Got my elk back from butcher...somethings fishy

[jrebel]

I wonder if you got someones cow instead of your bull.

That would be a small cow.

[stevemiller]

I wonder if you got someones cow instead of your bull.

That would be a small cow.

Agreed but without the roast to be able to compare size to,They are just not there for the weight either.Maybe they are still there,if not then its not right.

[bone collector 12]

We got hosed this year to.. Got 2 boxes of meat, a shoebox full of steaks and the rest was burger, only got 115 pounds total including peppersticks, but still cost almost $550

[stevemiller]

Just found this in Long Range hunting magazine.

Average elk bull weighs 474 pounds
Hanging weight skinned no head no legs 337 pounds
total meat yield 242
steak and roast 77
burger 165.


left shoulder 29
right shoulder 30
left hind 50
right hind 44
flank and rib 37 of burger
backstrap 31
neck 17 for trim
tenderloins 4
bone 95
hide head and horns 62
about 75 for legs and guts.

[huntnnw]

Once again...none of that meat is probably from your elk..butcher shops dont do 1 animal at a time and seperate animals

[NumaJohn]

Sorry to hear about this situation. For a nice bull like that, you should definitely have much more meat.

I can only echo huntnnw's comment about the benefit of processing your own animals. It takes time--though less time the more you do it--but it's always more satisfying to know everything about what you are eating and how it was cared for from the field to the plate.

I hope you and the butcher can come to some sort of resolution.

John

[huntnnw]

What I love is " I dont have time to do it" well you had time to hunt.

[syoungs]

your elk more then likely was either mishandled and tossed out, accidently given away, or was used to fill another customers order that was lost or given away, and what your left with is scraps from other animals coming through.

I would hope that maybe the butcher left a box or 2 in the freezer and it was an honest mistake, but im really doubting its your animal if it was so funky you had to throw some away already.

Sorry to hear it man, I wouldnt hold out for to much of a resolution, just keep in mind its easier to catch flys with honey, be the nice guy at first and see what his reaction is.

with you tube, and the price of processing equipment now a days, it really is a good idea to do it yourself if at all possible, I know sometimes it isnt feasable, but its a very rewarding experience.

[Bean Counter]

I thank the OP for not naming the butcher without talking to him first. Good form. 

We normally get 200-250 out of a bull. Lots of trimming as I don't like silverseam and tendon in my meat. I would definitely ask where the meat was for 3 months. If it was more than a few weeks refrigeration, even under the most ideal circumstances, won't keep it. It would likely have to be frozen lest it spoil.

I gotta play devils advocate. How was your field care? Did you let your elk sit for 24 hours in the warm sun before getting I the processor? Did you blast through his hind legs a few times? I've got less than 50% of what I normally do when I had a bad shot once.

[Widgeondeke]

I sure hope the butcher whispered sweet nothings in your ear, cause you got   
  sorry this happened.  I really hope you call today and get "yes we have an entire flat still here"

Not that it helps you, but my sons forkie blacktail gave us over 50# of meat when I was done processing it. I weighed it all on our digital small animal scale

Good luck with that phone call.

[Kuduman]

For me the first red flag went up when you said it has been three months to get your meat back. I can see a month if there real busy but three months is absurd.
 weather that elk meat is yours or not  would be pretty hard to prove. However, what is the real issue is the yield and the lack of steaks that you received. That combined with the turn around time tells me that you got hosed.

 I had a deer butchered about 25 years ago and when I went to pick up the meat I was given one box that weighed about 30 pounds of all burger. My instructions to the butcher upon drop off was........ As many steaks as possible and as little burger as possible. This was a neck shot buck with a hanging weight of 115#. I was told by an employee that my steaks were given to another customer by mistake. So not only did I not receive my meat but I was charged for the steaks that were given away 

Ive done my own butchering ever since.

Good Luck... Looking forward to seeing how this ends.

[jackelope]

Why on earth did it take 3 months? The last deer I killed I had almost all of it turned into different types of sausages, pep sticks, etc and it took 2 weeks and it was thanksgiving time. I've only processed my own venison the last 15 years or so, but due to circumstances beyond my control I took it to a shop that year.

[wildweeds]

Yeah you got hosed,I've seen some very dirty Spike Elk that netted more meat than you got back.I've been fortunate enough to have 3 butchers in the family,My Granddad and 2 uncles.Processing your own even if you don't know all the cuts is actually pretty easy.Steak the backstraps,cut out the tenderloin and grind the rest.It's a whittling red meat off the bone show.Get a worksharp knife sharpener and use it often.Nothing helps the project along better than a sharp knife.

[pianoman9701]

I'm betting they got meat mixed up or have bigger problems. Definitely report to WDFW. And, if you have a couple hundred bucks and some hide or hair left, get a DNA comparison of the meat to the hair. It may show that it's two different animals. That would be a big problem for them and would be actionable in small claims.

[Elkrunner]

It took 3 months to get my elk back. Shot him during modern on or around the 12th of November....Just him back on saturday. I really didnt notice how little meat was there until I started going through it today for dinner preparations, then I weighed it.

The butcher was near the Packwood area, I couldn't take him to my regular butcher in town due to how far away we were and the fact that we still had more hunting left to do. I'm going to talk to the butcher tomorrow to get to the bottom of this, he is closed Sunday and Monday...

3 months???  That is definitely messed up.  I have never heard of it taking more than 2 weeks.  Something is really fishy here