Bagging My Biggest Buck on Opening Day: A Lesson in Butchering

The more you do it the easier it gets, it tool my family all day but we butchered 4 deer last Saturday. Having sharp knives would have sped that up

At home butchering is the way to go. Invest in a decent stainless steel table and some meat tubs. My father in law and i go in halves on a new piece of equipment every year. In just a couple years we have got a 7ft table, grinder, stuffer, tenderizer, and jerky slicer. I've been processing my own deer for years but I still feel like I learn a new trick each time I do one.

@Scott a few days post processing and I’m happy I did it.

Things learned on first go round, 1. Taller table. 2. Trim the off cuts while you go to make the grinding stage easier. 3. More bowls/tubs than you think you need. 4. Sharpen often. 5. Take breaks. An extra few minutes won’t be the end of the world and you body will thank you.

Little tip I learned last year when grinding: no matter how much trimming you do the grinder will still want to gum up some as you go. Have a bag of ice with you and toss in a couple ice cubes with meat as you go once it starts clogging. It may be a common practice but it's something I just learned last year.

@Scott guess I over trimmed then. Never gummed up. Though the grinder I got has an ice pack that goes around the auger housing so it stayed cold the whole time. Noted on the tip for next time though 👍🏼