Bad Experience - Great Falls MT

[Fisherhahn]

So I got my first elk this year. A nice 5x6 bull one day one of a 10 day DIY hunt+2day drive home. I normally process all my game myself and if shot later in the hunt, I would have. BUT, being my first elk, I got nervous trying to keep it cold for the rest of the hunt and 30+hr drive back home. So I started calling the closest processors in Great Falls MT. I had to leave messages at 2, but the 3rd one answered, so that's where I went. 406 Processing & Taxidermy in Great Falls. Went to pick it up before we left and was surprised how little meat there was. I called them about it and was assured that it was all there. I did some more research on it (a few rokslide threads) and figured I wasn't too far off. Then I got home and took an inventory of what I got. Everything was OK except for the backstraps. The ebst meat on the elk. I ended up with 9 lbs for both backstraps. I called them again and when I explained that I only got 7 bags (two steaks each) he agreed that that sounded like some was missing and he'd look into it. Gave him a couple days, called back, went back and forth for several days just coming up with excuses. I understand that things need to be trimmed and I may have been expecting too much, but only 14 steaks out of 2 backstraps??? seemed light. 1.5 inch steaks = 21 inches of backstrap. I had a lot more than that. I called a bunch of processors, a few in Great Falls and a couple elsewhere. All I asked was, for an average bull what should I expect for backstraps. All of them told me I should get close to 20lbs +-, lots of different factors. When I explained what I got, two of the processors asked if I had gone to 406. When I said yes, they said they had a similar call to mine within the past week. When I told the guy art 406, he was more concerned about who I spoke with than finding a solution to my problem. He asked for a pic of my elk in the field so he could see the size. I had already sent him a pic of the backstrap that I happen to have. Now I haven't heard anything so I figured I'd put this out here. Lesson learned, if you can, do you own or do your research first!

 

[MTHunter1321]

As a GF resident, good to know. I’ve had my game processed by someone out of town in the past. Sorry for your bad experience!

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

Anyone in that part of Montana should look at Montana City Meats. worth whatever the drive is. best experience I've ever had with a processor.

 

[Geewhiz]

Out of curiosity, what was the total weight that you received back?

 

[FLATHEAD]

Been there done that.
Havent used a processor in probably 30 years.
For that very reason.

 

[shadow]

Wow you got hosed!

I just vacuum packaged mine up and had at least 10 bags of loin cut in 6 to 8" chunks!

 

[Fisherhahn]

Out of curiosity, what was the total weight that you received back?

Total weight was 153lbs. I could have probably done a bit better taking my time trimming. The total weight I took in was 220lbs with the leg bones in. Hearsay and not confirmed by me, but I was told the other caller's issue was, they took in 240lb of boned out meat and got back 125lbs total. I would have flipped over that.

 

[Wrench]

There's a chance he cut them short on the neck end. Where the neck meat meets the loin they form two groups. I personally dont worry and bag it as choice cuts....but I am not a butcher, just play one in the fall.

I typically average about 10 quart bags which come in just under 2# each.

 

[Geewhiz]

Total weight was 153lbs. I could have probably done a bit better taking my time trimming. The total weight I took in was 220lbs with the leg bones in. Hearsay and not confirmed by me, but I was told the other caller's issue was, they took in 240lb of boned out meat and got back 125lbs total. I would have flipped over that.

Better than me this year. I took my processor 249 lbs of clean, bone in quarters that were skinned and got back 150 lbs. I had him grind it all so I cannot attest to what was what but i'm trying not to be upset about it.

 

[isItFallYet]

Better than me this year. I took my processor 249 lbs of clean, bone in quarters that were skinned and got back 150 lbs. I had him grind it all so I cannot attest to what was what but i'm trying not to be upset about it.

Is that including added fat?

 

[Geewhiz]

Is that including added fat?

150 lbs is the total product that I received back, so yes including added fat. I went through this same deal getting gypped last year with boned out meat and he told me if I bring him bone in quarters there will be less trimming so I will get a better yield. So there I went and packed out 258 lbs of bone in quarters + the head and I get 150 lbs back. My bathroom scale said 258 lbs, his said 249 lbs.

Sorry for stealing your thread OP. It started out as relevant information..

 

[butcherboy]

Sorry this happened to you but you went to this processor twice? Without knowing all the exact details and condition of the meat I can’t really give a professional opinion. I can however say that from the processor’s weight at check in you should have received more back if everything was clean from the beginning. A 27” backstrap seems small to me from a bull.

Sure makes me glad I quit processing wild game after 30 years! I’ve seen and heard it all.

 

[Boarmaster]

I got the run around from a processor about 25 years or so. Out of state hunt I go on every year. I had taken him three to five deer a year for about five years previous along with the guys I was with. It was a week hunt and we never took him deer that were killed at the end of the week Only deer killed at the start of the hunt so he had time to get them done. We always ask if he could get them done before we left for home and let him know when that was.
One year we had left three deer with him on a Monday. We got there Saturday at 9am to pick them up. They was still hanging unskinned in his barn. He said he just never got to them but he would skin and qtr them if we could give him until 2 pm that day.
We had a long ride 12hrs south and it was getting warm that day. We also had 3 more field dressed in the bed of the pickup we was hauling back to my place in South Carolina we killed late in the hunt That we would take to a processor there.
We couldnt wait all day on him so we just said politely no hard feeling we will just take them and haul them back to SC and we will see you next year. The processor got all pizzed and started hollerin about us just thinking we was gonna take them deer without paying anything for them hanging in his barn all week. Heck we hung them in there for him and even wrote out the tags he had for them. They weren't in a cooler or anything just a barn. He then said its $120 bucks for all three deer if you want them out of the barn. We paid him and tossed them in the back and headed home.
I started processing my own after that. Dang sorry I didnt mean to hyjack this thread,

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Had the same problem in multiple states with processors...I dont take back straps or loins to the processor anymore, just quarters and meat for grind if I can't do it myself.

 

[Fisherhahn]

“Sorry this happened to you but you went to this processor twice?”

Wasn’t me that went twice to the same guy, was some other guy on this thread. I got a video from the processor showing the straps from a “big bull”. They weigh in at 5lbs. I shot an 80-90lb whitetail doe this weekend, the strap was 2 lb 10oz my guess is an elk should be a bit more than twice as big. I’d post the video but don’t know how…

 

[butcherboy]

Sorry fisherhahn, somehow thought you went to the same processor twice.

For those of you that take your meat to a processor, here are a few tips. If you are concerned then take your backstraps and tenderloins with you. If you haven’t removed them yet then kindly ask the processor to pull them out for you quickly. If he refuses or has an excuse then that’s a bad sign already. Make sure your animal is tagged with your name or a corresponding number assigned to you that’s recorded on your work order. If you leave your backstraps then find out if they are hung with your carcass or not. A good processor should vacuum seal all the loose meat and hang it with your carcass. This will allow it to age but not dry out before it’s time to cut your animal.

I would always pull backstraps and tenderloins if someone asked me to no problem. Always vacuum sealed all loose meat, placed in plastic bags, then hung with the carcass. Their are plenty of bad processors out there but plenty of good ones too. I had a few run ins over the years with customers accusing me of stealing meat but those usually came from shot up, dirty, or bone sour animals. I always recorded the condition of the carcass at time of check in so I had something to back me up. Some were my mistake and I would do everything I could to fix the problem.

I really don’t miss cutting WG. It was a hard business decision in the beginning but so worth it now. My main cooler has 8 rails, 24’ long, 12’ high all filled with beef, pork, and lambs. 23 pigs to cut tomorrow. Business has been good and better than ever.

 

[Fisherhahn]

Well this came up again for me so…Final update on this processor’s incompetence. In discussing my cuts I was asked how many steaks per pack, and if I wanted the backstrap butterflied. I said I want 2 steaks per pack, and do NOT butterfly the straps. I wish I kept the receipt, because it was written right on it. I opened a pack of steaks and found that there were 3 in the pack. I figured maybe there was an odd number and I intentionally picked the biggest pack so maybe it was an extra. I gave packs of steaks to each of my friends who helped me pack it out. All of us in 2 person households so each pack is a perfect meal. Each of the said theirs were 3 packs also. Now none of it will go to waste, but it will be gone much sooner than planned. I’ve been holding out as long as possible before eating the backstrap as I only got half. I just had to have some last week and of course it was butterflied. I just don’t like that cut and was very clear about it. So I guess you could add, reading comprehension and counting to 2, to the list of things 406 Processing & taxidermy can’t do well. Good luck out there!

 

[Ucsdryder]

A couple years ago I got 3 packs of sirloin roasts out of 1 elk. He must have been a 5 legged mutant.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Sorry you had a bad experience. I shot my first bull in Sep. and the outfitter took it to 406. One thing that annoyed us was that it was delivered on Saturday and wasn't ready on Wed. when we were ready to head out. They told us, "...the ticket got lost, blah, blah, blah..." and we weren't in a hurry so not a big deal. The other thing that was sketchy after the fact was that we got one price on the phone and a higher price upon pickup. I can only assume they charged us for expedited processing even thought the ticket mess up was their fault. We got around 130 pounds of 90/10 burger and roughly another 100 pounds of steaks, chops, and roasts.

 

[30338]

Buy a good vacuum sealer, good quality vacuum bags, couple of filet/boning knives, watch a couple of videos and get it done in your kitchen when you get home. Very worthwhile skill to acquire. Had to drop a prime mule deer off this Oct as I pinched a nerve in my neck and had a hard time moving for a few days. Fingers crossed that it goes well.