What is a fair price to have a deer butchered?

Answer 1

It completely depends upon a number of factors- 1. Most butchers that also handle wild game charge a processing fee that is based by the pound of edible meat delivered to the customer, presently around 50-60 cents a lb. 2. A lot of hunters not only want steaks and ground meat, but also want 'cured' sausage which requires that the butcher stock spices and extrusion skins to satisfy the customer and this will also raise your price at the counter. 3. Any butcher handling wild game has to factor in the costs of maintain extra cold storage, since most game is usually aged in cold storage for at least 2 weeks. For instance, I have a 2 freinds that did well during last seasons' elk hunt. One was charged $169 for around 300 lbs meat processed, including 20 lbs of 'cured' sausage. The other paid $204 for slightly more than 400 lbs of meat processed and at least 50 lbs of sausage. Shop around- Ask your hunting freinds where they go, one butcher may be cheaper, while a slightly higher cost butcher might do a nicer job. Hope this helps.