Actual Weight of Meat - Can we be honest?

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

^ I think pics like that are exactly what this thread is trying avoid. An obviously huge deer that has been attached to all sorts of email forwards, facebook posts and forum posts over the years. Pretty sure I first saw it close to 10 years ago.
The most "legit" source seems to be that it is from a high-fence whitetail farm in WI, listed in their trophy galleries for 2009. No weights are listed.

2009

www.wildernesswhitetails.com

Looking at their gallery, there sure is a stereotypical person who hunts with them. I would say 50 years old+, white male makes up 90% of their clientele. Interesting if you ask me. Do we get lazy late in life?

 

[Muley_Stalker]

I know the pic is old. The only reason I posted it is you never know when someone gives weights if it's the truth or not. I'll give someone the benefit of doubt until it's proven wrong.

I do agree with this topic though. Most weights are exaggerated. I never talk about kills or show pics. I don't consider it that important. I hunt for myself.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I know the pic is old. The only reason I posted it is you never know when someone gives weights if it's the truth or not. I'll give someone the benefit of doubt until it's proven wrong.

I do agree with this topic though. Most weights are exaggerated. I never talk about kills or show pics. I don't consider it that important. I hunt for myself.

Hence the topic, post your weights if you used a scale and can described your process so we can tell what you did. E.g. hanging weight/quarters bone in/ boned out/ kept every scrap versus kept legal requirements.

 

[----]

I carried an entire whitetail buck out this year 4 miles, one trip. Bone-in quarters, de-boned rib meat, skinned skull, tongue, heart etc. Almost zero meat waste. I thought about this thread when I got home, but didn't have the heart to weigh it. I doubt it was more than 60 pounds.

 

[Muley_Stalker]

Hence the topic, post your weights if you used a scale and can described your process so we can tell what you did. E.g. hanging weight/quarters bone in/ boned out/ kept every scrap versus kept legal requirements.

If you're asking about what I do. You should know in Colorado we don't drag out the game. At least I don't. I skin and bone out everything I shoot. Too far and too many climbs to do it any other way. Plus, I live in an apartment now, so no place to hang it. I take more than what we have to to be legal. I take everything. I never found a need to weigh any of it.

I posted the pic of the fatty because some seem to doubt deer get that big.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

If you're asking about what I do. You should know in Colorado we don't drag out the game. At least I don't. I skin and bone out everything I shoot. Too far and too many climbs to do it any other way. Plus, I live in an apartment now, so no place to hang it. I take more than what we have to to be legal. I take everything. I never found a need to weigh any of it.

I posted the pic of the fatty because some seem to doubt deer get that big.

Just reiterating the topic of this thread, simply trying to collect accurate as possible anecdotal evidence about people's hunting experience.

 

[Muley_Stalker]

I wish I could help with actual weights but i'm sure you know what size they are here. I'm not a trophy hunter but the big ones have more meat and that's what i'm after.

 

[tjones]

I posted the pic of the fatty because some seem to doubt deer get that big.

I may be wrong but game farm deer weight on a DIY forum probably isn't what the OP was looking for.

 

[EYJONAS!]

 

[Muley_Stalker]

I may be wrong but game farm deer weight on a DIY forum probably isn't what the OP was looking for.

True and I should have shown a big buck from public land. I just thought fatty was kind of comical. He didn't miss any meals.

 

[EYJONAS!]

True and I should have shown a big buck from public land. I just thought fatty was kind of comical. He didn't miss any meals.

Looking at their website I don't think they miss any meals or steroid injections. I've taken some large mule deer in the high 2s maybe 300 lb range before. Those deer on that farm something is wrong.

 

[ImBillT]

Here's a fatty. Not mine. 420lb.

Omg!

 

[ImBillT]

As far as I can tell, a meat yield between 30% and 34% is quite typical, but as high as 40% MIGHT be possible depending on the animal and the butcher. I always assume 33% and estimate the live weight of my animal based on 33% of what I bring home minus bones. It surprising how to close to 100lbs all the mule deer I’ve processed have yielded. That’s even when I shoot one that I think is small bodied, or one that I think is large bodied.

 

[cascadehunter]

This season I brought a scale into the field for the first time, actually had two different scales for my elk hunt.

I tried to make my measurements as scientific as possible, my yields were dramatically different from the numbers people throw around. Neither of my animals were massive, but neither were dramatically small. I believe both were fairly representative of what your average hunter pulls out of the woods in Colorado.

Would you be willing to weight your meat, post a pic of the animal, and post pictures or give a short description of how you butchered.

I literally give no chitts about "oh well we usually get bla bla bla" the internet abounds in blowhards, I'm asking for some objective facts, if you can't "prove" the weight of a specific animal your info isn't of interest. Also please keep the shaming to a minimum, I'm interested in your numbers I don't care what you do or do not bring home as long as you are acting legally in your jurisdiction.

I realize this is kinda a pain the butt, so thank you to anyone that chooses to participate. All critters welcome.

Had & have so much fun with weight scales at camp. My brother was always saying how BIG his deer were. So i brought some 'Liars' scales o e yr & we all laughed, esp my bro, about how his & all of our estimates went down!
All of a sudden that 200lb mulie field dressed was only 160 & scale showed 140lbs...ha, was hilarious. Also the LIARS scales has a meat yield estimate that is fairly accurate.
I have also packed out several bull elk. Largest boned out weighed,full boned out, on official scales at meat locker 300lbs, others were 260 - 285lbs, same meat locker certified scales & fully boned out. Neck, qtrs, backstrap, tenders, flank, no organ meat...so big bulls weigh hella lots!!
Just have fun out there!

 

[ChrisAU]

I had a whitetail a couple weeks ago that yielded only about 25%, he was 205 lbs but that joker was fatttt. He had almost a 3/4" layer of fat down his back, and a layer on both hind legs forward facing sides over 1.25" thick! Managed to get just over 50 lbs of deboned meat from him, no meat loss as he was shot behind the shoulder. He must've been on his way to see Jenny Craig when I busted him.

 

[Jmnhunter]

Had & have so much fun with weight scales at camp. My brother was always saying how BIG his deer were. So i brought some 'Liars' scales o e yr & we all laughed, esp my bro, about how his & all of our estimates went down!
All of a sudden that 200lb mulie field dressed was only 160 & scale showed 140lbs...ha, was hilarious. Also the LIARS scales has a meat yield estimate that is fairly accurate.
I have also packed out several bull elk. Largest boned out weighed,full boned out, on official scales at meat locker 300lbs, others were 260 - 285lbs, same meat locker certified scales & fully boned out. Neck, qtrs, backstrap, tenders, flank, no organ meat...so big bulls weigh hella lots!!
Just have fun out there!

that reminds me of a buddy I have, a classic one-upper; shot 2 nice bucks and both he claimed were 250 (not officially weighed), big bodied deer no doubt, but after reviewing this thread and own observations, I would now guess 180 to 200 tops; just wish I could weigh the deer with him

 

[Bluffgruff]

Anybody got pronghorn data?
I wish I had done a better job of keeping track the last few years

 

[EYJONAS!]

You can carry an entire Antelope out whole, on a pack frame.

 

[BrentD]

You can carry an entire Antelope out whole, on a pack frame.

Yup

 

[diamond hitch]

My concern has been the number of people that have said they boned out an elk and packed it out in one load. Better than I, I guess. The biggest quarter I ever weighed was 104 lbs. In more than 50 years I have found young cows and spikes at about 60 lbs per quarter. Most cows average about 70 lbs and mid aged bulls in the 80-90 lb range. When I say quarters that is spliting the half at the thiird rib.

This year I killed a three year old dry cow and packed the quarters out on horses. The quarters weighed 74 lbs on a spring scale. When I cut her up the yield ( on a balance beam doctors scale) was:
250 lbs subdivided into 71# of bone, 96 # of hamburger, 11# of trim, 72 # of wrapped steaks and roasts.

I bone the neck meat and take the meat off of ribs but not between the ribs. I put the front shoulder into hamburger because we eat more of that. The trim consists of bloodshot, fat, muscle tendon, veins and glands. I don't turn it into sausage or jerky. I just eat elk for dinner 2-3 times per week. My family even likes to eat it.