Pay processing or haul it raw?

[Ange86]

Making my first Newfoundland trip in October and wanted to hear from guys that have done both. I’ve always butchered my own (elk/deer/pigs/birds etc) but am most concerned with border crossing issues? We’ve hauled elk back (Colorado to Kentucky) without issue. always built coolers that fit the bed and store our gear and sleep on top if need be. Meat on racks and ice and/or dry ice below with drainage. From what I understand, outfitter has a place to keep it cool until departure, but if that turns out to be a bust I’ll be forced to do processing. Thanks in advance

 

[medvedyt]

from canada to usa you will need the bones removed from the meat so unless you have time someone will have to do it for you.

 

[Thebigbaby]

Raw dawg fo sho.

 

[WMR]

Brother and I brought two moose back from Canada. We did one each way. Brother killed his on day one, so it went to the processor. While that was being handled, we continued the hunt. I shot mine later in the hunt. We had a trailer with a freezer as well as multiple coolers. Brother’s bull came home cut, wrapped and frozen. Mine, bagged and cooled, got processed back at home.

We bought back no part of the brain or spine. The legs came back still on the bone. No issues whatsoever at the border.

Good luck to you. I hope you get a big one.

 

[WMR]

FWIW, I very much prefer to age my venison prior to processing. That’s not always possible, but I do so whenever I can.

 

[Ange86]

FWIW, I very much prefer to age my venison prior to processing. That’s not always possible, but I do so whenever I can.

That’s a large part of doing my own processing

 

[777dogman]

Friend of mine got turned away at border because bones were still in meat. He had a friend in Nova Scotia so he took moose there and deboned it. Delayed his return home a day.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I’m half and half on this one. On one hand, I like processing my own moose, on the flip side, if I could pay a reasonable fee to have it done for me, I’d save the wear on my back and shoulders for somebody else to do it.

I’ve cut up a lot of moose but sometimes enough is enough. I shot a large bull 2 years back, my buddy shot himself a nice bull and a guy I work with got his first and didn’t know how to deal with it so we ended up with 3 bulls hanging and like 4 solid days of cutting.

By the last day of that, I just sort of accepted that my back was going to hurt, shoulders were going to burn no matter what I did.

 

[ShadeMt]

This past fall I got turned back at the NB/Maine border due to not having the bones removed from the meat. I did not have any spinal fluid and the skull had been cleaned so I assumed it was ok until I was informed otherwise. Border patrol explained the issue was entering Maine due to their regs and not simply a border issue. I realize lots of people cross the border with no issue but I wouldn't risk having meat confiscated. Fortunately I have a buddy with a camp 45 minutes away so I went there and de-boned the moose. When I came back through the border the next morning with the de-boned moose they let me pass right through.

 

[Jimss]

I shot a moose this Sept. it was in the 90s where I live and I didn’t want to risk loosing meat so had it processed. It was $1,500 with jerky, sausage, etc made. You may also have a stiff shipping fee for flying all the meat back. Moose is delicious but you may consider donating at least part of it to the needy.

 

[Bum8221]

We paid to have 2 bulls cut up in Cormack Newfoundland in 2018… they are under new ownership since we had them processed… we paid 285 each for processing, wrapping, and freezing. That being said if I’m fortunate enough to ever be able to go hunt moose again or elk or caribou for that matter… I will do my best to be in a position where I can process the meat myself. I have had an elk and a moose butchered after hunts that I have taken, and I have paid through the nose for the meat processing, and in both cases, I felt that the butchers grossly mishandled the meat did not cut and trim the meat professionally, and I do believe on both occasions, they took more than half of the tenderloin and backstrap from both my elk moose. I know this thread is only about moose, but I feel compelled to mention my elk also. I have no direct proof that the butcher in Newfoundland took any of my backstrap, but I know for a fact that there were some missing because I cut the back straps off the carcass myself and I know how big they were. There was only 4 to 6 packs of sliced backstrap and or tenderloin in the processed meat that I received back from the butcher. Being in a time crunch one is when driving near 30 hours from home to the outfitter and taking a ferry as you have to do to get to Newfoundland I was not in a position to individually inspect every package of meat once I got it from the butcher. So lesson learned… my guides were kind enough to tell me to make sure and have exact Canadian change for the processing because that processor was notorious for not giving any change back nor honoring any exchange rate if you paid with American money.

Sorry for the long winded response