Do you tip your game processor?

[butcherboy]

Big commercial processors I have not tipped because I know it’s not going straight to the butcher. I’m just dealing with a girl at the counter.

But I picked my deer up today from a guy that’s been doing it for me for a couple years, two man operation, him and his son. So I always tip them 10 to 20%. Does what he says, returns phone calls, and lets me age them a couple of weeks. Of course I pay a little extra for that too. I know for sure I’m getting my meat and I want to encourage him to stay in business. Hard to find guys like that.

This is how I got started. Just me, my dad, and an older brother. Converted one half of our garage into a small cutting room. We cut and wrapped everything in that little room until 1998. Added a separate wrapping room, rail system, and a bigger cooler and freezer. Did that till we built a large commercial processing/slaughter facility in 2006. Added on again in 2007, 2014, and 2016. Was going to add on again in 2019 but that fell through as well as building a new 10,000 sq ft facility in 2019/2020. Stopped processing WG commercially in 2020 but still do a few for friends for cash on the side. Including myself we have 7-8 employees on a regular basis and a few more part timers during the fall. I would really love to add on and remodel and get our state or USDA inspection. I have a huge line of sausages, jerky, cured and smoked meats I would love to be able to sell to the public. Right now, I can only make them from someone’s animal they bring in.

I never expect tips but appreciate them tremendously when someone feels like I went above and beyond for them. I said earlier that I work side by side with my employees and run the plant as well. That’s the truth.

 

[Pharmseller]

and reflect on the hunt!

A big reason why I process my own game. It’s part of the tradition.





P

 

[krisschmied]

A case of beer goes a long ways.

 

[robby denning]

This is how I got started. Just me, my dad, and an older brother. Converted one half of our garage into a small cutting room. We cut and wrapped everything in that little room until 1998. Added a separate wrapping room, rail system, and a bigger cooler and freezer. Did that till we built a large commercial processing/slaughter facility in 2006. Added on again in 2007, 2014, and 2016. Was going to add on again in 2019 but that fell through as well as building a new 10,000 sq ft facility in 2019/2020. Stopped processing WG commercially in 2020 but still do a few for friends for cash on the side. Including myself we have 7-8 employees on a regular basis and a few more part timers during the fall. I would really love to add on and remodel and get our state or USDA inspection. I have a huge line of sausages, jerky, cured and smoked meats I would love to be able to sell to the public. Right now, I can only make them from someone’s animal they bring in.

I never expect tips but appreciate them tremendously when someone feels like I went above and beyond for them. I said earlier that I work side by side with my employees and run the plant as well. That’s the truth.

You’d be really busy here with an operation like that. The guy I mentioned I use this year only advertised a little bit and he took in 51 animals in just a few weeks and he had to cut it off because he couldn’t keep up.

 

[robby denning]

Just loaded my bottom 1/4 of our freezer with this years bucks. Love the sight of that! Should have a little bit more yield, but I shot the one buck too far forward and lost the bottom half both shoulders. My bad.

A big reason why I process my own game. It’s part of the tradition.

I do not disagree and enjoyed that very much when I had more time. Not quite the same when using a processor

 

[butcherboy]

You’d be really busy here with an operation like that. The guy I mentioned I use this year only advertised a little bit and he took in 51 animals in just a few weeks and he had to cut it off because he couldn’t keep up.

We used to process around 800 WG animals during the season. Now add in the domestic at the same time. When Covid hit we did so many domestic animals we had no room for WG. Which was a hard decision to make after 30 years but we certainly don’t miss the mess and smell. in the fall and winter we usually process 4-5 beef a day for 3-4 days then around 10-20 pigs for the week. Sometimes more beef and sometimes more pigs. Just depending on the schedule.

On a side note, I cured
and smoked a bunch of thanksgiving turkey’s this past week. I use the same cure for all the hams I do and it tastes amazing in a turkey!

 

[Seth]

@butcherboy cut up a half beef we bought a couple years ago…. He certainly knows his craft.

 

[RufusB.Marion]

No, but do pay cash. Assume that could count as a tip at the end of the year.

 

[Nicpeterson]

No tip.. pay the posted price and p[ick it up when its ready.

 

[MallardSX2]

Yes but most of the time she asks for more than just the tip. Lmfao

 

[Skatchewan]

Just like the title asks, do you tip your game processor and if so how much?
10, 15, 20% tip? It is a service after all and gratuity can go a long way. Just curious as to everyone's individual experiences.

No

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

Never tipped a processor. I try and gut deer for them prior if I have time. Typically in AL when rifle season is in, temps are cooler and don't have to gut always before dropping off. Generally saves anywhere from $15-30 depending on processor.

 

[butcherboy]

Never tipped a processor. I try and gut deer for them prior if I have time. Typically in AL when rifle season is in, temps are cooler and don't have to gut always before dropping off. Generally saves anywhere from $15-30 depending on processor.

Holy chit! You don’t gut all your deer before dropping them off?! That’s a pretty
big No No with most processors I know in the West.

 

[Big Flounder]

Holy chit! You don’t gut all your deer before dropping them off?! That’s a pretty
big No No with most processors I know in the West.

Here in Indiana, it's common practice to gut your deer before taking it to the processor as well, but sometimes rookies will take it in without gutting it or having not removed all of the guts. Local processors near me have an extra fee for those circumstances and it's usually not cheap.

Oh, and nope, never have tipped a processor. Guess I never thought of it.

 

[Mikido]

Tip myself?

 

[Och832]

No tip . I did take the time to get to know my processor before his wife passed and he retired and sold his place . Last I heard he moved to Co to be near his son. Said he was getting tired of the heavy elk quarters and could make just as much on deer there . Hopefully he's still around and doing good . I do miss the quality of his work and his dry sense of humor. There's probably plenty of Az guys that miss Ron from Payson.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

Holy chit! You don’t gut all your deer before dropping them off?! That’s a pretty
big No No with most processors I know in the West.

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.

 

[zdoyle123]

Just like the title asks, do you tip your game processor and if so how much?
10, 15, 20% tip? It is a service after all and gratuity can go a long way. Just curious as to everyone's individual experiences.

I don't tip him per se, but I go out of my way to send him referrals. Ultimately, it probably leads to 20+ deer a year from guys that had been using other processors, on top of the 6-10 I bring him. No better tip than that in my opinion. There are times when I don't have exact change, it's 10 bucks over, and I just tell him don't worry about it. Same goes the other way though and he charges me less. I use him for all my euro mounts, have him send off hides to be tanned for me, etc. We bring each other dumb stuff like moonshine and homemade river cane arrows for our longbows. He even let's me know when the neigbbors have killed the bucks I have on camera

 

[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.