We’ve always processed our own deer. Good boning knife or two, a couple of meat lugs, large cutting board, vacuum sealer and a grinder and bare essentials, probably $250-ish in stuff. It’s nice to have a sausage stuffer, dehydrator and pressure canner.

Almost always do my own.

Y’all already know my answer!! We have a building dedicated to meat processing and sausage making. Besides the grinders, mixers, and sealers, another very important tool to have is a good meat/bone saw. I have a good hand and electric band saw. Really makes butchering animals a breeze. The only thing I’m missing is a cooler to hang the animals in. I’m using a large refrigerator now and does ok but I’ll have a cooler in the near future. Also a good large poly cutting table is a must. Really saves the knives and easy to clean. Stainless steel and extremely hot water makes for quick and easy clean up. I’d hate to put a pencil to how much I have invested in my set up but it’s worth every penny knowing how our meat is handled from field to table.

I was intimidated by the idea. I didn't start hunting till 2021. Since then, I've knocked down 4 and processed all 4 on my own. Just watch a bunch of You Tube videos. It's easy and a great biology lesson. My process is to skin (I keep the hides), quarter, and get it in the ice chest on day 1. From there, I like to let it sit on ice a couple of days. After a few days in the cooler, I'll put it in a trash bag in the fridge and let it age about a week. After a week, I debone and trim, throw it in a freezer bag, note the date and cut with a sharpie and label and it sits in the freezer until I'm ready to make something.

Part of the fun is coming up with ideas and recipes for me. I don't have a grinder yet, but I do have a dehydrator and have made some great jerky. Processing my own meat is as much of hunting as the rest of it for me.

wish I could but no time

Do all my own unless out of state convenience says otherwise.

My daddy was a meat cutter and loved wild game. He would always cut them for me. After I was probably 20 years old he gave me all the knives and the cuber and said you are on your own. Probably cut up close to 200 in the last 45 years not all that I killed but helping others that hunt with me. Last year we made 90 pounds of summer sausage me and 2 friends . It isn’t for everybody but I got a good setup.

As far as going them for the public heck no. I used to skin for a processor to have use of his cooler and we would do mine. I got to where I didn’t want to see a deer. But boy you got to hear some stories

My favorite part of hunting is processing deer.

It takes time, but it's clean. I know what my family is eating. Some deer processing facilities are very dirty.

If I have time to sit in the woods for hours, I have time to process a deer.

Too much trouble! I don’t even gut a deer anymore unless it’s hot. I take them straight to the processor.

I do majority of my own but it always comes downs to time. With three kids and working crazy hours it is very convenient to just drop them off. I prefer to do it myself however. I usually do atleast to or three a year by myself. A good grinder and vaccum sealer are about all you really need. Dehydrators, jerky guns, cubers, and meat slicers are extra.

I have a very clean processor 2 miles down the road, so I don't fool with it, but I do gut it. I just can't make myself carry an ungutted deer to the processor, but I'm old school.

Have processed many when I was younger. Have a good processor near our lease, I just take them to him. He'll even gut and skin for $10.

Yeah I've gotten old and lazy when it comes to this.

I hope when I’m older I’ll get to do it myself. Just not enough time or space now

Typically a processor (we have a good one) does my ground stuff, sausage, cube. I take care of the skinning/deboning and the back straps and tender loins. If it gets where i can’t get that part processed, I’ll give everything away except the backstrap and tenderloins.

Who do you use?

50/50 for me, some I do myself and some I take the processor. I am in a primary CWD zone so all of those I do myself and the ones I kill outside the primary zone I take to the processor.

Define “process”.

I won’t shoot a deer that I’m gonna eat over 75lbs or so and has to be a doe, usually less than 2 years old.

Even pigs I stay under 25lbs.

I just quarter them up then when I get home I cut it up, or grind it up, and mix it with nothing, then into the freezer.

I take them piglet quarters and treat them like a chicken quarter, grill or fry.

If the pig is big, I strap it and either give it away or let the buzzards have it. If I shoot a buck, I give the meat away.

I’ve been using Boldo the past few years. Really good folks, clean facilities and do a great job

100 percent do my own. Got to where I only kill 2 or 3 a year though