Live Weight Vs. Field-Dressed Weight Vs. Edible Weight

[Roots]

I came across this chart for Whitetail Deer - a tool for approximating how much edible meat can be harvested from an animal of a particular weight.

From your experiences, is this chart in the ballpark, or is it baloney?

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww95/roots_bc/IMG_6616800x600.jpg

[SteadyGirl]

It looks about right but I would like to think you can get a bit more. Suprising how much a head weights though,.

[eastkoot]

I've always figured about 1/3 loss from field dressed to "edible".. Looks about right.

[tomahawk]

IMHO I would say its close, altough the bigger the animal gets the more % meat you tend to get back, which this chart seems to show as well. The average moose if not shot to shit so there is a lot of waste will usually produce about 60-65% edible meat compared to live weight.

[kennyj]

I would say its close with the bone in.De-boned is less.I saw a video called Elk Memories by Larry Jones and Dwight Sch. It was about de-boning and I think they estimated the de-boned meat at 1/4 of the live weight.
kenny

[rocksteady]

Where did you get teh chart from??? It would be nice to get one also for elk and mooses...:-o

[Barracuda]

looks about right to me . unless something is overlooked or lost.

on a clean fresh animal i always figure 60% .

[Roots]

Where did you get teh chart from??? It would be nice to get one also for elk and mooses...:-o

Got it from a book entitled "White-Tailed Deer: Ecology and Management by Lowell Halls"

Another chart I found on whitetails comes from Nova Scotia's Hunting and Furharvesting Summary (http://www.gov.ns.ca/NATR/hunt/regulations/2009/2009Regs_A.pdf).

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww95/roots_bc/Untitled-2.jpg

I've been looking for something similar for elk and moose as well... found this for moose... data comes from an averaged out summary (12 calves, 7 yearlings, 30 bulls, 33 cows)... source (http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic47-3-207.pdf)....

http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww95/roots_bc/Untitled-3.jpg

[anglo-saxon]

Not sure about those black bear numbers. The one I took a couple of weeks back was around 275-300 live. We took about 30 pounds of guts out of him. But by the time we took of the head, hide, paws and an immense amount of fat, man that fellow looked like a small child wrapped up in that game bag (no, really, it was freaky!). He weighed 102 pounds at the butcher shop on the bone and we got 80 pounds of sausage off him and 10 pounds of jerky meat. that would put the edible % at about only 33% of live weight.

[moosinaround]

33-40% sounds close to me! Moosin

[mark]

I would say its close with the bone in.De-boned is less.I saw a video called Elk Memories by Larry Jones and Dwight Sch. It was about de-boning and I think they estimated the de-boned meat at 1/4 of the live weight.
kenny

X2, I think the chart is figuring with bone in! Boneless will yeild between 1/4 and 1/3 IMO!

[Barracuda]

33-40% sounds close to me! Moosin


Only if you have a shifty butcher .

Even a shoulder blade shot deer would yield at least 50+% , I know first hand that you dont lose much good meat with shoulder shots and a good bullet.

I was some pissed at bringing in a 84lb dressed deer only hours after being shot through the humorous touched the heart and exited out the same place on the other side with very little bloodshot meat (tsx bullet so you know you can eat up to the hole) and all i got back was 24.5 lbs. (WTF?)

I have butchered wild big Game , domestic goats & sheep and a few other critters and there was no way i could figure out the 24.5 lbs not to mention cuts were missing. :mad:

Sometimes you dont have a choice because of the trip distance and heat and you need to get it processed so they have you by the short hairs. :mad:

Once you butcher an animal yourself you will realize what some butchers waste or discard .

[sawmill]

I think you got hosed Barracuda.I butcher my own(deboned)and I`ll get around 50% to 60%.I save every scrap that`s fit to grind,including the neck meat and I skin `em right to the ears.I take the meat off the hocks as well,lots of commercial guy are too busy for that.I used the no skinning till you butcher method last year and saved an extra 6 or 8 .lbs because I did not have to re-skin the crust off..

[compton]

My buddy that is a butcher always used to say that you can expect somewhere between 50 and 55 percent of edible meat off the live weight with beef, and 45 to 50 percent of edible meat of game. Obviously there will be exceptions to the rule but throughout my hunting and ranching career I have found these numbers fairly accurate.

[Blktail]

I don't like deer fat, so I think the chart is generous. When I butcher, I remove ALL fat, bone, lymph and nerves so my take is about 50% of the dressed weight. I lose a little more, but my meat is good for 3+ years.