Question or deer hunters......

[Oldcountryboy]

....who take their deer in to be processed?

Most places that I know who process deer will wrap and freeze your order. If they offered a lower price to just skin and cut the deer up for you and you take it home and wrap it yourself, would you?

Reason why I ask this is cause I'm thinking of getting back into the deer processing business. But I don't have a big cooler to cool large quantities of deer down, nor do I have a lot of freezer room to freeze the meat with. This is one reason why I'm not doing it anymore.

However, I could skin, cut steaks, and grind meat if the customer could take the meat home and wrap it theirselves. I would bag all the steaks up in one bag and the burger in another bag. And do it at a much lower price. Maybe only two-thirds the cost of regular price of what other competition charges.

This would only be for the first year or two till I got some bigger cooling units in to take on more deer.

Got to get something going on around here. Wife not working, I only have a part time job, too hot and dry to grow food for the farmers market. Got to do something!

[BarbadosSheep]

The biggest advantage to taking a deer to the processor is having someone else hang the meat for me and to hand me back frozen packages. that take a big burden off of my freezer. I don't think 1/3 off would be enough incentive if the meat was not going to be hung and the meat was not wrapped and pre-frozen for me. Try it though. There might be a market for it in your area.

I don't see how that would work . People who get their deer processed usually drop them off not long after the kill & pick them up at their leisure . You might do a few for friends or family but I don't see how you could do it that way for the public .

[tinknal]

Why not wrap it too? I often see older freezers on craigslist for $100-$150, I'd buy a couple of those.

[TnTnTn]

Doesn't sound very feasible to me. I process our own deer and choose 2-3 young tender ones but the boys and I kill more deer than we need. However I have a list of people wanting a whole deer. I just drop of the gutted carcass at the processors and the recipient picks it up wrapped, frozen, and etc. And they of course pay the processor. TTT

[peri_simmons]

I would be thrilled to do it! For the difference in price I would buy my own Freezer paper and wrap and store it myself.

If you could process the occasional goat and pig for me too It would be so worth it.

Maybe because I would like to help you get your freezers, especially if you were local to me.

Many deer hunters do it for the sport. They can afford to have the deer processed and probably would pay the extra to have it wrapped and frozen. Others do it for the meat and do the processing themselves. If someone has their deer processed would they pick it up right away? What would you do if the deer spoiled before they could pick it up? I think there are relativly few hunters that would utilise your service.

I have 2 upright freezers that I got off Craigs list. One was free and the other was $80. You have to keep an eye on the list and be ready to go and get it right away.

[Fishinfool]

I usually do everything myself. Would be hard for me to change even if it was really cheap. We usually clean all the fat out of ours and I know all the processors in our area just debone and grind and I just like it better my way. Hope it works out for ya.

[Wis Bang 2]

We use a local butcher who knew us from working a food store where some of our hunters lived. We were some of his first customers. We share so we would do a no-wrap cut and split it at camp just b/4 going home so each could wrap and freeze his own.

Last fall I paid $60.00 for a 'No-wrap-large deer' cut that would not be available closer to home where it is vac pac blast frozen for around $100.00, MORE if you want sicks or sausage.

[Gena]

It wouldn't be worth it to us. If we were going to have to wrap and freeze it, we would just process it ourselves. We use a processor because we don't generally have the time to process our own. I agree with the above poster, watch craigslist or local classifieds for cheap freezers.

I'm thinking the main problem would be caring for the deer before & after you skin them & cut & grind . My in-laws have a slaughter house & did deer for years . When deer season opened people were dropping deer off like crazy not long after they killed them . It kept 2 people busy just skinning & hanging them in the coolers . They had 5 people per shift 2 shifts a day cutting , trimming , cutting the meat off the bone , grinding , wrapping , etc . They also had out of state hunters & others that didn't want to pick up their meat the same day they dropped it off .
I just don't see how you could do it for the public without coolers & freezers .

[JuliaAnn]

We stopped taking ours to a processor years and years ago. Once they 'lost' our deer, and I took in a nice doe I shot and got back meat so rank and wild tasting it had to have come from a buck. Another time we were missing a significant quantity of meat. Nope, not going to turn over my deer to anyone because what you pay for and get back may not be your deer, if the processor or an employee decides your venison looks better than theirs or that they're going to keep some of it. We shoot, dress, quarter, process/cut and wrap our own.

[pheasantplucker]

I've taken all mine to a guy who lives about 10 miles from my place. He is a professional butcher. During gun season, he and his wife and kids all take in and process deer from morning till night. This guy is really good. No hair, no bits of bone, everything is wrapped, stamped and frozen. He charges $50. to process an entire deer. (I always give him an extra $10-$15). I would not use the services you're describing. When I pick up my deer, I want to simply put it in the freezer and not have to do anything else. There might be guys though who feel differently, and if you do, I hope you're successful, but most guys either do the whole thing themselves or do none of it. I've never thought..."Wow, I wish I could take my deer in for skinning, cutting and grinding, and they'd leave me to do the rest."

[RonM]

You are just the opposite of everyones needs,we can skin it .want you to cut it quick freeze it and I pick it up.... A neighbor about a mile up the road has a processinf facility and charges $60 per deer......Another guy a little further away charges 60 and did 400 deer last year during Delaware deer season, you do the math that was for 8 days...and then you have bow season, neighboring states to add to that....

[oregon woodsmok]

I don't think a used home freezer will do it. Processed meat should be frozen very quickly and If you stuff a home freezer full of warm meat, the stuff in the middle is still going to be only half frozen 2 days from then.

[JuliaAnn]

You don't put warm meat in a home freezer. If shot during hunting season in most states, the weather is cool or cold, and once the deer is shot, dressed, and quartered, it's best to get the quarters into ice chests full of ice or ice and water. This chills the meat quickly and helps soak a great deal of blood out of the meat. Water is drained away a couple of times a day and more ice added. Quarters are left in the ice chests until they are removed and processed. I wear gloves to keep my hands from hurting while cutting/processing. The meat stays cold the whole time during processing and it is wrapped and put in the freezer while cold.

We're in Tx., and this is the technique we have always used, and everyone else we know uses. In northern states where it's freezing, ice chests may not be necessary.

[Oldcountryboy]

Thanks for your replies everyone. I kind of had a feeling this would be about what everyone would say. I guess I'll need to find a cheap freezer and start out by word of mouth only. To keep from getting too over loaded with deer.

I've processed deer before on a bigger scale and you have to have big coolers and fast freeze freezers to meet the demand if you advertize. This I can't afford right now. It would definitely be worth it, if I could get a few years worth into it and had reliable help. When I done it before, seemed like I was a one man show. Which would still be probable now also.

[poorboy]

have to be licensed here to cut and wrap for hire..However their is a fellow who guts and skins for people @ I think 20$ per deer...

[Oldcountryboy]

Originally Posted by poorboy

have to be licensed here to cut and wrap for hire..However their is a fellow who guts and skins for people @ I think 20$ per deer...

Gee! That means he's making about $60 per hour just skinning deer.

When I was in the processing business I was paying my help $10 per deer to skin, and cut the head and feet off. Depending on the size of the deer and how fast they could work, they might make $30 per hour. All of my skinners were deer hunters theirselves and wouldn't come in till the evening to skin. I really needed someone to skin during the day but couldn't find anyone.