Actual Weight of Meat - Can we be honest?

[shannerdrake]

I’m glad we are covering this. I hear some of these yield numbers and don’t know what to think.

My 2020 bull was 392 pounds “rail weight” which is as pictured below (I added the pre-skinned pic for reference). I know because I helped the butcher hang it and I wrote down the numbers. Does that pass the sniff test with all of you or do I need to demand he calibrate his scale?

 

[ImBillT]

I’m glad we are covering this. I hear some of these yield numbers and don’t know what to think.

My 2020 bull was 392 pounds “rail weight” which is as pictured below (I added the pre-skinned pic for reference). I know because I helped the butcher hang it and I wrote down the numbers. Does that pass the sniff test with all of you or do I need to demand he calibrate his scale?

View attachment 245667View attachment 245668

I’d say it passes the sniff test to me. Probably larger than average, but well within reason.

 

[ImBillT]

My mule deer last year
1)87lbs boned out, but lost the neck, or it would have been in the 90’s.
2)98-ish to the best of my memory.

My brother’s mule deer last year
134lbs boned out.

My cow elk last year
183lbs boned out.

All of my weights are simply de-boned, with any major wounding left in the field. I don’t weigh after trimming. My total packaged weights would be lower. When I walked up to my brother’s buck last year I said “this is the first deer I’ve ever seen that I feel like I could ride!”

 

[jrabq]

Buddies OR Elk, 4 qrts, back straps, tenderloins, and neck meat; 347# hanging at the processor.

Is that a Roosevelt or Rocky?

 

[Dsnow9]

Shot a cow elk on Saturday and weighed the meat for the first time. Will do in the future because I think it’s interesting. 153lb. 4 quarters, back straps, tenderloins, and heart deboned.

 

[ImBillT]

Shot a cow elk on Saturday and weighed the meat for the first time. Will do in the future because I think it’s interesting. 153lb. 4 quarters, back straps, tenderloins, and heart deboned.

Flank meat?

I just weighed my flank and trim bag from a cow I shot Monday and got 35lbs.

 

[Dsnow9]

Flank meat?

I just weighed my flank and trim bag from a cow I shot Monday and got 35lbs.

I just took what was listed. I came out with a 105lb load on the back and my hunting 2 hunting partners were sitting around 80lb with gear and rifles. It was a hell hole and a half on the other side of a burn. Wasn’t going to make two trips and I don’t know if any of us could have made it out one pound heavier.

 

[D_Walt]

Idk…my daughter shot this little bull on Saturday and after a couple beers on Tuesday I heard myself tell a fella we packed out “300 lbs”, I was surprised at his rate of growth, maybe I made a trip with a pack full of rocks I don’t remember . Last bull this size I killed we came out with 160 lbs bone in shoulders, boned out hams, straps, neck trim and one tenderloin.

 

[kwyeewyk]

Recent cow elk about 56lbs rear quarters bone in, 42-43lbs bone out, both front shoulders combined 37+lbs bone out, all other meat 48lbs without one tenderloin and heart that didn't get weighed, so around 175lbs bone out. I probably could get more off ribs and neck, need to work on the rib roll.

 

[Bluffgruff]

Caribou 2022
148lbs bone in Alaska style (everything).
I'm glad it wasnt any more than that.

 

[WapitiBob]

Is that a Roosevelt or Rocky?

rocky
Biggest body I've seen in almost 50 years of hunting them. Hinds wouldn't fit in my caribou elk quarter bags and took 2 of us to pack a hind over to the shade.

 

[ImBillT]

I just took what was listed. I came out with a 105lb load on the back and my hunting 2 hunting partners were sitting around 80lb with gear and rifles. It was a hell hole and a half on the other side of a burn. Wasn’t going to make two trips and I don’t know if any of us could have made it out one pound heavier.

No judgement at all. Just seeing how to compare it to my cow last year. Adding 35lbs to account for flank meat would put it right at my cow last year.

 

[270.Rose]

My bull elk killed last October. A professional outfitter told me that he was most likely three years old. We didn't weigh until everything was processed and fully trimmed but we got 225lbs of meat ready to eat.

 

[wolfpup]

Eastern CO Pronghorn… another good year!

I am extremely lucky to have family and friends on the eastern plains that allow me to hunt antelope… it’s always a great time with friends. My wife is the only one to stick to her statement that she will only need one bullet! She made a great shot on a doe getting ready to bolt. I was able...

www.hunttalk.com

I guess the only time I weigh out is when I actually have a product to put in the freezer. All other weights don't do mean any good.

Finished processing last night and here are the numbers we got from 3 antelope:

All deboned completely and ready for grinding, but I did add 14 pounds of pork but for the total:

12 Pounds Chorizo - Followed Hi Mtn Seasonings - Mixed 60/40 pork
12 Pounds Country Style Breakfast Sausage - Followed Hi Mtn Seasonings - Mixed 60/40 pork
12 Points Maple Style Breakfast Sausage - Followed Hi Mtn Seasonings - Mixed 70/30 pork
18 Pounds Meatballs - Mixed 60/40 pork - Just added Garlic, Onion, Salt, Pepper, Worcheshire, Bread Crumbs, Milk for Texture
10 Pounds ground antelope only - Will do Jerky with this - Will use all Hi Mtn Products (new this year will be spicy lime and bourbon bbq)
11.7 pounds of backstraps - Cut each side into 2 for packaging
1.5 pounds of tenderloins - Marinated in Kinders since Sunday and enjoyed mid processing.
5 pounds of shanks to be enjoyed slow cooked barbacoa style for tacos.

So about 68 points of antelope for 3 of us. The buck might have had 5-10 pounds on the does, but my wife blew out the majority of the lower shoulder so probably lost 3-4 pounds. There. Seemed pretty average to me at 20 pounds for a doe and 25 for a buck.

 

[TOGIE]

this years mule deer buck:



total weight of all meat carried out of the field. quarters bone in, cut at the hock. took heart: 91.1 lbs
weight of head, skinned, jaw left on, eyes removed, missing one antler: 8.1 lbs
total pack out: 99.2 lbs

 

[kwyeewyk]

Recent cow elk about 56lbs rear quarters bone in, 42-43lbs bone out, both front shoulders combined 37+lbs bone out, all other meat 48lbs without one tenderloin and heart that didn't get weighed, so around 175lbs bone out. I probably could get more off ribs and neck, need to work on the rib roll.

Friend's cow had nearly identical weights.

 

[wsco3506]

This year we had a scale in camp. Here is what we carried off the hill for the cow I killed.
Fronts= 31.5 and 27.5
The goodie bag with the tenderloin, backstrap, heart, liver and neck meat =44.5
I think we accidentally weighed the same back quarter twice but I have them down as 48.4 each.
After trimming and cutting we put 139 lbs in the freezer. We trim pretty aggressively.
Edit... Forgot to say the weights were bone out.

 

[Don Fischer]

Never boned out an animal in the field. How would you weight it in the field. Always took the game home and weighed the carcass in the shop. Biggest deer I ever got was 225# hanging weight. That's with the lower legs removed and the head and guts out. Don't recall what I got packaged anymore but seem's like something around 35 to 40% of hanging weight was it. Recall a deer I got in Oregon years ago. Nice buck but no way to weight it hanging. But I do recall I only got 65# of meat off of it. Remember because I'd always been under the impression that a 200# animal gave you 200# of meat! Duh! If I was to guess live weight I'd think it was maybe 150#. At 150# hanging 40% would be 60# meat.

 

[KipCarson]

I finished butchering my bull and weighed it all up in the butcher shop tonight. I ended up with 319.5 lbs of finished fully processed, all deboned meat.

I took time to also weigh my scrap/trimming bucket at the end too so I could know the total packed out weight. It was 90 lbs. So in total we packed off 409.5 lbs of deboned elk off the mountain, not counting the skull and the cape. This weight was also not including one of the tenderloins and about 5-7 lbs of steak that was already eaten or given away to friends.

We took absolutely everything, down to trimming out the meat between the ribs. 7 pack loads of meat, 1 pack load of head and cape. By the time we left the carcass behind the robber jays were giving us dirty looks for not leaving them enough scraps! I would have liked an accurate live weight that one.

 

[Sask hunter]

505 bone in meat off him. Bigger then most of the little moose I have shot in my life
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