Deer Processing/Hunt to Save Money

[daisylu]

My husband hunts, and yes it is a grocery bill saver for us. We are lucky in that we have 35 acres of our own land to hunt, and several neighbors close by who will also let him hunt their land. He has had all of his clothing and guns for years (most of which were gifted to him or left to him by his grandparents). He has 2 home-made stands that he and his dad created, 1 store bought stand, and 1 store bought blind. All of which except the blind (bought last year at Walmart for $99) are over 10 years old. You can make them last. We process what he kills ourselves. He has never trusted outside processing.

It is like anything else - if you truly want to make it a money-saver you will. With all the Outdoors shows now, I think that to a lot of people though it is more of a hobby or an adventure than it is a "feed the family" mentality.

[daisylu]

Feb 18, 2011 7:32:49 GMT -5 Lady Gaga Gaga Snerd said:

And, I have nothing against Hunting as a hobby if that is what people enjoy. But, I do have to chuckle when the guys are talking about what a "money saver" it is while they are perusing the hunting mags buying new and better equipment all the time.

ITA

[Deleted]

I can't really comment since the only 2 people I know that hunt sees it as a hobby. To them it is no different than taking their kids camping or buying new parts for that car they have been working on for the past 2 years on their free time (my friend is a mechanical engineer and on his free time he works on 2 old cars he has ... for him it's fun and relaxing but can also be costly).

[steph08]

Both DH and I hunt. Last year we shot three deer (two bucks, one doe). We both had a tag for a buck and a tag for a doe. We weren't drawn for extra doe tags.

It does save at the grocery store - we never buy roasts, steaks, or hamburger. Maybe a few in the summer if we run out, but now that I am hunting, I think we should be good for all year.

Yes it costs a lot of money as a hobby (bows/guns, treestands, licenses, outfits, etc.) but my husband loves it and I love my husband, so... It is what he does for fun and is his favorite hobby.

[mawmawandlovingit]

My DH hunts and does it mainly for a hobby. The one deer that was killed this year actually cost us money because he decided to process it himself and just had to have the $500 commercial grinder to do it. We ended up with 36 2lb packs of ground venison/pork/bacon. We figured it cost .90c a pound so if you take out the cost of the grinder it definitely is cheaper. He wants to start processing sausage with the grinder also so I guess in a few years the grinder will pay for itself.

He really enjoys hunting and has spent a lot of money on all the equipment and clothes and license he needs, but if he is having fun, I guess I can't complain!!

[tea4me]

Great subject! I hunt because I love being outside. I hunt on my land and on my father's land.

BUT . . . This year I shot a deer and brought it to the meat processor. I got steaks, roasts, jerky, and sausage. After adding it all up, I figured that deer cost me $300. That is for the license and processing. I figured that is about $5.00 / lb.

I would rather spend that money on beef.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I think it depends on why you hunt, if you eat the meat it is certianly a money saver. If you are hunting for trophies not so much.

My husband's family hunts. They do send the deer out to be processed because they don't really have the room to process an entire deer themselves, they've done it in the past but all agree it's a lot easier to send it out. It goes to a place in Elkhorn that does it pretty cheap.

An entire deer yeilds a lot of meat so even paying for processing the meat you are still paying a lot less for it per pound than you do a roast in the supermarket.

I've asked DH to request that we get some of the deer meat from his brother, but he never gets around to it. I'd like ot learn to cook venison and it would be a money saver for us since we'd be getting it free or nearly free. BIL gives tons of it to my MIL who stores it in her deep freeze and it's free to whoever wants to eat it.

[cronewitch]

My dad hunted and took us kids when we were older. He never had anything except the guns and bullets not even special clothing. I only got to go once when he took my little brother and I. We kids had to take safety classes to get licensed the we all needed to buy licenses. We kids got doe tags, he didn't. We drove about 200 miles and each shot a deer and field dressed them. Then he had them hung in a cold storage place to age a few days. We got them out and processed the meat on a old table in the carport. It didn't seem hard, dad cut it then us kids wrapped it in butcher paper and wrote on the packages like an assembly line. We also raised rabbits as food, dad would take a bunch of rabbits maybe 2-3 litters and get them ready for the freezer. I am pretty sure it saved money.

My boyfriend hunted without much in the way of gear either. For him it is a way to get out of the city and enjoy the woods in the fall. He bought lots of scents and some warmer clothing and hunted closer to home, maybe 25-35 miles. He had the deer processed, maybe he doesn't know how or just didn't want to.

A week of elk hunting cost him about $500 for everything but the times he went when I knew him he didn't kill any elk. Pretty cheap vacation and a week alone in the forest is good for him. He has SAD and wants to be alone that time of year, people make him mad easily and he needs a break from them.

Now his fall alone time is sitting next to a river catching salmon or steelhead. Fishing isn't a cheap hobby if you want to try everything in every fishing tackle shop. All you need is a hook, line and bait but somehow you get boats full of tackle, launch fees, licenses and other things. Price per pound of fish is not near zero. We got about 200lbs of free tuna if you don't count the cost of the charter boat, tip or trip to the ocean, other wise the fish wasn't so free.

[Deleted]

My friend rifle and bow hunts. We live in an urban area so he has to drive a few hours back and forth and usually does this once or twice looking for a place to set up. In between the gas, tags, days he doesn't get anything, and licenses I figure he probably gets a little more than he spends but not by much. He processes his own meat.

[schildi]

I hunt. In this area here, it is not economical for most people, including myself. But I do it because I enjoy being outside, and we like the venison. Well, I guess when you look at it from the standpoint of wanting venison, then hunting is probably the most efficient way of getting it. But hunting here is still more expensive than buying say 60 pounds of beef.
Around here, you can only take one deer per year / season. On average, hunters have about a 10% success rate as published by the dept of fish and wildlife, meaning the average hunter gets a deer every 10 years. So there you go, gas alone will cost more than 60 lbs of beef. I have been more successful, got 4 deer in the last 6 years, but that's because a try a little harder than the average (getting out and actually hunting compared to the average road hunter).

But as I said, I hunt because we enjoy the all natural, lean meat and I enjoy being outdoors.
Hunting can be economical I guess for people like daisylus husband, when you have a big property and on opening day, you stick the rifle out the back window between your shower and breakfast and pull the trigger.

As for the butcher: I have processed deer myself before. I still skin it, and get the carcass ready to save a few bucks, but mostly have the butcher do the final processing. Even though I've done it and have a few friends who are good doing it, the butcher still does a much much better job. Yourself you'll never get it as nicely cut with no waste, will have a difficult time making the hamburger meat, make a huge mess and will never get it as nicely wrapped (and therefore avoiding freezer burn which never happens with the butcher wrapped meat). Last fall I paid $80 to have it processed, and last time I did it myself it took me like 4 hours or so. Considering the better results, the $80 for the butcher is well worth it.

But yes, you are right, hunting does not save money in the vast majority of cases.

[Wisconsin Beth]

My cousins hunt and the last few years have been sharing some of the meat with us. They own the land, they own the guns, they have the blinds, they have the bows, they own the blaze orange clothes, etc. They buy the licenses and deal with the processing. They used to process their own (I helped one year) but now send it out. I offer money but they won't take it.

I think they routinely get 3-5 deer a year, depending how many licenses they can get from the DNR and how bow-hunting goes. They don't have to buy beef. One of them hunts wild turkeys and they both fish too.

[hoops902]

"I think it depends on why you hunt, if you eat the meat it is certianly a money saver. If you are hunting for trophies not so much"

Eh, even if you eat the meat it's not exactly a money saver if you spend $5,000 on equipment to get $300 worth of meat...which plenty of people do and then talk about how hunting is a money saver. If you're going to hunt either way it's certainly a money saver to go ahead and eat what you've killed though. But it's not necessarily a money saver if you compare it with not hunting at all and just purchasing the meat...dependent upon how much you spend on equipment.

[Deleted]

We still butcher our own... Dad and husband do the big cutting and i take it and do the final cutting and bagging... we used to take burger to be processed, but i actually don't like venison burger, i opt to sit aroud and cut small pieces to use as stir fry, or let husband and neighbor make baloney out of it...

Licences are cheap, and guns and tree stands (actually we've constructed those too... no prebought) are not every year expenses... I only have one dear in my freezer this year, but that is an off year... i usually have 2-3 easy... (my dad hunts but his wife doesn't like venison, he only takes the choice loin and gives me the rest of his)...

5000 on equiptment? ... where are you hunting? You must be talking about people who 'sport' hunt... most people i known own guns from the time they are kids, and hunting isn't anywhere near that expsive...

[hoops902]

"5000 on equiptment? ... where are you hunting? You must be talking about people who 'sport' hunt... most people i known own guns from the time they are kids, and hunting isn't anywhere near that expsive..."

Right but that's my point, just because you're eating the meat doesn't necessarily mean you're saving money by hunting. I just tossed up a figure honestly, any figure that necessitates spending more than you're bringing in will do. It could be equipment, land leases, price of tags, cost of having it processed, etc. Also taking into account price vs how often/and how many deer you actually get and that you actually eat yourself vs giving away.

[Deleted]

Yeah, i guess i can say then that it saves us money. I guess it doesn't save my father money, although he owns the land, and guns, and so really only the cost of liscence, so he maybe breaks even?

[daisylu]

We live in a hunter-friendly area, so the license is next to nothing and you are allowed 1 buck & 2 does/year (some years more depending on the deer population).

The only equipment we use are a good set of knives that we have had forever, freezer paper, and the foodsaver. We have access to a grinder, but I am not big on burger so we rarely use it.

In 2009, he was able to kill three. So we had enough steaks, roasts, stew meat, and burger to replace beef for more than a year. I would say that for a family of four that is pretty good.

[Artemis Windsong]

I hunt because that is my DH's hobby and I learned so I wouldn't be sitting at home. The licenses are on a lottery draw for one. Some areas have 2nd & 3rd draw for does.

If both of us fill our licenses on opening day, we do save money on the grocery bill comparing beef-to-venison. We process our own.

When you add in the equipment, gas, ammunition and time spend practicing, that is a different story; yet that is also a hobby. Both of us spend a lot of time on physical fitness in case we have to go far and wide then back again. We hunt a public area so the deer can be scarce.

Elk and moose are lottery draws and we apply in one other state for them where we can get preference points. I might draw elk this year and that hunt will probably be my last chance in this lifetime.

[Sum Dum Gai]

I have family members that make a living as guides. They also hunt for themselves occasionally. It's really not that economical where they live though. Not a huge deer population in the southwest, which means the tags and whatnot are more expensive. However, you can make really good money taking other people out trophy hunting. The amount that these guys are willing to pay for lion and bear hunts is crazy.

[cronewitch]

It can get expensive if you need a truck, camper and beer to hunt.

[Havoc]

You can save money by butchering it yourself, but around here (southern VA) you can get it processed for around $60... so yes, it is still very economical. Of course, if you start adding in "extras", like jerky, sausage, etc. that Tea mentioned earlier, your costs will go up consideraby, but we are happy with getting steaks, roasts, stew and ground venison packets from the "standard" processing, so we do pretty well.

Equipment costs what you want it to cost - if you are just in it for food, you can do it relatively inexpensively. A deer stand can be made in a tree with some scraps of wood and nails for a ladder and platform and, for some odd reason, deer don't seem to give a rat's patootie about whether you are shooting them with a laser-sighted Bushmaster or a $199 Walmart hunter special...

[ktunes]

It can get expensive if you need a truck, camper and beer to hunt.

there are ways around this, at least where i live...there is a large deer population in ga so the limit is more than most hunters have room to keep...they still like to hunt their limit so they take there kill to the processor...the processor usually will sell off any processed meat that does not get picked up...we get a couple a year that way

just contact a nearby processor and let him know you're interested and leave him your number...

[ktunes]

So, how much meat does a typical deer render? And, how much are you paying per pound for processing? And, most people I know aren't merely getting it cut but also deer bologna, jerky, etc. I can see people enjoying venison but I can't see how hunting is economical when you can only get one deer (two a buck and a doe) anyway.
I also wondered why venison doesn't become a point of farming and offered at grocery stores as a healthy alternative?

deer are a little smaller down here than up north...i would guess the range is from 75 lbs on the low end to over 200 lbs. for a good sized buck...i've never really weighed the meat we get but the 50 to 70 we pay goes farther than it would at a supermarket...we typically get two roasts, two packages of back strap/tenderloin, a couple steaks, and around ten 2 lb packs of ground...

we do enjoy venison and would pay a little more for it if need be...we actually have a deer trail that runs thru our back yard...i could shoot off the back deck to get one if needed...this past summer they were bedding down about 15 yards from where i park my truck...i leave when it's dark so the first time i spooked them and they darted, it startled the mess out of me...lol

if they farmed them, they would add all the crap to their feed to make them bigger...i'd prefer the wild version

btw...i think the limit here is 10 doe and 2 bucks per season

[Deleted]

I don't weigh either, but we do all the processing, even the balony, because a neighbor has the apparatus, which over years doesn't add up to much... we used to do jerky, the hydrater was like 50$ and lasted years and years... and as i said, we have little besides liscences and amo as expenses. Everything else is/would be owned anyway.

One thing about farming venison, is that as soon as you start to 'farm' it... it generally becomes LESS healthy... you end up feeding it more/differently to fatten it up... you have to deal with disease because you have to raise more in a square mile than would typically be in the wild, etc. etc.

We can usually get a bonus tag and so can get a bonus tag, which is 3 a year, but usually they shoot 1-2 a year each...

[schildi]

I agree, I would not necessarily want farmed venison, kinda takes the advantage of having lean/healthy meat away. I think they'd make sure they raise some very fat deer there, and I am sure it's doable. Humans just kill themselves because of their own greed, lol.

[notasbadasithought]

This thread reminds me of the pilgrimages that my DH made every year for years. The "BIG ELK HUNT". He did not get one for at least 10 years. (Lots of deer and antelope, though). When he finally got one, I teased him that the elk cost us at least $500/lb. if we added up all the time and expense for those 10 years. He really enjoyed it though and I loved my "alone" time while he was hunting.

[tractor]

I hunt deer and pheasant. I don't do it to save money, it's just something I enjoy, and wouldn't want to try and put a price in it. In fact we had some pheasant for dinner tonight. If I factor in hunting gear, taking care of my dogs for a year, travel expenses, the cost of a license, and the hunting/lodging fees, the pheasant probably cost me @ $200/lb. Not really a money saver. The deer I shoot out my front door cost less, and I process it myself, so it runs in the about $0.25/lb.

[schildi]

Feb 22, 2011 21:11:47 GMT -5 tractor said:

The deer I shoot out my front door cost less, and I process it myself, so it runs in the about $0.25/lb.

At least you did not run it over with a tractor, tractor!