Weight of deer based on meat after processing deer

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9pt
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Weight of deer based on meat after processing deer

Unread postby 9pt » Wed Oct 28, 2015 1:45 am

I was not able to weigh my deer by myself. I also do not butcher the deer myself. The reaction from the butcher o took it to was that it was a BIG deer. I got about 100 lbs of meat from the deer.

Any way to guess what the deer weighed on the hoof or field dressed based on that amount of meat in the freezer?

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Re: Weight of deer based on meat after processing deer

Unread postby moog5050 » Wed Oct 28, 2015 1:49 am

100lbs is a ton of meat from 1 deer. We don't have 300lbers around here, but that would be twice as much as I typically get from a deer when I process it myself and take my time.
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Re: Weight of deer based on meat after processing deer

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Wed Oct 28, 2015 1:51 am

It depends on how well the butcher trimmed the meat away so you will never know but it could have weighted 200 or more pounds as 50% of the dressed weight is lost to head, hide, bones and fat.
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Re: Weight of deer based on meat after processing deer

Unread postby CRK925 » Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:17 am

Generally you'll get 30%-50% of dressed weight back after butchering. Larger animals will yield closer to the 50% range.

If I had to guess your deer probably went close to 200# dressed, maybe 240#-250# live weight.

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Re: Weight of deer based on meat after processing deer

Unread postby jmaas07 » Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:41 am

One of the bucks I shot last year dressed 191, I got just about 80lbs of meat off that buck

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Re: Weight of deer based on meat after processing deer

Unread postby JoeRE » Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:46 am

I keep pretty accurate records of the ones we weigh live weight and then how much meat we get off them.

Before the rut on a fat 3 year old or older buck, my ratio has been 0.46 to 0.48. Meaning if I got 100 lbs with no wastage (and including the heart but no bones) the buck would be on the hoof 208-218 lbs.

After the rut I see the ratio on adult bucks drop to 0.40-0.45. There is more variability in how run down bucks get. Some are almost skin and bones.

I will say I have yet to hear of a butcher/meat locker that gets as much meat off a buck as I do. I trim things very well, virtually no fat left on the meat, but also waste very little. I think most butchers/meat lockers waste 10-20% more than if a hunter took the time to process it well themselves. My hunch would be if your butcher got 100 lbs of meat the buck probably weighed in the neighborhood of 230-250 lbs on the hoof. That is a nice big buck.
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Re: Weight of deer based on meat after processing deer

Unread postby Dewey » Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:49 am

I'm guessing he had to be in the 220 dressed range to get 100 lbs of meat. Every deer I butchered in the 200 lb range yielded 80-90 lbs of trimmed pure red meat.

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Re: Weight of deer based on meat after processing deer

Unread postby Kraftd » Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:59 am

Dewey wrote:I'm guessing he had to be in the 220 dressed range to get 100 lbs of meat. Every deer I butchered in the 200 lb range yielded 80-90 lbs of trimmed pure red meat.

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The trimmed pure red meat is the key here to me. I've never taken one in, but those I have seen come back with a ton of fat and other pieces I may trim a little tighter on. My guess would be right around 200 pounds dressed, so a real good one. The extra 10-20 pounds could easily be fat this time of year. This is about as much fat as a buck is going to have on him all year right now as they ramp up for the rut and then try to get through the winter. If the meat is pretty free of fat, 220 dressed sounds like a good guess.
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Re: Weight of deer based on meat after processing deer

Unread postby moog5050 » Wed Oct 28, 2015 3:47 am

I must be the worlds laziest butcher. I would guess that I only get about 35% meat to weight. It is all well trimmed lean meat though.


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