How much venison does your family eat?
Contributors to this thread:Wisconsin
From: RutnStrut
29-Jun-16
I was thinking about this as I took the last few packages of venison out of the freezer this morning. My family of four went through 3.5 deer already. Yes 3.5, 2 adult bucks, one adult doe, and a doe fawn. We use a LOT of burger and ground the doe all into burger other than the back straps. The others were cut up normally. We eat venison and other game pretty much exclusively when we have it. We prefer it over beef actually. Although I wouldn't say I'm a meat hunter. I definitely love venison. I almost wish any of the areas I hunt were over populated. I would love for the kids and I to be able to shoot 4 or 5 does a year.
So how much game does your family eat a year?
From: Mike F
29-Jun-16
My wife and I eat 6 to 8 deer a year. That includes some family get together's and vacations when we feed up to 20 poeple at a time.
No sense in purchasing flavorless, yucky meat from the grocery store if you enjoy eating venison!
If you've got the deer and the habitat to support taking that many off the landscape , go for it!
From: Redclub
29-Jun-16
3 deer unless I get an Elk,then Less. Just 2 of us tho
From: dbl lung
29-Jun-16
I eat one and my wife and kids wont touch the stuff. If I shoot more then one I give it away. There are plenty of people out there who want to eat venison but don't want to do the work involved in getting one:)
From: happygolucky
29-Jun-16
My family eats less than the 2 we limit ourselves to each season. I end up giving some to friends and family.
From: Pete-pec
29-Jun-16
I typically kill 3 or 4 deer a year, would certainly kill more, but that's enough. We are down to two loins, and two roasts. It goes fast. I grind all the neck meat and front shoulders for burger, which goes fast!
From: Reggiezpop
29-Jun-16
I got 5 last year. Me, my wife and 3 kids under 6 haven't gone hungry. I had a bunch made into sausage, by accident. Kept loins,back straps and made the rest Into thin grilling steaks and ground meat. I defrosted the freezer a few weeks ago. I figured we could eat venison twice a week until opening weekend.
From: shedhead
30-Jun-16
My kids killed 5 deer between the three of them and it will be all gone by opening day. We have eaten 7 in one year and when i get an elk we only need 2-3. We have an assortment of stuff made and i grind about a hundred pounds. I give about #50 to a nieghbor lady that has five kids by herself. Thats all they can fit in the freezer
From: Steve White
30-Jun-16
NONE!!! Unless you count the dogs, lol
From: Bloodtrail
30-Jun-16
I'm with MikeF and ya cannot find a better deal....
From: RutnStrut
30-Jun-16
"NONE!!! Unless you count the dogs, lol"
Steve, do you guys eat a lot of bear meat? I know some people don't like it. But we have always really enjoyed it.
From: RJN
30-Jun-16
1 or 2 a yr. I shoot 1 doe bowhunting and the 2nd would be a mature buck if I was lucky. I started Canning a few yrs ago so there's lots of options.
From: Screwball
30-Jun-16
1 doe. a buck if we get lucky. Usually a bear, or elk, etc. Small game, 25 squirrel, 5-8 partridge, 2-3 pheasant, 2 coon, 1 beaver bbq. 10 rabbit. Me & Wife, 2 kids and 4 grand-kids.
From: Steve White
01-Jul-16
Nope, dont get much if any bear meat. Goes home with the clients.
From: razorhead
01-Jul-16
My wife and I would easily eat 3 deer, but last 2 years only have had one deer a year,,,,, baiting for a guy last year, I got a whole bear, that a guy did not want,,,,, I was in on the field dressing etc, so it was in great shape, he just wanted a rug,,,,,,
I shoot ducks, some grouse (miss too many), small game
From: Turkeyhunter
01-Jul-16
Just the Frau and I so on average 1 - 2 whitetails a year. Plus a turkey, pheasants and freshwater fish.
Last year hunters killed13 deer on our 80 acres. Plenty for everyone and the food pantry.
From: Crusader dad
02-Jul-16
Maybe a half deer. I keep the good stuff and give the rest to friends and family. I am not a big fan of such lean meat. I prefer a nice t-bone or porterhouse over venison any day of the week. And I do not like venison burgers at all.
From: GoJakesGo
02-Jul-16
3-4 deer for our family of 4.
From: buckmaster69
04-Jul-16
2 to 4 a year.
From: South Farm
08-Jul-16
2 deer a year does it for me, the wife, and kid. We also eat A LOT of fish, a few grouse and squirrel...although I don't tell 'em it's squirrel;) This year I'm bear hunting so probably only shoot one deer. Wish I could shoot two bear as I prefer them on the table to venison.
From: Tweed
08-Jul-16
South Farm - You are the first person I heard say that. I understand bear taste like bear but what would you compare it to? How does your fam not know they're being fed squirrel?
From: Two Feathers
10-Jul-16
As much as I'm able to put in the freezer and they would eat more if I got more.
From: South Farm
11-Jul-16
Tweed, I don't know, just always preferred bear...not as dry as venison and perhaps the marbling gives it better flavor, not sure but I like it better. As for the squirrel I love squirrel, always have, and the way I fry it up Southern style it tastes like chicken (Go figure!) so just like the Army (used to be) "Don't ask don't tell";) LOL! Squirrels are fun to hunt, good to eat, and you can't argue with the daily bag limit. Why more people don't hunt them is beyond me..
From: orionsbrother
11-Jul-16
Between the deer and elk that I kill and the "fence deer" that I scavenge, I very rarely ever buy beef.
I share with friends and guys from the municipalities, but my family probably goes through five or six deer per year.
From: Tweed
11-Jul-16
Sorry if I'm naive but what the heck is "fence deer"?
From: orionsbrother
11-Jul-16
Not one of mine, picture came from a buddy. When deer get hung up on wrought iron fences or hit by cars, the surrounding police departments give my buddy who's a sergeant on the police department and I a call.
We're like meat janitors.
From: South Farm
18-Jul-16
Crying shame right there..
From: Elkaddict
19-Jul-16
6-8 deer a minimum per year, sometimes an elk thrown in there :). Always a few wild turkeys, some salmon and other fish as well, and lately a bear every other year or so. EVERYTHING gets vacuum sealed so nothing goes bad. We had an exceptional year last year, so this year will be lighter other than the focus on elk.
I agree with some above. I like bear as much or more than deer.
From: Bigwoods
25-Jul-16
3-4/year. I've tried bear a couple of times and thought it was absolutely awful. I guess that's why I have no interest in hunting them
From: Tweed
25-Jul-16
Any of you bear eaters want to donate a pound my way just so I can try that would be great! I've never had an interest in hunting them because I heard it was barely edible. But if it decent I could see myself hunting them some day. Would be great to try it during a Bears game.
From: MuskyBuck
25-Jul-16
If I score this fall, I'll be the only one in my family eating venison. I'll be working on my son though. Wife detests it and she has tainted my daughters from even trying it. I don't get it. It's much more natural, lower fat, and the satisfaction of eating what you harvest is pretty cool. So one deer will be enough for my family.
From: Phil F
26-Jul-16
2013-3, 2014-4, 2015-5 Family of four. I haven't bought red meat at the store in four years.
From: Jeff in MN
27-Jul-16
Tweed, where do you live? PM me if you prefer.
I just today dropped off about 30# of vacuum sealed bear meat from 2013 at a local church's food pantry. They were unsure about if people would want it but they called an hour later and said it was all gone in half an hour after they opened. I told him I would meet him at 7:00 AM tomorrow to bring more.
Tweed, If you are where we can meet sometime I will hold a roast back if I still have one. I know I have trim bags yet. If you want something more fresh you will have to wait till after September 7.
We eat less than one deer a year, just 2 of us. A good friend's family would eat 6 a year if they had it so anything I shoot when hunting with them stays with them. That was 2 doe last year plus one he got.
From: Tweed
27-Jul-16
Im in Milwaukee but work in Madison monthly and once in awhile Rice Lake and Wausau
From: OmroHunter
27-Jul-16
I only average one deer per year and that is all ground up except for the back straps. My wife will only eat it in tacos, lasagna and meatballs (mixed with pork sausage for the meatballs) so that makes sense for me to do. My son wants to eat way more venison this year as it will be his first eligible year for the youth hunt. Hopefully we put two in the freezer this year!
From: RutnStrut
28-Jul-16
It's looking like a good year for the possibility of multiple deer for our freezers this fall. The antlerless numbers are way up on our land in Pierce county. I'm hoping the kids can take a doe each. Then if we get lucky enough to all get a buck, we might have enough venison for the year. If the buddy I'm baiting for gets a bear I get most of that also. If we had our way we would buy no meat from the store.
From: Tweed
31-Jul-16
For those that are chomping in 5 or 6 deer, how are you getting the extra tags?
From: Reggiezpop
31-Jul-16
Tweed- mine are from bonus tags. You have to remember, there's a lot of counties where people won't shoot a doe. Fill my kid's bellies first. Then fill the wall!
From: dc-archer
11-Aug-16
Hunting in multiple states.
"For those that are chomping in 5 or 6 deer, how are you getting the extra tags?"
From: South Farm
11-Aug-16
Just took inventory and with five weeks until bow opens we have just 2 roasts left, so I think 2 deer is perfect for the three of us. That might change as my son grows older...and hungrier!
From: Ranger6
11-Aug-16
I try to eat two meals a week for the family. Last year I killed five deer two in Missouri and three in Kansas. Still trying to figure out where to hunt here in Wisconsin as I am new to the state. I am down to about fifty pounds left mostly hamburger so four deer a year is about the right number for me to harvest with nothing left over. This year I will hunt Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Kansas and will try for a deer in each state. Tom
From: Tweed
11-Oct-16
Similar question- what percentage of meat that you or your family consumes is killed by you? I'm curious how close some of us are to eating almost exclusively wild game.
From: TD Bauer
11-Oct-16
1 to 2 deer is all. Wish it was more. My wife and I like to eat venison, and we spread out the deer that I harvest in the fall over about 3-5 months. My granddaughters like it to... not sure if they will become hunters, but they don't have a problem eating wild game I take.
From: Elkaddict
11-Oct-16
Answering some of Tweed's ?'s.
Extra tags, don't get any per say. My son and I each get two buck tags (gun/bow). Last year we filled 3 of the 4. Also get a couple of "included" doe tags. Those are also filled. Sometimes I hunt KS, IA, MO, MN, MI, ND, SD, or IL.
This year my son and I have harvested 3 bull elk. Will start deer hunting for the first time this week-end.
We buy less than 1/10th of 1% of our meat would be my guess. If we go out I might order a Texas Roadhouse steak or a burger somewhere. I couldn't tell you the last thing that was considered a "grocery" meat that I bought.
