What do they do with all that meat?

[Ikeepitcold]

I've always wondered what the guys on the TV shows do with all the meat they harvest. These guys are taking 5+ deer, a few Elk, Does, Cows, Buffalo, all these animals and there is no way they are keeping it for them selves it would spoil before they could eat it all and how could they store it all? I'm sure a lot can be given to friends and family but still. I know there are a few states that they can donate it the hungry. Any thoughts?

 

[Drhorsepower]

I was on Cameron Hanes website the other day, he showed all of the animals he killed just this year

Wildebeast 11 yards Africa
Eland 38 yards Africa
Waterbuck 19 yards Africa
Black Bear 8 yards Alaska
4-point Mule Deer 9 yards Utah
5-point Bull Elk 33 yards Utah
“Beast Mode” 5-point Roosevelt Bull Elk 67 yards Oregon
4×4 Blacktail Buck 12 yards Oregon
6-point Bull Elk 46 yards Colorado
6×6 Bull Elk 63 yards New Mexico


That's a boat load of meat. A guy can't eat wild game every meal every day. 4 elk, a bear, a few deer and those weird things from Africa I have no clue how much They weigh but dang man. That's a little too much! For a guy that has says he has a tremendous amount of respect for the animal after the harvest, I sure hope he puts that meat to good use.

 

[cali_hornhunter]

thats a great question sounds like we need input from the eastmans staff

 

[jenbickel]

I've seen on some of the movies or shows or something, I think it might have been the Primos boys that in an area out East where they were killing multiple deer and stuff they were donating the meat through a organization in a local town. I would like to think that's what most of them do..

 

[CrimsonArrow]

I'm sure a lot of meat is given to people working behind the scenes, such as editors, cameramen; not to mention that everyone has friends and relatives who would be happy to take a pile of good eatin' off their hands.

 

[Joe Hulburt]

I was on Cameron Hanes website the other day, he showed all of the animals he killed just this year

Wildebeast 11 yards Africa
Eland 38 yards Africa
Waterbuck 19 yards Africa
Black Bear 8 yards Alaska
4-point Mule Deer 9 yards Utah
5-point Bull Elk 33 yards Utah
“Beast Mode” 5-point Roosevelt Bull Elk 67 yards Oregon
4×4 Blacktail Buck 12 yards Oregon
6-point Bull Elk 46 yards Colorado
6×6 Bull Elk 63 yards New Mexico


That's a boat load of meat. A guy can't eat wild game every meal every day. 4 elk, a bear, a few deer and those weird things from Africa I have no clue how much They weigh but dang man. That's a little too much! For a guy that has says he has a tremendous amount of respect for the animal after the harvest, I sure hope he puts that meat to good use.

We eat wild game or fish basically every meal of the year. We buy a turkey on holidays and a little ham for sandwiches but other than that it's all something we killed.

Last year my family killed 3 Roosevelt elk, 3 pronghorn bucks, 2 blacktail bucks and about 20 salmon. Not a bit of it ever goes to waste.

I think when it comes to Africa all the meat goes to the locals as it wouldn't be sensible to ship meat that far.

 

[Jerry]

I've often wondered this myself! Very good question!

 

[birdhunter]

Most, if not all the meat is donated to food for hunger. Im sure they keep some of that for themselves. I know a few people that have went to Africa and they dont give you an option to keep the meat. That meat is giving to the locals that need the meat to survive. You can eat some of it since they process it right away because of the heat. You do get to take the mounts and antlers back with you however.

 

[birdhunter]

What I really want to know is how much of that meat spoils when they shoot it late i the afternoon and then let it sit through the night and retrieve it in the morning. I have done that once since it got so dark and lost the blood trail. The meat spoiled overnight and it was late fall in Wyoming.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

What I really want to know is how much of that meat spoils when they shoot it late i the afternoon and then let it sit through the night and retrieve it in the morning. I have done that once since it got so dark and lost the blood trail. The meat spoiled overnight and it was late fall in Wyoming.

I would bet that happens a lot

 

[llp]

You can bet that all of the meat is well utilized. As far as African animals, it is all utilized by the local community. In RSA, it may even be sold to the local grocery store. By African standards, we all waste a lot of meat in the US. They often even haul of the dung, and the guts are utilized like meat. Nothing goes to waste in Africa.

Here in the US, there are lots of ways to utilize the meat from multiple kills. It is extremely rare to have any meat spoil with any reasonable attmep at care. My family harvests a lot of animals throughout the US each year. Every last piece of edible meat is wrapped, and utilized. Most goes to other families in our community. My wife works at a local elementary school, and there are never shortages of struggling families who want the free meat. Others give to their church or the local shelter. I've taken whole elk to the "Rescue Mission" before, and seen their incredible gratitude. We also eat a lot of the meat ourselves, but of course their are limits for any person. Sometimes I am so far from home that it is impractical to transport it back to my house. I make arrangements locally, and many communities have a "Sportsmen for the Hungry" or related program to handle donated meat. There is no excuse for waste, nor is ther any reason to worry about folks shooting too many animals.
llp

 

[Joe Hulburt]

That reminds me I did give a struggling family 3/4 of one of those blacktail last year. but I also just remembered we killed a spring bear too and ate the whole thing!

 

[Ikeepitcold]

The years we harvest a lot of animals I'm will to give some away. I usually keep it all for my family and kinda stingie about it to be honest. When we hunt the East for white tails we kill a lot of deer. We give many away to family and friends that live close that barley have enough to feed themselves. So none of it goes to waste. I guess it shouldn't matter were the meat goes as long as it isn't left on the Mt. Somewhere to rot

 

[CrimsonArrow]

I would bet that happens a lot

I agree, and that is where the ethics have really been thrown aside. How many tv shows have kills at last light, but recovery in the morning? You better believe it's not because they're afraid of pushing the animal, it's strictly because early morning provides the best light for filming and photography. That's why as hunters we need to call out "B.S", and contact these shows via email and let them know how we feel. I stopped watching a few of my favorite bowhunting shows because of this kind of behavior. We have the power to influence how hunting is portrayed on television.

 

[Drhorsepower]

We eat wild game or fish basically every meal of the year. We buy a turkey on holidays and a little ham for sandwiches but other than that it's all something we killed.

Last year my family killed 3 Roosevelt elk, 3 pronghorn bucks, 2 blacktail bucks and about 20 salmon. Not a bit of it ever goes to waste.

I think when it comes to Africa all the meat goes to the locals as it wouldn't be sensible to ship meat that far.

3 Roosevelt= 300x3 lbs
3 antelope=100lbs
2 deer = 75 lbs
------------------------------
1100lbs / 365= 3 lbs a day.

Hope you have a big family. I know mine couldn't do it.

 

[floorya]

i fill my freezer (its a big freezer),my moms,and 2 friends from church. it gives me a reason to hunt more.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Interesting thread. When I was a youngster and my Dad was tutoring me on hunting (over 60 years ago!), he hammered home hunter ethics. We would never waste a bit of anything we killed hunting or fishing. All of it was taken home and either put in a rented meat locker (when we didn't have a freezer at home) our our family freezer. He taught me how to prepare , butcher and package everything. I still practice this today. There have been times when I had all the waterfowl I could use and I stopped hunting them. Some years back I drew deer tags for California, Utah and Wyoming. I had 4 tags and I knew I couldn't eat all four deer in a year or so. I talked to all my friends and everyone who would eat wild meat said they had plenty and didn't need anymore, so after I killed deer in California and Wyoming (3), I opted not to hunt in Utah. Today I could literally fill my freezer with geese from oround my homeplace, but as I am not too fond of them for eating, I only shoot a few each year. A few years back I drew a coveted "Ranching for Wildlife" elk tag here in Colorado using a lot of PPT's. To make a long story short, hunting was tough and we didn't see much game. I eventually saw a real nice, young raghorn bull that someone had shot and broke it's front leg. After a little soul searching, I shot it in the neck so it would not go to feed the coyotes and such.

I have had it burned into my soul not to waste fish or game meat. I don't make judgements about others, but really don't think it's right to go out and shoot something with the realization that you or your family don't need it or want it. Done with my "preaching"!

 

[Fink]

I don't know about out West, but here in Missouri, we have a program called share the harvest. The program is administered through our conservation department, who work with local meat lockers to butcher donated deer. Hunters here are responsible to pay for the donations, but usually the lockers offer a discounted rate, if it's not free... Last year, hunters in Missouri donated over 300,000 pounds of venison to the program.

I personally feel very strongly about the program, and will usually donate a deer every other year or so.

I'm sure none of that meat goes to waste.

 

[Joe Hulburt]

3 Roosevelt= 300x3 lbs
3 antelope=100lbs
2 deer = 75 lbs
------------------------------
1100lbs / 365= 3 lbs a day.

Hope you have a big family. I know mine couldn't do it.

That's pretty close on your numbers. I don't think most Roosevelt elk yield 300 pounds though, more like 250. I have only weighed all the boned meat on one (a mature 6 point) and there was 255 pounds of meat with zero waste. Given those numbers I come up with 925 pounds of meat or 2.5 pounds per day which is right about what our family of 5 (plus guests) eats. We did have meat left when this falls hunts started but this was a slow year with only 2 spike bulls 1 bear and 3 deer so we will be out by the start or next archery season.

I also just gave a sack of meat to one of my sons buddies family since they have no father to take them hunting.

Every ounce gets eaten! That is the primary reason I hunt. I like trophy animals but that is just a bonus to the real goal for me and it always will be. I the day comes I can't utilize all the meat I will stop.