Actual Weight of Meat - Can we be honest?

[Bambistew]

192lb before his throat was slit.
157lb after gutted
75lb completely deboned. 36lb of that is sausage trim.

How much blood is lost after the throat is slit? I've always wondered why people do this? I see lots of pictures with the throat slit, and there is little to no blood, other than from the initial cut.

That's a hefty spike BTW. What part of the country?

 

[smarandr]

How much blood is lost after the throat is slit? I've always wondered why people do this? I see lots of pictures with the throat slit, and there is little to no blood, other than from the initial cut.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but I learned it from my dad. After shooting a few critters on my own and doing it, I noticed the blood was all pooled in the chest cavity and little to none came from the throat, so I quit. Now I sever the wind pipe from inside the chest cavity when gutting (if I'm not doing the gutless method).

 

[hammerguy]

How much blood is lost after the throat is slit? I've always wondered why people do this? I see lots of pictures with the throat slit, and there is little to no blood, other than from the initial cut.

That's a hefty spike BTW. What part of the country?

I learned it from my dad, but as @smarandr says, I rarely see blood....but I still do it.....muscle memory I guess.

I too thought it was a big spike. He obviously ate a lot of my Minnesota alfalfa and corn! Sure tasted good last night.

 

[NEWHunter]

How much blood is lost after the throat is slit? I've always wondered why people do this? I see lots of pictures with the throat slit, and there is little to no blood, other than from the initial cut.

That's a hefty spike BTW. What part of the country?

I thought so too - a hefty year and a half old. Course maybe it was shot right before the rut and they lose that much weight.?.?.!

Our rutted out 2.5 and 3.5 year old bucks shot during gun season here in WI would weigh 140-180 pounds dressed. That’s in farm country on one of those cabelas game scales.

 

[ImBillT]

My bull last year yielded 264lbs of boneless meat. I have the weight of each quarter, the trim and neck, the back straps and tenderloins written down somewhere. It should also be in another thread here from last year. I definitely take every last scrap of meat. I’d estimate the elk was between 750lbs and 800lbs.

 

[Kneetopia]

First time I've actually weighed what we packed out (after I got home that is). 2.5 miles from the truck.... Mature 6 pt elk, big ass body = heavy loads with our day packs and rifles.

Rear quarter (no bone) = #47
Rear quarter (no bone) = #47
Front quarter (bone) = #33
Front quarter (bone) = #33
Backstraps/Tendies/Scrap = #21
TOTAL = 181 lbs

The skinned out skull and rack was 25 lbs

 

[Big Fin]

First time I've actually weighed what we packed out. We were 2.5 miles from the truck.... Mature 6 pt elk, big ass body

Rear quarter (no bone) = #47
Rear quarter (no bone) = #47
Front quarter (bone) = #33
Front quarter (bone) = #33
Backstraps/Tendies/Scrap = #21
TOTAL = 181 lbs

The skinned out skull and rack was 25 lbs

This total is close to what we find when we weigh quartered elk for balancing loads on the llamas. Weight of each depends on how it is cut/trimmed and what is left attached to the fronts, such as some neck or other stuff that might normally be in the trim pile.

We did a video on this last year. This was a mature 4.5 year old bull, with bone in on all pieces.

 

[jt13]

Figured I would contribute since I just had this cow processed and she produced WAY more than I thought I'd get off her.

181.6 lbs of trimmed and cleaned boneless steaks, roasts, and ground meat. Had to weigh it out exactly as I was packing it in suitcases to bring back on the plane.

At the butcher it was 305lbs hanging weight with head, hide, lower legs removed.

 

[Addicting]

2019 Whitetail, 3 year old

150lbs hanging weight, guts removed

65lbs deboned and ground.

 

[JLS]

How much blood is lost after the throat is slit? I've always wondered why people do this? I see lots of pictures with the throat slit, and there is little to no blood, other than from the initial cut.

It's a pretty pointless action unless the animal is still alive. If the animal is already dead, little to no blood is going to come out. Especially if you already hit the heart or part of the vasculature, the circulatory system is no longer pressurized so very little blood is going to come out. If the hit was a CNS shot, you may see a little more blood due to the volume still retained within the circulatory system.

Folks have to remember when an animal is exsanguinated in a kill plant, it is still alive. It has been rendered unconscious with a stun gun, and the animal is hanging upside down. The massive loss of blood is because the carotid artery and jugular vein are severed, the circulatory system is still pressurized, and gravity is helping the blood flow downwards to the cut.

Most folks when they cut the throat are only getting the jugular vein, not the carotid artery (the important one).

 

[Bluffgruff]

Bull elk
56 and 57lb hind quarters, boned out.
65lb fronts boned out (both)
25 lbs of backstraps and tenderloins
$10 luggage scale weighs 4oz, and will save your legs and back.

 

[ImBillT]

192lb before his throat was slit.
157lb after gutted
75lb completely deboned. 36lb of that is sausage trim.

That’s a big ol spike! Must have been 2.5yrs old.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

This years mule deer boned out 77.5 lbs. Did lose probably 5-7.5lbs from bullet damage give or take. His neck meat was about the same in weight as a hind, big ole neck on him.

 

[ImBillT]

My mule deer this year.

Front quarter 11lbs 7oz meat, 2lbs 1oz bone.
Neck roasts 7lbs 4oz and 5lbs on the side that had blood shot meat removed. 12lbs 4oz total

Other front quarter with less trim attached. 11lbs 11oz meat, 1lb 15oz bone.

Backstraps and tenderloins 14.9lbs(I used differnte scales... not perfect)

Hindquarter 18.4lbs meat, 2lbs bone.

Forgot to weight the other hind quarter, so I’ll assume it was the same.

Trim 17.2lbs.

TOTAL MEAT 102.4lbs

My wife’s mule deer this year.

BS & TL. 15.6lbs
HQ. 18.7lbs meat 1.5lbs bone
HQ. 19.3lbs meat. 1.5lbs bone
FQ. 10lbs meat. 1.5lbs bone
FQ. 12.9lbs meat. 1.5lbs bone
Trim. 9.5lbs
Neck +
More trim 12.5lbs

TOTAL MEAT. 98.5lbs.

On my wife’s deer, I left more trim in the field because a quartering shot resulted in the bullet getting into the gut cavity on the back side, and I didn’t want trim meat with guts in it contaminating the rest of the trim. Also, one quarter got more trim on it because of the way I cut it off, and the bag with the neck roasts had some trim in it.

MD1 102.4lbs
MD2. 98.5lbs.

I do wonder exactly what guys come out with when they kill a mule deer in the back country, and pack it out along with all their gear in one trip.

 

[Dinkshooter]

I do wonder exactly what guys come out with when they kill a mule deer in the back country, and pack it out along with all their gear in one trip.

I watched someone balz deep in the woods in 2018 shoot a buck solo, late afternoon, he didn't come back the next day and had a pretty decent climb out, plus a bunch of distance. I wished I had gone and looked at the carcass, he was either a beast or a jackass. Maybe I'm just a pussy. The 100+-lbs noted above for mule deer is about what I've measured and seen.

 

[ImBillT]

I watched someone balz deep in the woods in 2018 shoot a buck solo, late afternoon, he didn't come back the next day and had a pretty decent climb out, plus a bunch of distance. I wished I had gone and looked at the carcass, he was either a beast or a jackass. Maybe I'm just a pussy. The 100+-lbs noted above for mule deer is about what I've measured and seen.

Yep. Last year the two mule deer I shot yeilded 101lbs and 103lbs. I’m not nearly saying it can’t be done, but man it would be a nightmare. I’m planning a whitetail run next week where I’ll be hunting about 4.5mi in. I’m assuming that a whitetail will yield closer to 65lbs. If I have to, id rather do two trips than hurt my back. About a 100lb total pack weight is pretty much my limit these days, and 85lbs is much more reasonable.

I will say this...doing a certain movement or a certain thing can build the specific muscles that do that very thing to a degree that general fitness does not. For people who pack through the maintains for most of the year, it’s far more plausible than for people who don’t regardless of the shape they’re in.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I do wonder exactly what guys come out with when they kill a mule deer in the back country, and pack it out along with all their gear in one trip.

A 2 year old buck

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www.hunttalk.com

 

[Muley_Stalker]

Here's a fatty. Not mine. 420lb.

 

[westbranch]

^ I think pics like that are exactly what this thread is trying avoid. An obviously huge deer that has been attached to all sorts of email forwards, facebook posts and forum posts over the years. Pretty sure I first saw it close to 10 years ago.
The most "legit" source seems to be that it is from a high-fence whitetail farm in WI, listed in their trophy galleries for 2009. No weights are listed.

2009

www.wildernesswhitetails.com

 

[Deleted member 28227]

^ I think pics like that are exactly what this thread is trying avoid. An obviously huge deer that has been attached to all sorts of email forwards, facebook posts and forum posts over the years. Pretty sure I first saw it close to 10 years ago.
The most "legit" source seems to be that it is from a high-fence whitetail farm in WI, listed in their trophy galleries for 2009. No weights are listed.

2009

www.wildernesswhitetails.com

Exactly!

I'm glad it got posted and comment on though, as I think you are spot on, that often times these kinda of animals are put forth as legitimate public land specimens and therefore skew the conversation.