Cost to cut and wrap a moose.

[trigger7mm]

Hey guys, those of you that have harvested a moose this fall; what has the cost been to cut and wrap it. Steaks, roasts, and hamburger done? I had a cow done and it came to $460. She weighed 400 lbs. skinned and quartered. It was basically 3 quarters, because one of the front quarters took a beating from a 150 grain Berger bullet. The cost seemed a little on the steep side too me, or am I just being a cheapskate? LOL.

[Pilsner Man]

That’s about what I expect to pay. $1/lb plus disposal fee and tax.

[slough shark]

That doesn’t sound too bad for me, last moose I had a butcher do that with was around $1/pound of carcass weight, that was maybe 6 years ago since I butcher my own now but I could see it be a bit more now

[Pixel Shooter]

Yep that’s the price. Always cheaper if you can debone. They weigh exactly what u bring in

[kidd]

Your price worked out to $1.15 per pound brought in. I paid $1.20 last week.
kidd

[KyleSS]

Sounds about right

Doe
Cow Elk
Bull Elk

Final price was just over $900

I think the advertised price was $1.10 on hanging weight

[Pioneer2]

I cut my own.............sausages /burger etc.

[obsessed1]

Cut my own up last night....well started anyways
....got 1front 1 rear and all the back/neck done...cost...5$ in paper and tape maybe?? Hard to tell since I've been working on both the paper roll and tape roll for a couple years now....does take time though...my wife and I can cut and wrap a whole bull elk or cow moose in about an 8 hr day with set up and clean up... 1.20$/ lb. Is right about on par from all the butchers in this area.

[Red Bullets]

A young fellow started a butcher shop close to my place. He told me he charges 95 cents a pound for cut and wrap. Seems like a determined young gent.
His shop is called The Butcher's Son". White Avenue and 101 street in Edmonton.

[tikka250]

I know a guy who had to pay $700 the other day and that was the only butcher shop that would even take it. I called 8 shops the other day to see who would take a moose and one said to call every day until I got a slot and one more said I could go on the waiting list the rest said no or deboned only.

[trigger7mm]

Thanks for the replies guys. No doubt it’s cheaper to debone it before taking it in. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to pay for all that bone weight.

[calgarychef]

If you’re only getting it ground then deboning makes sense I suppose.
If you want steaks and burgers and you’re deboning..we’ll shoot! You’re half way there, just wrap it and label it. Also it occurs to me that a butcher would have to take even more time sorting various mounds of poorly deboned meat to cut into roasts and steaks if that’s what the customer wanted.

Deboning makes zero sense. Cutting your own meat and taking the trim in to get ground or made into sausage makes all kinds of sense. Especially if you wait until jan/Feb to bring it..that way it won’t be intermingled with other potentially poorly handled meat. Yuk. I want my meat and only my meat, no one else’s.

[Robins36]

If you guys are paying that much to process your meat, it sure wouldn’t take long to buy enough equipment to get it all done at home. My wife already has my Christmas list and I haven’t folded my first tag yet. Last year, I helped a buddy process a whitetail and it was quite simple, just a little time consuming. I plan to process all my harvests if and when I’m able to drop one.

[BC7stw]

89 cents a pound locally in Prince George. That’s based on the carcass weight as soon as you bring it in. Usually after 10 days hanging it’s down on weight by 8-10%. But you are charged based on the heavier weight as it arrives.

Most moose we’ve taken there over the years weighed between 460 - 540 pounds on the hook. I have been cutting my own for 20 years or so but checked this year just out of curiosity. We took two bulls this year, one what extremely large. Weighed one of the quarters and it was 225 pounds. The smaller bull was 505 on the hook. Assuming the big guy was 850ish that would have meant over 1200 bucks for cutting and wrapping. Glad I cut it up myself. Lotta cash.

[Munchymoo]

Just paid $0.90 a pound on the hook for a cow elk. Cut and wrapped. Birch Hills Colony.

[Wiz]

Originally Posted by Pixel Shooter

Yep that’s the price. Always cheaper if you can debone. They weigh exactly what u bring in

This!!

Do yourself a fav and debone.. not only is it very interesting to see the various muscle groups, it is very easy to do... esp with a havalon knife kit... and saves a boat load of $$.

[Dubious]

If your going to debone might as well just cut and wrap it your self, you have already done most of the work. Roll of freezer paper a kitchen knife and a cutting board is all you need. Less than 150$ for all 3 and the paper will last years.

[bucksnbears]

Originally Posted by Dubious

If your going to debone might as well just cut and wrap it your self, you have already done most of the work. Roll of freezer paper a kitchen knife and a cutting board is all you need. Less than 150$ for all 3 and the paper will last years.

Screw paper..., get a roll of pallet wrap. For 25 bucks you'd be able to do several moose.
And, it (the meat) will last much longer. Been using it for 20 years.

[curtz]

Been cutting our own meat for years, with my siblings there are 3 house holds. We all chipped in to buy the equipment.

[sns2]

When it hit .50/lb I said screw that noise. Been doing my own ever since. It is time consuming, and I certainly understand that for some people time is money. I have come to take pleasure in a job well done, and ensuring that my meat is my meat. No hair. No dirt. No bloodshot. No silverskin. No intermingling with other customers. To me, that is worth my time.

[Positrac]

I have a butcher I use that works for one of the grocery stores in town and moonlights cutting game. He shows up with everything he needs. He cuts and you wrap. He grinds whatever burger you want. In the end it’s $250 cash per moose. $100 for a deer. Both bulls this year took about 3-1/2 hours each.

All he asks is the animal is skinned and all cleaned up. He also needs some space and good lighting. A buddy has been using him for over 25 years without any issues.

[Hilgy]

Originally Posted by Positrac

I have a butcher I use that works for one of the grocery stores in town and moonlights cutting game. He shows up with everything he needs. He cuts and you wrap. He grinds whatever burger you want. In the end it’s $250 cash per moose. $100 for a deer. Both bulls this year took about 3-1/2 hours each.

All he asks is the animal is skinned and all cleaned up. He also needs some space and good lighting. A buddy has been using him for over 25 years without any issues.

I'm assuming this butcher is in Ft mac based on your listed location. Too bad. This is exactly the type of guy I've been looking for. I think a guy could learn alot from being there watching a butcher do his work and helping out where needed.

On that note if anyone has a contact like this in the Red Deer/Central Alberta area please pass it on.

Thanks
Hilgy

[Dick284]

$1.10-$1.25/ pound.
Add gouge and screw tax.

That’s just cut and wrap, adding stuff like sausage pushes the costs up big time.

[birdman86]

What do guys typically charge to clean a skull for euro mount? Boiling's easy enough but always wondered if I'm wasting my time doing it myself.

[nohlan_4]

That's in the wheel house. I paid $1 per pound on the hook carcasss weight for mine. I paid a lot more to get a bunch of stuff made up though. Considering I only can get a draw maybe every 3 years if I'm lucky not bad really $ wise.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by Positrac

I have a butcher I use that works for one of the grocery stores in town and moonlights cutting game. He shows up with everything he needs. He cuts and you wrap. He grinds whatever burger you want. In the end it’s $250 cash per moose. $100 for a deer. Both bulls this year took about 3-1/2 hours each.

All he asks is the animal is skinned and all cleaned up. He also needs some space and good lighting. A buddy has been using him for over 25 years without any issues.

When I used to hunt up there with my cousin, we used a similar guy. Pretty sure his card said "Have Knives Will Travel." Same price. Damn fair I thought considering Fort Mac is known for gouging.

[StiksnStrings]

I can't believe the cost of butchering. I was very fortunate to have a butcher as one of my mentors when I started hunting so I've always done it myself. Yes, it's a lot of work but, I find it to be very satisfying.

[Positrac]

Originally Posted by sns2

When I used to hunt up there with my cousin, we used a similar guy. Pretty sure his card said "Have Knives Will Travel." Same price. Damn fair I thought considering Fort Mac is known for gouging.

There is quite often a Fort Mac tax for sure. The guy I used was very professional and I’m sure he could have taught me a lot but I was so busy trying to keep up with him while I was doing the wrapping I didn’t have time to learn much.

I’ve also cut plenty of my own animals but I’m not overly quick at it and it’s a task I pretty much dread each year. At $250 split between myself and a partner it’s money well spent. It actually made a task I hate doing a pretty enjoyable experience.

We’re moving this coming Spring to St. Albert so I’ll be back to doing it myself until I can find someone with the same business plan as the guy I use up here.

[trigger7mm]

Too bad there isn’t a wild game meat cutting course you could take. A good butcher could probably make some great pocket money going around doing weekend courses like that.

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by trigger7mm

Too bad there isn’t a wild game meat cutting course you could take. A good butcher could probably make some great pocket money going around doing weekend courses like that.

Hundreds of game processing vids on YouTube. Some are pretty good.