How much meat will you get?
After the field dressing, skinning, deboning and trimming, the freezer gets a lot less than the animal weighed on the hoof. Enter the species and a weight and we'll estimate the boneless, table-ready meat - and roughly how many meals that adds up to. The shares are North Dakota State University Extension's averages of lean, boneless meat for each species: a whitetail gives 51.7% of its live weight and 61.1% of its field-dressed weight (NDSU FN125).
That's roughly 207 servings of around 6 oz each.
Where it goes: the loins (backstraps), tenderloins and the boned hind legs give the steaks and roasts; NDSU suggests trimming the meat left on the ribs, flank and neck for sausage or ground venison. Step by step: how to process a deer at home.
This is an estimate. Real yield swings with the animal's age and condition, how much was lost to the shot, and how aggressively you trim. Mature, well-fed animals and careful butchering land at the high end; shot-up shoulders and heavy trimming at the low end. Wild hog and black bear are not listed: we have not found an extension service table of their meat yield.
Butchering gear
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