How much meat?

[Newtosavage]

Curious how much boneless meat you can expect from a mule deer? If you're a lifelong whitetail hunter (like me) who might be faced with a miles-long pack out, this is probably a question you have in the back of your mind.

I'll go first:

A week ago I took a mature muley buck that to my eye, looked like it weighed somewhere between 250-275 on the hoof. EASILY bigger than any whitetail I've ever taken, including mature Illinois bucks.

I quartered him out on the spot and weighed all the game bags when I got home before I started deboning. I had 85 lbs. of bone-in quarters and loose meat in those four game bags. Once I deboned everything, I was left with 75 lbs of pure meat. And, I could have probably done a better job of salvaging neck meat in the field.

This was a gutless method quartering job.

So, from a mature buck, I got 75# of boneless meat.

Hope that helps someone.

What has everyone else seen with their mule deer?

 

[Ross]

Your right on the mark, I always say 75-90 pds of boned out meat….a BOAL May get you a 100+ Lbs maybe not it has always felt like more, then I weigh it as you did and it is typically in that range

 

[Newtosavage]

Your right on the mark, I always say 75-90 pds of boned out meat….a BOAL May get you a 100+ Lbs maybe not it has always felt like more, then I weigh it as you did and it is typically in that range

It always feels like more on your back! ha, ha.

I started focusing on mule deer a few years ago when I decided to hunt solo. I have been able to get every mule deer back to the truck in two trips by myself, which is doable for this soon-to-be 53 year old. Not so much with an elk and frankly I just don't need that much meat.

 

[ProStaffSteve]

Just got my first mule deer, solid 4x4. I felt like I took every ounce of meat off him & was happy with my work. Shit shot placement knocked off some back strap, but oh well. I saved a few steaks and small roasts but determined most of it should be processed (he was a very stinky/old deer). I did a bang-up job getting rid of silver skin/connective tissue & ended up with 41 lbs of near-perfect meat. Took the ribs and all. Thought it would have weighed more. I am wondering if I should have been more greedy with what I sent to my processor...

 

[prm]

I just got back 79lbs from my buck. Was missing most of one shoulder due to damage.

 

[KenLee]

1/3 is usually a good rough estimate for mule deer or whitetail unless you shoot up the good stuff.

 

[LongWayAround]

My bone in quarters, plus heart and whatever else weighed 103 on my processor's scale last year.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

35% of live weight is typical meat yield. Yes, there are variables so don't get your knickers all knotted up.

There are variables involving the specific animal (ex: pre-rut vs post-rut) as well as the hunter (shot placement, bullet, field care, etc).

Folks should blame themselves and not processors for the anticipated yield coming up "short". Other than the animal size, the hunter has the biggest impact on final yield.

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

Only got 47 lbs in the freezer from my younger muley 3x3 buck this year. That's from all four quarters, backstrap, tenderloins, heart and scraps (some rib, some neck but not all).

 

[ProStaffSteve]

Just got my first mule deer, solid 4x4. I felt like I took every ounce of meat off him & was happy with my work. Shit shot placement knocked off some back strap, but oh well. I saved a few steaks and small roasts but determined most of it should be processed (he was a very stinky/old deer). I did a bang-up job getting rid of silver skin/connective tissue & ended up with 41 lbs of near-perfect meat. Took the ribs and all. Thought it would have weighed more. I am wondering if I should have been more greedy with what I sent to my processor...

I should add, not blaming a processor. And I forgot I gave away a front shoulder. I suppose with one leg, wasted back strap & a few steaks not being added to weight it was likely around 65-70.

 

[UtahJimmy]

We pulled 92# of boned out meat off my wife's buck this year. That's the highest yield we've had and he was a hell of a large bodied buck.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[sndmn11]

I think we are in the 65-75lb range that goes in the freezer; no add for sausage/burger.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Yup, 80 pounds.

Randy

 

[bpurtz]

Couple buddies and I hunted both WY and ID this year - all of these were boneless meat weights turned in at the processor.

130"-150" class bucks
WY 62lbs
WY 82lbs
ID 62lbs - backstrap not turned in

170"+ class bucks
WY 102lbs - backstrap not turned in
ID 108lbs - heart not turned in

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Some heavy a$$ deer.

 

[Newtosavage]

Couple buddies and I hunted both WY and ID this year - all of these were boneless meat weights turned in at the processor.

130"-150" class bucks
WY 62lbs
WY 82lbs
ID 62lbs - backstrap not turned in

170"+ class bucks
WY 102lbs - backstrap not turned in
ID 108lbs - heart not turned in

You just gave me a new goal - to kill a muley someday that gives me 100+ lbs. of boneless meat. What a hoss! That means the deer would have to be a good 80 lbs. heavier than the one I killed last week, and that thing looked huge on the ground to me!

 

[bpurtz]

You just gave me a new goal - to kill a muley someday that gives me 100+ lbs. of boneless meat. What a hoss! That means the deer would have to be a good 80 lbs. heavier than the one I killed last week, and that thing looked huge on the ground to me!

Perhaps a slightly interesting side note - the WY bucks had a layer of fat on the hams that rivaled a fall black bear - literally 2" thick - I've never seen anything like it - I'm sure that contributed to the heavy weight.

The big ID buck was lean but was an absolute giant body-wise...

 

[Newtosavage]

Perhaps a slightly interesting side note - the WY bucks had a layer of fat on the hams that rivaled a fall black bear - literally 2" thick - I've never seen anything like it - I'm sure that contributed to the heavy weight.

The big ID buck was lean but was an absolute giant body-wise...

View attachment 477798

Funny you mention the fat because the deer I quartered a week ago had more fat on its hams than I've ever seen on a deer before. At least an inch if not inch and a half.

I do like having goals!

 

[Hunt4lyf]

I've shot 3 over the years that I got 100-105 lbs of meat off of, in fact that's my goal every year, a big, fat buck that'll get me 100+ lbs of meat, I'm not really concerned about the antlers but bucks that heavy tend to have some nice antlers.

 

[Lytro]

This year I decided to weigh a loose meat bag I packed out solely because I was amazed by how full it was. That alone was 53#. I didn't weigh any of the quarters, but I'd imagine that buck had to have yielded 100+ fully boned out.