Whitetail Deer Meat Yields

[Todd10]

Here’s my yield from 3 whitetail (dressed weight) this fall.
140 pounds-very little shot damage-74 pounds of boneless meat.
130 pounds-shot through both shoulders-53 pounds of boneless meat.
105 pounds- shot through one shoulder-44 pounds of boneless meat.
The heart and tenderloins are not included in the meat yield as we eat them before processing. I do leave the thin silver skin and have never had any game taste in my ground venison. All of the heavy tendons, large pieces of fat and thick silver skin are discarded.

 

[Macintosh]

I just picked up the meat from the last two deer my family got this year (we processed the first ones ourselves, but ran out of time). One was a very nice mature buck, the other was slightly younger. While dragging and loading them, I estimated them at 180 and 160. It looks like we got 60 pounds from one and 52 pounds from the other. Which lines up pretty well with how hard they were to load onto the truck.

180 and 160–is that an estimate of dressed or live weight?

 

[Q_Sertorius]

180 and 160–is that an estimate of dressed or live weight?

It’s my SWAG of how much they weighed live. I loaded the heavier one onto the truck before field dressing it (he came out while we were driving down from picking up the other one).

I sort of miss the old days when we had to take them into the check station and get them weighed in. But the convenience of checking them in electronically is amazing.

 

[Macintosh]

@Q_Sertorius that checks at roughly 1/3 of live weight and 40% of dressed weight then.
Based on live weight/dressed weight from the chart I posted earlier:
160lb live=130lb dressed. 52lb of meat is 33% of live, 40% of dressed.
180lb live=142lb dressed. 60lb of meat is 33% of live, 42% of dressed.

 

[RifleDisciple]

In Texas I'm getting about 30-35% of live weight. I do not trim out the ribs. Gutless method every time.

Last doe was about 18lb ground + round steaks, backstrap, loins, and shanks.

Bucks down here 150-170lb on the hoof so far and yield around 45-55lbs of meat doing the gutless method. If I grind the neck I get much more grind. Lots of meat on those necks. I generally cut them in 3 pieces for neck roasts.

I have been weighing most of what we package last year and this year, but not documenting, just mental notes. Now that I'm typing this, I didn't weigh the last neck roasts, which add a lot of weight. So maybe closer to 35% seems to be about where I land down here.

 

[ffblake]

25%-30% of the live weight from my experience

 

[30338]

Here’s my yield from 3 whitetail (dressed weight) this fall.
140 pounds-very little shot damage-74 pounds of boneless meat.
130 pounds-shot through both shoulders-53 pounds of boneless meat.
105 pounds- shot through one shoulder-44 pounds of boneless meat.
The heart and tenderloins are not included in the meat yield as we eat them before processing. I do leave the thin silver skin and have never had any game taste in my ground venison. All of the heavy tendons, large pieces of fat and thick silver skin are discarded.

I have family in the midwest that trim a ton of silverskin off despite me telling them to just grind it. Agreed on tendons and big fat pieces but my thought is a lot of edible meat gets lost in trimming.

 

[Macintosh]

Im not clear, but it also sounds from reading the posts like most people arent actually weighing the deer itself. If so that estimate may be a big part of the reason for the discrepancy in % yield, ie most people overestimate the weight of the deer.

 

[Joshk358]

I see about a 1/3 yield of dressed weight. I trim all of the silver skin I can, my girls are picky. Grind for most of the deer, backstraps and tenderloins and an occasional steak from the hinds.

 

[Todd10]

Im not clear, but it also sounds from reading the posts like most people arent actually weighing the deer itself. If so that estimate may be a big part of the reason for the discrepancy in % yield, ie most people overestimate the weight of the deer.

I can’t speak for others in this post but the 3 whitetail I referenced were all weighed with a scale after being field dressed. I weighed all of the processed meat with a scale as well. I included the shot placement and damage to give examples of the differences in yields from different shot placements. You may be spot on that the discrepancies in this post are due to some being estimates though.

 

[Lurch12]

This is where we fall.

You'll get roughly 1/3 the live weight of the deer in meat.

100# doe = 33# meat
40# button buck = 12.5# meat
150# buck = 50# meat

That's pretty much it.

 

[Todd10]

I have family in the midwest that trim a ton of silverskin off despite me telling them to just grind it. Agreed on tendons and big fat pieces but my thought is a lot of edible meat gets lost in trimming.

I used to spend hours trimming all of the silver skin off in my early years too as I always heard it was necessary. After eating neck roast many years back that has layer upon layer of silver skin I realized that it all disappears when cooked and actually enhanced the flavor of the roast. I leave most of the silver skin in my grinds and have never noticed any game taste in my burger. The only real difference I’ve noticed since I stopped trimming so much is I get a lot more delicious meat!

 

[ResearchinStuff]

My experience tracks pretty well with 48%, but I tend to only weigh finished product from the big ones. 30-35% sounds way low. Typically lots of corn and soybeans, plus acorns in the area I hunt.

I typically grind liver and heart in with my burger unless they're shot. My deer are aged in a cooler for roughly a week before processing.

I recall one doe in the last few years that had 64# finished. I think it was this one.


This buck put 99# in the freezer, he was guess then dragged home hide on.


This buck put 90# in the freezer. I did him gutless, forgot one tenderloin like a moron, and left the last 6" of neck meat in the cape going to the taxidermist, he did not return that meat. The cape/neck/ skull weighed 30#. I could not get this pack onto my back, had to carry the skull and cape in my hands.




I have seen a chart that shows meat output by spine length, but I cannot find a link to it anywhere online.

 

[Macintosh]

My experience tracks pretty well with 48%, but I tend to only weigh finished product from the big ones. 30-35% sounds way low

Of what, live weight or dressed weight? Guessing dressed, just checking since some folks are using live weights.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I think 48% of live weight goes into the freezer. Can't imagine that I shot 2 bucks that were 250 on the hoof, which is what 48% of dressed weight would mean.

Of what, live weight or dressed weight? Guessing dressed, just checking since some folks are using live weights.

 

[jferre4842]

I searched for a thread like this, but I couldn't find one save one in the mule deer forum.

Curious to know what other folks are getting in terms of meat yield from whitetail. I know there are lots of factors, but I'm curious either way. I process on my own at home. I am very picky in terms of trimming off fat, silver skin, etc. Here's what I yielded this year. It feels like it's on the low end, but the button buck was really small to begin with. I don't weigh deer, so I don't have that data unfortunately.

• Small button buck
  • Front quarters were unable to be kept due to broadhead damage and significant amounts of blood soaking in
  • 12.5 lbs of ground
    • Excludes tenderloins and shanks which were kept separately
    • Excludes both front quarters
    • Included back straps

• 2-3 year old doe
  • 23 lbs of ground
    • Excludes one back strap kept as steaks
    • Excludes shanks which were kept separately
    • Included tenderloins and one back strap

Sounds about right. Avg size whitetail has always yielded 30 ish pounds

 

[Rhettster433]

My buck a few weeks ago weighed 121 dressed. (Central bama) i dint process my own but i know the guy who does it pretty well. I got back 24.3 pounds, packaging and all. Shot was perfect. Entered behind right shoulder and exited in front of left. He was quartered away with right leg extended so i doubt there was much meat damage if any. The only bone i hit was a rib on the exit. Always surprised at how little meat comes from these animals.