mine,or they didn't clean up from the previous elk they cut up. Considering that there was dead shit laying everywhere on the floor of the place,who knows what I actually got back for elk. They got pissed when I told them to hang the elk,since it was whole. They thought it would do fine on the floor. This was at the better of the two processors Big Horn. The one down the street is even worse. His idea of aging meat,is leaving the shit hang in the sun. He's also notorious for trying to charge you a skinning fee for shit that was brought in skinned. He back peddles well when you tell him to shove his 20 dollar fee up his ass though. It also helped having the animal in question on film in front of his business. Then the lame excuses started.

I killed the elk in question on the powder river. Nowhere near any aspens or mountains. Sagebrush yes.

I haven't use these or those but I have had bad times with others. When ever possible I do mine own.

Its tough on a trip so one hopes for the best.

We live here and have the same problems, next year we go back to doing our own. With hot falls we have had the last few years you are forced to take them to a locker. I need to build my own walk in.

We had an elk done, took skinned and clean quarters in, and boned meat. Asked for burger and steak. When my son went and picked it up, $320! I called and asked if there was an error, nope we now charge .86 cents a pound and you pay for skinning wether it is skinned or not. That was from Wind River Processing.

Hearing these kinds of reports only reinforces my opinion that you're way better off to just process your own game. Yeah it may take some time and add a little inconvenience to the hunt, but the rewards are worth it. I've never had to wonder if I got my own meat, I never question the quality of what I put on my family's table, and I never have to question just what I'm getting for my money. I've sunk a bit of cash into my processing gear, but I won't have a recurring yearly cost now. I've seen enough processing houses to know that I won't take my family's food there. Rant off. Free tip - get some processing gear (knives, grinder, etc) and learn how to cut your own meat. You'll be money and quality ahead in the long run.

It is really pretty easy to process game. As long as you're keeping it cold and clean (CRITICAL), you really can't go too wrong. I strongly second Desert Ram's suggestion. Get some decent knives, (Victorinox Forschners with the Fibrox handles are reasonable and very good quality a six inch boner (straight edge) and then a 6 inch curved blade will do almost everything you need (and you can get by with just the curved blade if you're really on a budget), except for cutting the biggest steaks and they can work for that) and a grinder and do your own. It doesn't take long to cut up even an elk to get it down to sizes that will fit in a big ice chest. Do get a slightly larger hp grinder than the minimum if you kill much at all. If you're going to make sausage or burger, get some Boston Butt or cheaper 80/20 trimings (should be available from any friendly butcher, if there is such a thing where you live) and mix them to your taste. Around here with deer we mix about 25% pork, depending on how fat the cut of pork is. Some people like more, I prefer a leaner burger myself.

I'm not much into wild game burger of any kind, but if you want a new and great flavor, add about 20-25% smoked bacon to you wild game and grind them together. Presto, Super Burger.

BTW $320 for processing an elk? I'd have told them to stick it where the sun never shines. Surely you were informed of the prices ahead of time?

I was in a packing house in Craig, I watched my elk get skun, very professional and clean. It was cut in half and loaded in the walk in cooler via over head rail. I left at that point.. Did I get my own meat? The way that place was run yes I am certain I did. Was the burger bulk ground maybe, but it was all excellent meat either way. $220.00 cut, ground wrapped and frozen. I butcher all my deer, goats and 4-5 hogs a year, I can do an elk tooo, but sometimes it is easier to have someone else do it.

I noticed prices in Wyoming getting out of hand several years ago. I had mosse done that was around $300 plus. The unreasonable prices and also success rates falling off in the Wind River area (purposely vague). I've been hunting in NW Montana the last few years. I've had 4 elk done by the Choteau MT processor. They did a great job each time and the cost...$130.
Rich Elliott

Elkman was right about the Craig processing plant
They do a wonderful job and they have a USDA inspecter everyday.
Maybell has a very nice one, very clean, also with
an overhead trolley.
Rangely has the best I have seen , back your truck
they swing and hang with out the animal touching the ground. They disenfect after each animal in the
cut up room, which is sealed from out side by
positive air. If you leave the cutting room, you
may not go back in until that animal is finished and you disenfect your self.
Lot's of quality places in NW Colo
It's like they are in competition to see who can
be the cleanest!
Charlie

quote:

BTW $320 for processing an elk? I'd have told them to stick it where the sun never shines. Surely you were informed of the prices ahead of time?

We never asked, we have taken elk, moose,deer, and antelope to him many times. But this was the last. When I used to cut up my own, I would buy bacon ends, and do the same thing, makes some nice tasting burger.

I have used the prosesser in Sundance the last couple of years and I find that they do a very good job. If you take something in that has been skined they hang it on a rail. When I ask the price they don't say anything about being skined or not.

Rad

Chazgreen, would you expect anything more from a town with only 250 people living in in?

I'm suprised they are still open...most places in Wyoming cannot find good help (due to all the oil and gas development) so I'm sure the packing plant there had some real winners in it.

Unfortunately, for folks who travel here to hunt, processing your own is tough when it is 90 degrees out and you have to drive 2000 miles back home...it probably would have been worth the drive to Buffalo in this instance.

MG

iduno but we had 6 goats processes there last week with no problems at all.

Last year I had my antelope processed at a place in Casper. I can't remember the name off hand but it's right across the parking lot from the taxidermist there. At any rate they did an excellent job and the price was fair. In fact they did a better job then most places I've gone to regardless of location.

Several years ago I had an elk done at Snake River Processing in Baggs, Wyoming. They did a quality job and were reasonable. I no longer use commercial butchers---I prefer to just cut up my own. You'll never get as much meat from a processer--even a good one--they just have too many to do in a short time and hurry the job. Everything is relative to time and place. Last year I was able to cut, wrap and freeze my moose in Alaska but this year, here at home finding time to do our own antelope was difficult. Go figure. I don't know about down here, but I found a locker in Alaska that would rent you the knives and some space and let you do your own on site. (Bob's Delivery, Dillingham) I didn't need to do that but I thought it was a great idea. I just paid him to quickfreeze the meat and everybody was happy.

Gents// thanks for your comm. chazents

what did you expect from a place named SIESTA?