Got my elk back from butcher...somethings fishy

[birddogdad]

This, to me, is just a life lesson on finishing what you started... PROCESS YOUR OWN GAME... it isn't rocket science!!! you have a whole year to read about and obtain equipment. This has been a repeat theme everywhere I have ever lived... Trust me, you will never go back to a butcher for any game processing..... the more you learn about the process, including smoking and canning, the better it will get... if you have the weather or buy a fridge just for game, dry aging is where it is at on bulls n bucks!

[Bullkllr]

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

 

The processing probably takes a few hours at most. No way was it hanging that long. Unless they froze it to go on vacation or something, that's beyond reasonable and highly suspect.

[Smokepole]

I got 60+ lbs. of meat of a small mule deer this year, butchering it myself.  I hope you can get some satisfaction from the butcher.  There must have been a misunderstanding.  Good luck.

[lokidog]

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.

I'm sorry for the OP, however, I'm not sure I believe 200+ pounds out of an elk.     The last elk I weighed my meat, self processed archery killl, no bloodshot meat, was about 110 pounds.  This was a 5 point Margaret bull, unless I am thinking of the cow I shot a few years later.  I'm pretty sure it was the bull though and I did not save rib meat, birds need to eat too.  ** OK, maybe it was the cow, young one. **

I do know that my moose was 500+ pounds of meat (untrimmed, no bones) brought to the butcher, and I find it hard to believe that more than a small percentage of elk would come close to half that, and cleaned up meat no less. ** Still hold be this.**

[pianoman9701]

I shot a big cow one year and got 175 out of her.

[Bob33]

http://www.wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B594R.pdf

"The boneless lean yield averaged 50 percent of the field dressed weight."

"The clean dressed weight (field-dressed weight minus the head and hide) of these carcasses, the great majority of which were bulls, was 305 pounds. The weight of boneless cuts was 159 pounds."

"Average field-dressed weights, boneless meat yield, and the proportion of Wyoming elk harvested in each age class are shown in Table 3. These figures, in addition to the proportion of bulls and cows harvested in 2001, were used to calculate an overall weighted average for field-dressed elk in Wyoming. The weighted average for all elk, including calves, was 328.2 pounds field dressed, which can be converted to 164.1 pounds of boneless elk meat per animal."

[NRA4LIFE]

I completely agree with Bob33.  I've skinned and butchered at least 200 big game animals from antelope to Moose and generally, on average, the boneless meat yield is anywhere from 40-50% of the field dressed weight.  This is largely dependent on the shot placement and how much meat was ruined plus how picky you are.  50% or maybe a bit more is about the max IMO.  The one critter that seemed to buck this trend  was my Buddy's WA moose.  Seemed like even more than 50% that we got.

[buckhorn2]

We took an elk to the butchers and while we were hanging it his wife walks in and asked him what he wanted for dinner and he went over to an elk he was working on and cut out a piece of backstrap and gave it to her for his dinner you might have found the same butcher.

[KFhunter]

We took an elk to the butchers and while we were hanging it his wife walks in and asked him what he wanted for dinner and he went over to an elk he was working on and cut out a piece of backstrap and gave it to her for his dinner you might have found the same butcher.

theft, unless it was his name on the tag.


I think you all have it worse on that side of the state than we do on this side 

[KFhunter]

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,81993.0.html

good thread to visit before choosing your next butcher

[Hunterman]

3 months to get an elk butchered?    Why on earth didn't you go get that elk out after 3 weeks?  After 3 months in the butcher (unless it was frozen) that elk spoiled, and you probably got some ones rutted up deer.  Just a heads up,, when I have a beef butchered it only takes about 3 weeks total for dang near 3 times the size.

I would suggest to smell the meat, it will probably all stink.

Hunterman(Tony)

[Kuduman]

We took an elk to the butchers and while we were hanging it his wife walks in and asked him what he wanted for dinner and he went over to an elk he was working on and cut out a piece of backstrap and gave it to her for his dinner you might have found the same butcher.

Your Kidding 

[Band]

It's pretty obvious to me why it took 3 months.  When they OP called about getting his meat about the same time it should have been finished the processor couldn't find it, most likely because he runs a poor, disorganized business and managed to give it to someone else (or pilfer some of it himself).  Then he spent a long time pilfering what he thought he could from other customers to give the OP something, hoping it would be enough not to raise concerns about the amount and quality of the meat he ended up with.

No question about it, this meat processor needs to be called out and raked over the coals!

To the OP, one of the lessons I hope you learned is to get an estimated completion date and be a squeaky wheel when that date has passed.  If you're the one customer who isn't a squeaky wheel, you'll be the most likely to be screwed by the processor's poor business management.  Sorry it happened to you.

I know you're calling him today and I'll bet good money you'll get nothing but excuses and/or obfuscation.

[bear hunter]

  This is my bull I shot in Barber springs this year. I'm pretty sure one of the front shoulders weighed 76 pounds in camp, but I can't remember if it was one or both shoulders. Hell I weigh 375lbs. Hmmmmm  I just dropped my meat off right before Xmas because it was stuck in the freezer. The 2 front shoulders took up a 150 quirt cooler and the rear quarters took up my buddy's back in the land rover. The butcher couldn't weigh me in that night because the rears were frozen like a block. but the fronts he hung. He said he would weigh it after it thawed out. I called and he said 250 lbs for the quarters and other meats. Like backstraps, tenderloins and scrapes. I might of lost some meat to SPOIL as it thawed out. but I don't know I just have to trust him because I wasn't there to watch him weigh it. Next time I will weigh all quarters before I leave the butcher shop. I weighed the meat I got back from them it was around 200lbs. I just don't know but my be I am wrong, but last year I shot a desert mule deer and the 4 quarters weight 169 lbs so This doesn't make much since to me. The bull as you can see is bigger that my mule deer. Hmmmmm. But they did a very good job with my meat and the breakfast sausage is great. I wish I had more made. 

[Bean Counter]

No question about it, this meat processor needs to be called out and raked over the coals!

There IS a question about it, Band. Witch hunts don't flatter our reputation as a forum community. 

There are two sides to most stories and the butcher deserves his day in "court" if we are going to run yet another a kangaroo court. Namely, its entirely possible that the severe meat shortage is explained by sloppy field care. IDK whether that's the case but having killed a few critters in my day I can see how a few sloppy habits can cause significant spoilage or waste.

Its entirely to unfair to a butcher to drag him over the coals if he was handed 100 pounds of boned out meat and 50% of it was filthy and expect that 100 pounds be delivered. I sure wouldn't go into business to put up with that.