Did I get a financial culture shock taking a deer down to be processed! I feel like Rumpelstiltskin and must have gone to sleep and woke up 40 yrs later.

IN Local Southern Oregon, they now want $70.00 to process a deer for butchering. If it is not skinned they want an extra $35.00 just to skin it!

Are these prices out of line or are they starting to get like everything else,?? ....., Since oil prices can go up 50% in price, why can't we??

I personally think that is ridiculous. Last year it was $50.00.
Guess PETA is trying every way it can to get we hunters to take up golf.

cheers and good grumbling
seafire

In South central Oklahoma the price is $40 for processing with $10 to skin and $10 to gut if you haven't taken care of that.

Ohio: $35-65 to process, includes skinning depending on who does it. It better be gutted.

Wyoming: at Pearce Professional Butchers: antelope-$49, deer- $55. $15 to skin. $1.00 to gut payable before it is gutted!! This is in Casper

South Carolina: $55-deer includes skinning.

Alabama: $55-65 depending on who you take it to, includes skinning.

You are getting raped with the skinning fee. Anyone who skins multiple animals per day at a butcher can skin a big deer in less than 4 minutes. I watched them in Wyoming do mine. This guy had both my animals skinned in record time. Skinning is a breeze when they're still warm. $35 bucks is a ripoff.

I got this year's buck processed in Southern California for 45 cents a pound. Paid 60 cents a pound elsewhere last year. You need to shop around.

Median price in Mi is $60. Some places will not take a deer with the hide on. Most prefer the hide on as the flesh will be cleaner and there should NEVER be a capeing charge. Deer capes are sold to tanners for moccasins, gloves etc. The prices really go up from there. What % of fat do you want in your burger....Beef or pork ? Then the Sausages and Jerky etc will be priced by the pound. Most processing places are beyond nasty foul inside and I just never understood why so many people pay to have a animal processed. Master Chef Milos Chelka of "Golden Mushroom" fame has several game videos and one of them covers processing venison. It really is not difficult. There is just not that much to a Deer. A Elk or a Buffalo I could understand, even a pig if you wanted smoked ham. The entire front quarters are for grind meat only unless you make jerky. Buy a grinder and mix the meat with 30% beef or pork fat yourself. For sausage buy bulk ground B'fast sausage or Italian sausage that you like and blend it 50/50 with the venison. I like links too but for those prices I like pattys just fine ! If many of you saw the insides of theese places you would NEVER eat what comes out of them. Not to mention you very likely are not getting your venison back but the % of meat based on weight that your butcher feels you should net ! For those of you who have to have that Jerky or sausage from your favorite butcher .....Just freeze your meat until after the main rush and take your frozen cleaned meat in to be made into sausage. There should never be a cleaning charge and any reputable butcher should be glad to do it as long as you bring him enough meat for a full "Batch". That might be 10-20# but then you are only paying for what you want and you will be getting your own meat back.

In Downsville, La. it cost $25 to process one if you have it quartered. If not quartered but, skint', it is $35. $5 to skin and I believe $5-$10 to gut. Put it this way, if you are worn out and don't want to mess w/ it, they'll do it all for around $45.

I usually Quarter mine and soak em' in salty ice water for a few days so it only cost me $25, that includes tenderized steaks and hamburger the rest. They also make some of the best smoked links you could put in your mouth for $1.50 a pound.

Good Luck!

Reloader

I shot a Mulie last year and decided to have sausage made out of a good portion of it. There is a small German community between the ranch and my house that makes excellent sausage.

I was prepared for $100-$150 because of the specialty processing.

The bill was $345. I almost fell over. Needless to say, we sat down and re-negotiated the bill. At the end he said to me. "You shouldn't have shot such a big deer!"

Seafire-I cut up all my game but started with Deer because of the price they want and how they can get them mixed up or not clean the saws and get others marrow and such in mine.Here it is by the Deer or Elk(One price) or the pound(Hanging weight).Expensive none the less.

Other than time it is easy to cut them up yourself and grind also.With a dehydrater or just the oven...Jerky isn't that hard plus sausage recipes are all over.

There not getting my money anymore as the cheapest for an Elk is 300 bucks around here.Time consuming maybe to cut them up your self.but rewarding....

Good luck........Jayco.

50 to 70 dollars here in Wis. I do all mine own as it takes me less then a hr to do a deer. Thats making good money in my book.

Hey, Jayco, a buddy of mine just had an elk and a deer done very, very well, in Emmett, for $160 net net.

Next year, just throw your animals in the truck and tool on down the highway to Emmett. You'll save a bundle.

L.W.

There is one guy down here in Sierra Vista who charges 70 bucks and we have mostly couse deer and a big one will go between 65 to 75 lbs, you have a monster if it wieghs more than 85lbs that is with the skin off and of course gutted. I can't see paying someone 70 bucks to process a deer and you maybe get 25lbs of meat maybe less than that so I do it myself. Now in Oregon you can shoot a nice mulie and it is worth it the last time I Had a deer processed up there in Madras it cost me 45 bucks and that was in 2000. I think in 2002 it was the same price. The couse deer I shot in 2002 wieghed a whopping 67lbs gutted not skinned the locals told wow you shot a nice one, I told them if showed up with this in Oregon I would of been laughed out of the state.