Post hunt etiquette: Splitting/sharing meat

[wind gypsy]

I've always went with the assumption that the guy who notches the tag gets the meat. I've never run into a situation where I was hesitant to share a significant portion of the meat from tags i've cut nor have my hunting buddies ever hesitated to offer up meat to me. Thus its not something i've put much thought into.

A lot of how we've handled it has to do with how much meat someone already has in the freezer and how much game they eat.

 

[CoStick]

We tend to share elk equally, I am not sure we would share an antelope though, not much to go around.

 

[roadrunner]

He who packs meat, gets meat.

For hunts as a group, we always split it up. Sure, a small animal won't go far split between 4 hunters...but you've got 4x the odds of harvesting one to start with if you're hunting with any sort of strategy.

People who don't understand hunting is a collective effort don't wind up in camp more than once.

Lucky for me (us) we just figured it was part of hunting together and helping out without expecting anything in return.

Maybe it's called service. Maybe not...

 

[Bighorse]

That depends. If they "self invited", then they didn't give up any time or assumed any risk at all. If you, the hunter, invited them, then yes, there should be

That depends. If they "self invited", then they didn't give up any time or assumed any risk at all. If you, the hunter, invited them, then yes, there should be some arrangement after the hunt.

I'd like to elaborate. I have never found myself in a situation where someone self invites and ends up in camp.
The best analogy that I'm sure many participants here have considered is the wolf pack. I don't hunt in a pack with rouge wolves.
I don't pay for "processing", So the added expense occurred by paying someone else to care for the harvest isn't a liability concern. I tend to have quality communication about expectations and am genuinely concerned about the safety and well being of anyone invited to camp. If I'm invited, I will address the shared harvest philosophy that I enjoy and/or clearly refuse meat for whatever reason before the hunt.
I respect regional, family and tribal variance as it relates to harvest. I hope you can respect my personal choice in this regard as I've found it to be very good at building relationships and maintaining a few high quality hunting partners. They know what they are getting when sitting on a ridge with me as it relates to harvest. I'm happy for their success and visa versa. Try it, stay focused on another mans success for a minute. You'll get a friend and some food potentially. I also enjoy a flip flop arrangement with my best hunting pard. We go on one year, off another year for challenging hunts, Full split and full support
Happy Harvesting

 

[AKBC]

I like to discuss ahead of time and agree that we will split costs and meats evenly. I usually give way more than I take.

 

[roadrunner]

I'd like to elaborate. I have never found myself in a situation where someone self invites and ends up in camp.
The best analogy that I'm sure many participants here have considered is the wolf pack. I don't hunt in a pack with rouge wolves.
I don't pay for "processing", So the added expense occurred by paying someone else to care for the harvest isn't a liability concern. I tend to have quality communication about expectations and am genuinely concerned about the safety and well being of anyone invited to camp. If I'm invited, I will address the shared harvest philosophy that I enjoy and/or clearly refuse meat for whatever reason before the hunt.
I respect regional, family and tribal variance as it relates to harvest. I hope you can respect my personal choice in this regard as I've found it to be very good at building relationships and maintaining a few high quality hunting partners. They know what they are getting when sitting on a ridge with me as it relates to harvest. I'm happy for their success and visa versa. Try it, stay focused on another mans success for a minute. You'll get a friend and some food potentially. I also enjoy a flip flop arrangement with my best hunting pard. We go on one year, off another year for challenging hunts, Full split and full support
Happy Harvesting

Self invite is when you have a Henry's LE buck tag, Monroe or San Juan bull elk LE tag, or a NM or AZ desert bighorn sheep tag.

You know, the hunts that have a hero pic for the notoriety. Any other hunt and they're "too busy".

These guys don't deserve anything from the kill...

 

[mtwarden]

let's see- a buddy helps you pack out two full loads of elk a little over 4 miles out, most of it's downhill (but not all), unfortunately there is some blowdown you can't get fully around so you have to contend with that, there is also some not so forgiving sidehilling that has to be contended with as well

it takes just about all day and you've now tallied up 16-ish miles (8 miles mostly uphill, but without a load and 8 miles with 70-80-ish lb packs)

yeah I'm not giving that SOB any meat- right

 

[Laramie]

It really depends on the situation and the communication ahead of the hunt. For instance, I have never left an elk tag unfilled but I have taken quite a few rookies. Most of them with the understanding that I only draw every few years and I'm keeping my elk. Most of them have shot elk with my help but not all have. I don't feel guilty at all not splitting evenly with them but I usually give them some.

However, in my "friends" camp, everyone's freezer is always stocked, even if someone has a tough year so we never worry about it.

I guess bottom line is you don't have to worry about it if you are hunting with good hunters.

All of that said, splitting an antelope makes no sense. Keep your 35 pounds of delicious meat and invite them over for a great meal.

 

[GoProTiger]

We always split everything on destination hunts or fishing trips. If it’s just hunting up at someone’s camp then shooter gets all the meat and dinner that night comes from that animal.

 

[Netherman]

We take it on a case by case basis, but always discuss prior to the hunt. Typically you get what you shoot, but in areas with less opportunity or where holding out for a trophy make sense we tend to agree to splits. We also designate a shooter / first right of refusal for a period of time (day, days, trip). If you poke around this site you'll see the common hunting partner issues and I've found that discussion prior will help prevent/resolve most of them.

Taking this a step further, my primary hunting buddy and I have decided to stop applying at tough to tags as a group and will be going individual apps from now on with plans to both go and split any resultant meat. it gives us better odds and potential for multiple OIL tags (just maybe not as the trigger man). Sharing meat in these cases makes a lot of sense as we are asking the other to give up a week of their vacation for someone else's hunt.

All that said antelope are small. I suspect you were hunting in pairs so I'd personally feel more obligated to the guy hunting with me rather that the two other guys. If we were having the discussion ahead of time I would:

as the shooter: ask if the other person wanted some of the meat and be prepared to give them up to half.
as the helper: tell them to keep it and probably have a twinge of anger if I never got invited over for a meal.
as the other two guys: not have a dog in the fight and be thankful for any donations or meal invites

 

[CoStick]

I never realized hunting could be so complicated.

 

[ODB]

I never realized hunting could be so complicated.

hunting is very high-context endeavor. Always has been. Rites, rituals (last bite, blooding) unspoken understandings, codes (e.g. what is fair chase), etc.

This is simply one of those factors.

 

[CoStick]

hunting is very high-context endeavor. Always has been. Rites, rituals (last bite, blooding) unspoken understandings, codes (e.g. what is fair chase), etc.

This is simply one of those factors.

Or you can go hunting with your crew and have a great time, and not get caught up in penny pinching or counting ounces of meat.

 

[bsnedeker]

Or you can go hunting with your crew and have a great time, and not get caught up in penny pinching or counting ounces of meat.

This right here. I hunt with my buddies and we are all fairly successful in the field. We are all happy to help each other without expecting some kind of payment. I think splitting up meat is fine if you feel like doing it but it's just a totally foreign concept to me.

 

[4fletch]

I'm usually a solo hunter when I have tags in my pockets, but I did a group hunt this weekend with 4 guys where 2 of us were tag holders and 2 were not. I has the only one to fill a tag. It was an antelope so not a ton of meat to go around and I absolutely love antelope. We shared the heart that night and I definitely plan on cooking for the gang at a later date, but I also want to give them some meat too.

If we were splitting the bill at the butcher it'd be an easy answer, but I do all my own processing so I'm wondering: How do you all split up your meat post-hunt?

Whoever helps cut it up gets some.

 

[ODB]

Or you can go hunting with your crew and have a great time, and not get caught up in penny pinching or counting ounces of meat.

your “crew” has all of this stuff built into them. That’s why you are a “crew”

it’s deeper than you want to believe.

 

[cmankingsley]

I always offer. If you hunt with killers they don’t usually need the meat.


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[Holocene]

A lot of how we've handled it has to do with how much meat someone already has in the freezer and how much game they eat.

Very good point from wind gypsy here.

I hunt solo, with family, good buddies, new buddies...each of these relationships has a different fabric and quality. Reciprocity and expectation are all over the map. Overall, I am generous with meat, but also have a family to feed so need to keep enough meat so that we aren't leaning to hard on the grocery store come late summer. If I were rich or had more game in the freezer, I would be even more generous. Wild game is a gift from the world to my family, and I truly enjoy gifting it out in kind.

If you help pack out, you get some meat. Not half, but some amount in proportion to how much work you did or some other intangible factors.

For bird trips (upland or waterfowl), I keep all my birds. That's the law. Back at home, I'll package some things and gift them out if -- and that's a BIG IF -- I'm confident that someone will actually cook and prepare the birds. They are hard won.

All this said, I would help someone pack out and not expect any meat. I wouldn't do it 10 times per elk season though! Need time to hunt.

In December, I have a cow elk hunt in Nevada -- my first big out of state hunt. My new brother in law has offered to go and help. He's never hunted. If we kill and pack out, he will get some meat. How much will that be? TBD. I liked this post and am now thinking about this question more than before.

 

[BigDawgWill44]

When we get to the truck, and everyone is sucking wind and beat down from packing out a bull, the guy who shot it says “thank you” and the rest of the guys say “no problem, that’s what friends are for.” Knowing damn well he would do the same for you and never expect anything in return. That’s how my crew operates.


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[Perrin713]

Just returned home from Montana. I was successful in taking a elk. My buddy who helped with the pack out received meat. The other buddy who helped pack out also shot a elk so he had his own meat.
I feel as if they are willing to aid in the pack out it’s the least I can do is throw them some meat for their freezer.