# home butchering



## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Well ... it is that time of year again ... we have a few lambs to put up. Started today ... two down and a few more to go. 

No hog this year ...  ... that is going to hurt as I'm out of bacon. Had plans to pick a pig up but it never happened, one thing after another) .. dang.

And we have barnyard chicken on Sundays ...  ... 

Anyone else butchering???


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Just 1 deer this year and that's already in the freezer. Eventually we will do a goat but there's no room in the freezer.


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## kyfarmer (Feb 22, 2009)

1 deer also, a friend shot it and i done the skinning and cleaning for half the meat. Good deal i think. Looked at a few hog's dang they are high this year.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

UncleJoe said:


> Just 1 deer this year and that's already in the freezer. Eventually we will do a goat but there's no room in the freezer.


My friends and I had quite a few tags between all of us. We only collected 1/3 of the deer that we had tags for. We have all agreed that this was one of the most expensive years for hunting - hours of driving to and from the hunting-zones plus ammo plus camp-food plus tags plus ...

It would have been cheaper for us to have taken that same money, pooled it together and just bought a few live cows / pigs / etc and just butcher them ourselves and split evenly ...

BTW: Yes - I did get one deer into my freezer this year.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

NaeKid said:


> My friends and I had quite a few tags between all of us. We only collected 1/3 of the deer that we had tags for. We have all agreed that this was one of the most expensive years for hunting - hours of driving to and from the hunting-zones plus ammo plus camp-food plus tags plus ...
> 
> It would have been cheaper for us to have taken that same money, pooled it together and just bought a few live cows / pigs / etc and just butcher them ourselves and split evenly ...
> 
> BTW: Yes - I did get one deer into my freezer this year.


Hunting is more fun than buying and slaughtering. In my opinion.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

I am only concerned with filling my freezer with food. I like being outdoors and doing the outdoors thing, but, my priority is keeping fed for as cheap as possible.

Like I say - this year's hunt was more expensive than normal with a lower result than average. Disappointing, but, I still got one deer packed away.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Hunting can be expensive if you have to buy the tags and drive to a hunting area. My dad was talking about how much they have went up. We are very lucky as of now in Virginia. Land owners do not have to have a licence or buy tags to deer hunt on their own land.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

There are lots of deer living here in the city - in fact - I saw 2 deer wandering along the main north-south highway running through the city on Sunday. Being in the city, I am not allowed to shoot here :gaah:

One good spot that we usually have lots of luck at is about 1hr drive north and west of the city. The only deer I saw there in the fall of 2009 were all too far off for a clean shot (300 yards plus). My deer was taken about 45 min north of the city on the second-to-last day of the season at about 50 yards.

Tags here are not very expensive, but, each tag costs something and we all hate to waste our tags.


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## allen_idaho (Oct 21, 2009)

I already did my butchering this year. Freezer is packed to capacity. I try to get it all done and out of the way before winter because if you do it during the winter, the meat can get a bit tougher and leaner. 

I will probably be butchering again in late spring because some of the folks have been asking about buying some.

The problem with doing it at home is that you can't hang the meat as long without a large walk in freezer. That's why I don't do it myself anymore.


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## TreeMUPKennel (Jan 29, 2010)

The hunting for the meat is my favorite but it can cost you. I only got three deer this yr. But thats a good bit of meat. They dont cost me to much i walk to my deer hunting spots from my house. I got wild hogs around here to but havent got any yet this yr. "Around the housethat is" But when I go hog/bear hunting to the MTN's its a 5 or so hour drive for me and sometimes multible times a season. And I have hunting dogs for out there so its adds up to maintain dog and hunting gear. But been interested in raisen some game like rabbits chickens or so. We take a small trailer when hog hunting and catch hogs alive to bring home for butchering. Had a good bit of them till somebody broke my locks on my pen in the woods and they all escaped. Now I only bring one home at a time.


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## Jaspar (Feb 3, 2010)

My dad and I split a hog from a local farmer (cheap and tasty). One half of a homeraised Hereford steer in the freezer. We don't butcher ourselves, but could if we needed to. 

Father in law gave us half of the buck he shot this winter. He processes that himself and man, is it yummy.


Nothing like a seemingly endless supply of Hereford beef. MMmmmmm.:2thumb:


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

Jaspar said:


> My dad and I split a hog from a local farmer (cheap and tasty). One half of a homeraised Hereford steer in the freezer. We don't butcher ourselves, but could if we needed to.
> 
> Father in law gave us half of the buck he shot this winter. He processes that himself and man, is it yummy.
> 
> Nothing like a seemingly endless supply of Hereford beef. MMmmmmm.:2thumb:


Lucky You.


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