Do you tip your game processor?

[butcherboy]

I really just depends on the what, where and when.

In SC on Public, bow season starts early and it's still pretty warm when rifle starts. It's an hour drive from the National Forest to the processor I use, so of course, those deer are gutted and ice placed in and around till I get to the processor.

In Alabama, rifle season just started this past weekend on our place. If it's a doe, reasonably cool outside, and I'm pressed for time, I'll drop it at the processor that's five minutes down the road. Or if it's hot outside, like my recent doe with a bow that took 2 hours to find, I'll gut it (which I did).

If it's a nice buck that family wants to see, then I'll gut and ice before taking to the processer. The buck I killed last year, it was in the middle of January during the big Vortex and it was around 25 degrees outside. Stopped at my grandmothers for 10 minutes for pics and such, and was at the processor 10 minutes later.

The January 2023 buck was a really nice buck and it was about 70 degrees outside and I had to show all over town. I gutted and iced him down. before leaving the property. Pretty good one for us too as he dressed at 150 lbs.

Situationally I guess, but growing up, we'd often drop off whole at the processor. All of those deer were rifle shot in the later part of the year.

It’s just a foreign concept to me. I have gutted a few that were dropped off but the cost was much higher. Processing+gutting+skinning+specialty items if wanted. I’ve just always viewed it as it’s the hunters job to completely field dress the animal. The processors job is just that, process the animal. If your processor accepts your animals like that then he must be fine with it and it works out great for both of you.

 

[Schism]

My family in Montana owned a butcher shop for decades and processed wild game while in season. I spent countless days there and was a skinner starting in fourth grade.

Tips were rare at that time and not expected by anyone in my family. Occasionally nonresidents would bring an animal in and need it processed and packaged to go in less than 24 hours. My grandfather was the type of man that did everything he could to make a customer happy. In those rare situations the customer often tipped him in cash or with some sort of gift that was a reflection of where they lived such as apples (Washington), gourmet cheese (Wisconsin) or whole turkeys (Minnesota).

Tips were always appreciated but never expected and there was never a tip jar on the counter.

Now that I've moved away and life has become busy, over the years I've had to drop a few animals off at a local processor. Never did it occur to me to leave a tip for the processor and never did I feel even the least bit obligated to do so.