PSA for those that butcher their own deer

[danimalw]

It's probably been said before but just a reminder when processing game to be careful.

Last night helped process a deer and found a blade from an expandable broadhead in one back strap. The wound had completely healed over externally and except for some grissle around the blade, looked normal. We suspect it was from last year.

 

[axshon]

Appreciate the heads up and glad you found it. Not sure, other than a metal detector, how one would find a single broadhead blade in a hunk of meat though. You said completely healed over. No scaring at all? Would be awful to take a bite of that.

 

[wpage]

Dang, never thought of that. Have found some buckshot but never this. was there any discoloration at all as a tell tale?

Lately started wearing surgical type gloves when gutting. This is a revelation.

 

[danimalw]

Just some grissle around it and we were trimming all silverskin and fat off, saw the grissle and thought that was odd there. Ran knife through it to trim and found it.

 

[wpage]

Dang, never thought of that. Have found some buckshot but never this. was there any discoloration at all as a tell tale?

Lately started wearing surgical type gloves when gutting. This is a revelation.

 

[USAF05]

Thanks for the heads up

 

[4g64loser]

One reason to do your own: a buddy got meat back from processing and went to cook a roast. Found a g5 montec cs broadhead in the roast that had zero oxidation. His deer was shot with a rifle. The broadhead was DEFINITELY not from last year. No evidence of healing in the tissue.

 

[danimalw]

One reason to do your own: a buddy got meat back from processing and went to cook a roast. Found a g5 montec cs broadhead in the roast that had zero oxidation. His deer was shot with a rifle. The broadhead was DEFINITELY not from last year. No evidence of healing in the tissue.

Yikes

 

[4g64loser]

Yikes

Busy times at the butcher lead to mixups in meat. Facts. Not trying to imply dishonesty but this sort of thing has happened to enough people I know that I won't use a processor at all. Thankfully, a good friend has a huge butcher table in his basement and plenty of space in his outbuilding to hang them for skinning/quartering. If I hunt, I take it all the way from "bang" to freezer.

 

[DaveP]

Have found a load of #6 in a hind quarter, and a friend found the last few inches of a WOODEN shaft and a Bear Razorhead in one, late '80s/early '90s.

 

[Sticky]

One reason to do your own: a buddy got meat back from processing and went to cook a roast. Found a g5 montec cs broadhead in the roast that had zero oxidation. His deer was shot with a rifle. The broadhead was DEFINITELY not from last year. No evidence of healing in the tissue.

It can happen legitimately. Pulled this out of an elk that we were deboning last year in MT. It was buried in the backstrap near the hindquarter. Luckily it was the dull end of the arrow...

 

[4g64loser]

Yikes

Busy times at the butcher lead to mixups in meat. Facts. Not trying to imply dishonesty but this sort of thing has happened to enough people I know that I won't use a processor at all. Thankfully, a good friend has a huge butcher table in his basement and plenty of space in his outbuilding to hang them for skinning/quartering. If I hunt, I take it all the way from "bang" to freezer.

It can happen legitimately. Pulled this out of an elk that we were deboning last year in MT. It was buried in the backstrap near the hindquarter. Luckily it was the dull end of the arrow...


View attachment 386394

I suppose it is possible but he skinned the deer and took it to the butcher in quarters. I suspect that he would have noticed a wound like that. Considering it was a CS, even a short time in the animal would result in rust forming.

 

[willtill]

I try to debone all of my deer in the backyard, if the temp is cool enough. Once, I took a deer to a local processor years ago, and I got 5 shoulders back.

 

[4g64loser]

I try to debone all of my deer in the backyard, if the temp is cool enough. Once, I took a deer to a local processor years ago, and I got 5 shoulders back.

Yeah. Happens. I'm not implying dishonesty or pointing fingers. I am just saying that during the super busy time (rifle season) the processors are slammed and working to get meat cut and back out to the customer.

I'd rather do my own at my friends house. Plus I like the atmosphere when the guys get together for butchering. I never attended a hog butchering til my thirties. I should have sought this opportunity out years before.

 

[biermkr]

This is a very good point and I teach this in my hunter ed classes. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Slackdaddy]

I try to debone all of my deer in the backyard, if the temp is cool enough. Once, I took a deer to a local processor years ago, and I got 5 shoulders back.

I never let another man touch my "Meat",, But that's just me

 

[remrug]

I try to debone all of my deer in the backyard, if the temp is cool enough. Once, I took a deer to a local processor years ago, and I got 5 shoulders back.

Years ago I asked the processor to keep the shoulders whole. I like to cook them in a crockpot. I got none, you must have gotten my two.....lol

I asked him about it and he said I shot through both and ruined them. I actually hit too far back and only got liver on that doe. Yeah....I started processing my own shortly after that and never looked back

 

[Batt816]

Years ago I asked the processor to keep the shoulders whole. I like to cook them in a crockpot. I got none, you must have gotten 2my two.....lol

I asked him about it and he said I shot through both and ruined them. I actually hit too far back and only got liver on that doe. Yeah....I started processing my own shortly after that and never looked back

I always seem to lose the shoulder on the exit side, due to bruising, even if the slug doesn’t pass through the shoulder.