I do not take offense to anything you said. If this was a d**k measuring contest.....my zipper would stay up. Not for reasons of of inadequacy but for reasons of competition. I was just curious as to why most forum members visit processors instead of doing it theirselves. Not looking for a fight.
No worries, it's hard to tell "tone" via text. For my part in that I apologize.
Not a bad topic. When time permits I grind,cut and wrap my own. I killed 5 deer this year and my brother killed 4. Out of them I sent two of them to a friend because he has a cuber. He charges me 45.00 pr animal. There's times when I am extremely busy and I have them done but I will not pay more than 50.00 ever.Honestly I couldn't afford to get every animal processed that I kill,seriously. I hunted up in Ga this yr and them guys don't even gut them,straight to the processor,they don't even bring them to camp or anything. The big deer I kill in Missouri I like to bring back and have cube steaks made and I still quarter them up.I use to make a lot of jerky till my dehyrdrator burned up also saausage and meat sticks.I don't think there's nothing wrong with having your game done for you if you can afford it,look how much it helps out the butchers during deer season. I do think a guy should gut his own animal and at least try wrapping one up at least once in his life though.
I don't know about any one else but I'm just lazy. Not every deer I get goes to the processor but then again I only average 2 or 3 a year. And I haven't seen a hog in 4 years. I can't get everything from a processor that you make but at the same time I don't care to. I'll skin it and quarter it up in the woods each time for the most part. The last one I took in was completely made in to link sausage to share with family and friends at our weekly BBQ's. That was the only one taken to the processor this year for me. I'm sure I could make the time to do my own but I already have too many toys and hobbies that I don't do and just don't feel the need to add another. Now send me some brats would ya? :toast
For me, it strictly depends on what I have time to do, and what I NEED done with the meat. First off, I like to ice down the meat for a few days, then process it(if doing myself).
(Mainly during the off season, as I freeze most of my animals quartered
That right there is something I refuse to do. Large pieces of meat take up entirely too much room in the freezer, are too hard to wrap properly, and usually end up with some degree of freezer burn. If I can't get the meat done and in the freezer by the time I need the cooler again, then it goes to a processor. Ive been fortunate to have a couple good seasons in a row. Last year I had 2 deer in the cooler at one time, then 2 150+ hogs at another time. There was just no way for me to get it all done
This year I killed 2 deer and 11 hogs, most of them before Thanksgiving. Thats just too much stuff to deal wit, and I am usually doing it by myself. My processor is a 5 minute drive
If getting link sausage done, IMHO I can get it done at a processor for as cheap as I can do it myself. The hanks are really expensive now, and running sausage thru a stuffer is a pain in the azz. Not worth the hassle for me
For me, its all about what I need and what I have time for. Ive spent about $300 or so this year in processor fees, and every penny is well worth it, imho
I give the first few archery kills to my FIL and keep the rest. I do take the time (if permitting) to debone everything I kill that I'm going to eat. My buddy use to be a processor and I gave him half the meat and he processed the rest of it for me for free. I would carry all my deer to the processor if it was cheaper. I'm a hunter, not a butcher. I'd rather spend the time getting my rest to hunt the next day lol
