cost of butchering

[mainland hunter]

what would you expect to pay to get a large moose butchered? brought in 690lbs skinned and quartered and the final bill came to $1176. im use to doing it myself but was a guest on this trip. this includes sausage.
does that seem a tad high to anyone other than me?
just wondering

[BlacktailStalker]

1.30lb? No.

[mntman]

not knowing what you had made into sausage that seems very high.

[elkster]

There was mention in another thread, that they paid a $1.00/lb. just for butchering up north this year. Two years ago, we paid $.50/lb. Its getting a little pricey but if you have to get it done, you don't have much choice.

[Deaddog]

Unless you had a fair bit of sausage made it is quite high, what part of the province did you have this done

[hunter1947]

Figure it out 60 sence a pound for butchering the animal ,then $150 to $200 a pound for the sausages ,you have to look at your bill and see how many pounds of sausages the butcher made for you ,then you can figure it out what the totale bill would come to.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif hunter 1947.

[rocksteady]

Here in Cranbrook, straight butchering is about $0.55 per pound, all the way up to jerky, which is $10 per pound. Give us a break down of what you had made..Most of the specialty meats (sausages/peppeoni, etc) are usually about $2 per pound..

[Schmaus]

unless you had over 300 pounds of sausages made you paid more than what i'm used to paying here in PG (usually 40-65 cents a pound for cut and wrap no sausage)

[swamper]

It's the sausage that hikes the cost. This is precisely why I do all my own butchering. I have now gotten into making sausage. It's taken a bit of time to accumulate the right equipment and find a reputable supplier, but now that that is done it's quite fun. I made a selection of different salami style sausage for Christmas and there is not much left.

I would think that over the years I have probably saved a minimum of $5000 in butchering cost by doing it myself.

[tuchodi]

We buy all our supplies from Stuffers in Langley, they have a good selection. There web site is www.stuffers.com (http://www.stuffers.com)

[sealevel]

Most butchers charge you for cutting and wrapping the meat they make the sausage from. But thats a lot i had a 900 lb beef cut up buy a butcher here in salmon arm it cost just over 300 ...no sausage though. They sure stick it to you for wild game thats way i cut my own.

[Machinist]

I Had My moose Butchered at STAVE Falls Meat's , He Charges 45 Cents cut and wrapped , It was Just under 700 lbs , Skinned and quartered, the Cost was around $320.00 . I did not Have any sausage Made.

[eastkoot]

.45 a lb. cut and wrapped. Also had some sausage made in Cranbrook that averaged $3.00 a lb. (thats deboning and making of sausage). Farmers, garlic rings and smokies..

[mainland hunter]

It was around 60/40 sausage to cut meat which wasnt my choice but even still the price is high. i dont have the bill to check, i wasnt the one who picked it up. from now on i guess its back to doing it myself, i kinda enjoy that part anyway.

[Mauser98]

In Sept, we paid $0.68 plus tax at Russels in Chetwynd for our moose to cut, wrapped and frozen.

[The Hermit]

I usually do the cutting myself but have sausage/peppi done at Glenwood meats. Good, and reasonable!

[browningboy]

We usually get a moose and it weighs in at 450lbs mark, its around 300.00 and obviously sausage is extra, sounds like that butchers on freedom 45!

[Benthos]

seems extremely high to me, unless you had the whole thing done into jerky and sausage!

[Fisher-Dude]

The math would work out about like this:

Cut and wrap 690 lbs @ $.60/lb = $414
Sausage 690 lbs @ $1.70/lb * 60% = $703
Subtotal = $1,117

Add some GST on the processing labour and you're in the ballpark.

Seems about normal for what most people get charged. They charge a lot for the sausages, but I understand that the casings and spices are really expensive to buy. If a guy has his own place and equipment to hang and butcher game, that's the only cheap way to get it done.

[Frango]

Last year we had a elk in cold storage in Chetwynd.They charged $25 a day .We thought that was a bit rude. I quess they feel like they have you by the short hairs.This year we are making a cooler to go on the trailer and powered by a gen set..With the storage charge, cutting, and prepared meat done in Courtenay it adds up to expensive meat. We all know buying a cow would be cheaper but not as much fun..

[tuchodi]

I looked at the cost over the last 10 years what it has cost per pound for the meat I got and it works out to about 13.00 per pound, thats if I got an elk,moose and a deer each year so anouther 1.00 a pound isnt bad. This includes all my equipment that after 10 years is just about ready for retirement.

[ARC]

I find I really have to watch how much sausage/jerky/pepperoni I order, because that stuff really gets the price up in a hurry.

I brought in a smaller bull this year, 420 lbs. It cost me $0.69/lbs for cut/wrap, and with 40 lbs of pepperoni and 20 lbs of jerky the bill came out to $535.

[SUAFOYT]

what would you expect to pay to get a large moose butchered? brought in 690lbs skinned and quartered and the final bill came to $1176. im use to doing it myself but was a guest on this trip. this includes sausage.
does that seem a tad high to anyone other than me?
just wondering

More than a tad high I'd say. I pay .50/lb, get my choice of butcher paper or clear wrap, it's done real quick and so far have always got back exactly what I've ordered as in no 300 lbs of burger surprises. Oh well, that's free enterprise, or your guy thinks you're one of those damned union hunters that just got his bi-weekly million $ paycheck:twisted: . Happy New Year!:lol: :lol:

[mainland hunter]

.............:roll:..............
well if the market can support those prices all the power to him, i will just do my own cutting.

[SUAFOYT]

.............:roll:..............
well if the market can support those prices all the power to him, i will just do my own cutting.

You didn't rise to the bait! I'll try again later. :lol: The guy I use also makes every attempt to take care of you lower mainland hunters first. 2 day turnaround from what I've heard and that includes the sausage. BTW his jerky is awesome. If you are ever coming through from the North and have something drop a line. I can give the cutter's contact info.

[DDD]

Just curious mh, who did the butchering for you?

[eastkoot]

If your going to pay for hanging any length of time, have it cut, wrappped and frozen. We did this one year and the second elk went on top of the cut frozen one for the ride home. Why pay to hang it when you can get it all done for the price of hanging it a few days..If you get another animal in the mean time, put the quarters on top of the frozen meat, cover with sleeping bags to insulate and drive back asap..

[Stone Sheep Steve]

I do all my own butchering and grind all high quality trimmings to burger. If I find I have a "surplus" amount of burger at the end of the season I'll take some in to get done into "something". At least that way you know exactly what you're going to pay. Processed meat adds up very fast.

SSS

[3kills]

seems a lil high but not that much....just cut and wrap could have cost u close to 700 bucks...and dependin on how much they are chargin for processing it can get pretty hight too and then there is gst on top of all that....it adds up fast especailly if u are gettin it down up north where prices are higher....

[BlacktailStalker]

What pissed me off this year is that on my elk hunt in Cranbrook, I put an animal down and went to have it hung as I still had 8 days left for my hunt, one butcher wouldnt take it unless I had it fully processed and the other wanted $2.00 an hour to hang !!!! I understand not wanting to use up space in their freezer if it isnt going to be profitable, but when they wont have it done before you are ready to leave, what's a guy supposed to do ! Gonna have to do the freezer / generator thing next year I guess. Pretty sad considering hunting is a huge source of income for a lot of places and if I dont have to go to town to get my elk, I wont spend any money there. Their loss in the end.

[Caveman]

I used to do all my meat myself but recently started getting it done. For an immature bull moose,weighing about 350lbs skinned and quartered, I'm paying around $200. For sausage you can count on about $1.49 - $1.79 for most sausage. A few will run up to $2.49 Most sausage makers will do their stuff in 25lb batches and add 7-10lbs pork shoulder roast. It doesn't take long to run up a bill if you get several batches made. so far I've only used a butcher while actually still hunting only once, but wasn't paying anymore than at home. A 700lb moose, I would expect to pay somewhere in the nieghborhood of $400 cut and double wrapped. Take 100 lbs for sausage at $1.79 would run you another $180 plus taxes so it should run somewhere around $600, plus a little extra for hanging, but most butchers will hang for free if they are cutting and wrapping for you.

[rollingrock]

It was around 60/40 sausage to cut meat which wasnt my choice but even still the price is high. i dont have the bill to check, i wasnt the one who picked it up. from now on i guess its back to doing it myself, i kinda enjoy that part anyway.

I butcher by myself from day one. Cost if one of the factors, but mostly because I can do whatever I want to to my meat. :)

[hunter1947]

What pissed me off this year is that on my elk hunt in Cranbrook, I put an animal down and went to have it hung as I still had 8 days left for my hunt, one butcher wouldnt take it unless I had it fully processed and the other wanted $2.00 an hour to hang !!!! I understand not wanting to use up space in their freezer if it isnt going to be profitable, but when they wont have it done before you are ready to leave, what's a guy supposed to do ! Gonna have to do the freezer / generator thing next year I guess. Pretty sad considering hunting is a huge source of income for a lot of places and if I dont have to go to town to get my elk, I wont spend any money there. Their loss in the end. I remember that day andy ,you were some steamed up :mad: hunter1947.

[3kills]

What pissed me off this year is that on my elk hunt in Cranbrook, I put an animal down and went to have it hung as I still had 8 days left for my hunt, one butcher wouldnt take it unless I had it fully processed and the other wanted $2.00 an hour to hang !!!! I understand not wanting to use up space in their freezer if it isnt going to be profitable, but when they wont have it done before you are ready to leave, what's a guy supposed to do ! Gonna have to do the freezer / generator thing next year I guess. Pretty sad considering hunting is a huge source of income for a lot of places and if I dont have to go to town to get my elk, I wont spend any money there. Their loss in the end.

if u were still hunting for 8 days there shoudlnt have been a problem gettin it done before u left....

[Allen50]

I do custom cutting at my small shop, i charge 55 cents per lbs for cutting/wrapping, deboneing all meat is 65 per lbs, if you were out there to get cheep meat, well think again, what about the coat of your trip, it a lone could pay for a beef from the butcher all done up, the cost of lic, tags, guns, shells, all weather gear to hunt in, oh yea the quad, its gas, the camper, or tent, the truck 4x4, the time away from home is what it is all about, out in the woods, doing what man likes to do, so is the cost of getting meat cut that much, realy, its just part of the whole cost of the trip, oh yea for got the most importain thing the cost of the boose some hunters take along, if it's the money thing and cost, well better give up hunting, and maybe any other sport we like to do, cost is only part of life's fun we like to do, we work so we can go hunting etc, ???
HAPPY NEW YEAR,,,,

[Allen50]

I do custom cutting at my small shop, i charge 55 cents per lbs for cutting/wrapping, deboneing all meat is 65 per lbs, if you were out there to get cheep meat, well think again, what about the coat of your trip, it a lone could pay for a beef from the butcher all done up, the cost of lic, tags, guns, shells, all weather gear to hunt in, oh yea the quad, its gas, the camper, or tent, the truck 4x4, the time away from home is what it is all about, out in the woods, doing what man likes to do, so is the cost of getting meat cut that much, realy, its just part of the whole cost of the trip, oh yea for got the most importain thing the cost of the boose some hunters take along, if it's the money thing and cost, well better give up hunting, and maybe any other sport we like to do, cost is only part of life's fun we like to do, we work so we can go hunting etc, ???
HAPPY NEW YEAR,,,,there's a cost to love hunting, we do it or stay home, i love to be out there hunting,,

[3kills]

well said allen50....unrelated question for ya...is that u in ur avatar pic?

[wetcoaster]

I do custom cutting at my small shop, i charge 55 cents per lbs for cutting/wrapping, deboneing all meat is 65 per lbs, if you were out there to get cheep meat, well think again, what about the coat of your trip, it a lone could pay for a beef from the butcher all done up, the cost of lic, tags, guns, shells, all weather gear to hunt in, oh yea the quad, its gas, the camper, or tent, the truck 4x4, the time away from home is what it is all about, out in the woods, doing what man likes to do, so is the cost of getting meat cut that much, realy, its just part of the whole cost of the trip, oh yea for got the most importain thing the cost of the boose some hunters take along, if it's the money thing and cost, well better give up hunting, and maybe any other sport we like to do, cost is only part of life's fun we like to do, we work so we can go hunting etc, ???
HAPPY NEW YEAR,,,,

In answer to the post I think you paid to much. The large amount of sausage etc is what killed you if you want to keep costs down do the finsihed products yourself. For cutting and packing I would expect to pay between 50 and 60 cents a pound.

As for the above quote I know what you are getting at etc but have to disagree with part of the message. I too hunt mainly to get out there and often spend my fair share hunting each year but hunting does not have to be nearly as expensive as the impression given above. Several people I have run into that are interested in getting into hunting are discouraged quoting how expensive other guys tell them it is and how the magazines make it sound like you need so much expensive specialized gear to be succesfull etc. It just isn't so. Most of the gear expenses can be kept to a minimum if needs be and are are often a 1 and at most 2 or 3 time thing in a lifetime. Through the purchase of a good quality used allround hunting rifle and scope package you can set yourself up fairly reasonably. Get yourself an army surplus board backpack some decent raingear, warm clothes, a decent pair of boots, a first aid kit, a good length of rope and a hunting knife (in reality you likely have these items afterall we live in the north) and you are ready to go day hunting. With only a little more relatively inexpensive gear you will be ready to go over night. The rest is all window dressing.

The cost of doing the initial courses (CORE, PAL) is a one time thing and is very reasonable and can be challenged for even less money. Any vehicle out there can get you into huntable territory and haul a deer out including my wife's toyota carolla. It is true a good 4 wheel drive vehicle will get you into better territory but again we live in a harsh climate and a small suv or pick-up that is good on gas makes sense for many families in BC regardless if they are hunters. Even most of the urban warriors in Vancouver have an SUV by choice. Gas costs? Well sure gas is expensive but you also have two feet. To many guys cry about costs of running quads and trucks and then go about running them all day road hunting. By travelling and hunting with several guys and sharing the cost of gas to transport to camp and parking the truck and using those feet even this can be overcome. Processing? Do your own even getting a game cutter to cut and pack it for 50 cents a pound is relatively cheap. Licenses expensive? Please you must be joking? How much does it cost for two to go to a movie and dinner? How much is enough good quality steaks to feed the family for one dinner worth at the grocery store?

In the big picture hunting and fishing are one of the most rewarding and least expensive recreational activities you can do while filling the freezer to boot. If you don't buy into the commercial hype and do some old fashioned grunt work hunting does not have to be expensive. With the cost of quality meat running high you can save money in the long run by hunting if you are a minimalist. Sure it is fun to have the latest and greatest and all the toys that make things easier but the truth is you don't need them.

[Benthos]

In answer to the post I think you paid to much. The large amount of sausage etc is what killed you if you want to keep costs down do the finsihed products yourself. For cutting and packing I would expect to pay between 50 and 60 cents a pound.

As for the above quote I know what you are getting at etc but have to disagree with part of the message. I too hunt mainly to get out there and often spend my fair share hunting each year but hunting does not have to be nearly as expensive as the impression given above. Several people I have run into that are interested in getting into hunting are discouraged quoting how expensive other guys tell them it is and how the magazines make it sound like you need so much expensive specialized gear to be succesfull etc. It just isn't so. Most of the gear expenses can be kept to a minimum if needs be and are are often a 1 and at most 2 or 3 time thing in a lifetime. Through the purchase of a good quality used allround hunting rifle and scope package you can set yourself up fairly reasonably. Get yourself an army surplus board backpack some decent raingear, warm clothes, a decent pair of boots, a first aid kit, a good length of rope and a hunting knife (in reality you likely have these items afterall we live in the north) and you are ready to go day hunting. With only a little more relatively inexpensive gear you will be ready to go over night. The rest is all window dressing.

The cost of doing the initial courses (CORE, PAL) is a one time thing and is very reasonable and can be challenged for even less money. Any vehicle out there can get you into huntable territory and haul a deer out including my wife's toyota carolla. It is true a good 4 wheel drive vehicle will get you into better territory but again we live in a harsh climate and a small suv or pick-up that is good on gas makes sense for many families in BC regardless if they are hunters. Even most of the urban warriors in Vancouver have an SUV by choice. Gas costs? Well sure gas is expensive but you also have two feet. To many guys cry about costs of running quads and trucks and then go about running them all day road hunting. By travelling and hunting with several guys and sharing the cost of gas to transport to camp and parking the truck and using those feet even this can be overcome. Processing? Do your own even getting a game cutter to cut and pack it for 50 cents a pound is relatively cheap. Licenses expensive? Please you must be joking? How much does it cost for two to go to a movie and dinner? How much is enough good quality steaks to feed the family for one dinner worth at the grocery store?

In the big picture hunting and fishing are one of the most rewarding and least expensive recreational activities you can do while filling the freezer to boot. If you don't buy into the commercial hype and do some old fashioned grunt work hunting does not have to be expensive. With the cost of quality meat running high you can save money in the long run by hunting if you are a minimalist. Sure it is fun to have the latest and greatest and all the toys that make things easier but the truth is you don't need them.



very well said

[MichelD]

I do my own cutting, because then the cuts I get are the ones I want.

I basically don't want my meat cut into standard beef cuts, 'prime rib', 'rib steaks', whatever... they're too big for the size of my family for one thing, and I don't like what they call "stew" meat.


BUT, two years ago three of us came home with two deer and two moose so we did the deer ourselves and sent the moose in for cutting as we just didn't have the space or time to hang moose meat and it was too warm anyway. I can't remember what it cost per pound 65 cents? 75 cents?

Anyway, split 3 ways it was cheap.

The other guys had some sausage made, but instead I insisted on getting a share of burger meat ground up without any pork fat added.

"Picky" maybe, but that's the way I like it.

[talver]

dude you got taken you should be paying about 65 cents a pound and beef trim cost about 99 cents a pound my group took in 1595lbs +35lbs of trim and our total was $1071.40 but we did not get any sausage made because we take in our old ground from the year before for that. Where did you go?

[Allen50]

well said allen50....unrelated question for ya...is that u in ur avatar pic? yea that is me in prince george area,,

[3kills]

ok i was going to say it looks like a spot i know around here....