Fisrt deer question - as in first harvested deer question, not first question about deer?

Question

I recently made my first kill, first cleaning, and butchered my first deer and was currious if there is a ratio to determine the amount of meat you can expect from a deer by it's weight or vice versa, take the anmount/weight of processed meat and calculate the size of the deer? In case anyone wants to know - 16 yrd shot, 20" bolt, 1 3/8" broadhead, 150lbs draw weight cross bow - frontal lower neck shot, penetrating 7", dropped it where it stood. I know I could have done a better job of butchering and I'll have proper/better equipment next time, just wondering if the is a way to "rate" my first experience in butchering.

Thanks

Answer 1

It depends on whether or not you are de-boning the meat. If you are totally de-boning it then it is about 35% of the hung weight. For example if a deer weighs 120 lbs (after gutting but with the hide still on) you can expect around 35 to 40 lbs of meat, of that 12 to 15 lbs are hamburger (or stew chunks whatever you want to make out of the front shoulders and the shanks of the legs, and the neck) You should get several steaks out of the backstraps (around 8 to 10 lbs) and then roasts or steaks out of the rear thighs (2 sirloin tips about 1.5lbs each) and 10 to 14 lbs of other steaks or roasts.
Just a side note: For better tasting meat make sure you remove all of the silverskin, most butchers will not do this because it is too time consuming but it is worth it. I use a thin blade fillet knife and skin the meat the same way you would do a fish. Good luck and good eating to you.

Answer 2

As a rule of thumb, I expect to get about 60% of the field dressed weight in edible meat. By field dressed, I mean gutted but with the skin and head still on. That figures out to be around 50% of the live weight. These are just rough estimates and the actual numbers can vary a bit from these.

Answer 3

Usually the animals is weighed once its gutted. If you that weight a good average is 60-65%. I have weighed every dear I have killed, after they have been gutted, but before I have skinned or anything.....and that about what I get every year...sometime more and sometime less.....So if you have a 200lb animal, then you would get about 120-130 lbs of meat, depending on how you have it processed.....jerky takes a lot more meat to make than say steaks. They say 2-3lbs of meat will make one pound of Jerky.

Answer 4

Here is a website that tells more information than you want to know on the subject.

http://www.butcher-packer.com/pages-document_general_info/product-331/how-much-meat-will-your-deer-yield.html

It looks like roughly 50% of the dressed weight is meat, give or take.

Answer 5

Their is a ratio I've seen several times in the past. The same formula also works for sheep. Its like 55% but can't be sure until I find my mags.

Answer 6

go to outdoorlife.com to mike hanback's buck zone, look in the archives and you'll find your answer and also, a printable weight to meat ratio table.

Answer 7

All you guys are the biggest dorks. Congrats on yer first kill, ya little dicked pansy. That goes for all ya lame-o hunters, ya dik heads