I've heard of people who don't gut their own deer. I've heard of even more people who won't hunt because they don't simply don't know how to do the field care. They went through the course but stop there because they just don't know what to do with a deer once they've got it on the ground. Such a shame, really.
Some things are generational as well. Around here, most of the older generations (boomers) take their field dressed deer to the butcher for processing. The younger crowd (X & millennials) do it all themselves, including making their own sausage.
I did a guided pig hunt several years ago where the guide did all the skinning & quartering. That pig was the only thing I've ever taken to a butcher. They did a good job but the waste was higher and it cost me over $300. I told myself, never again. A deer can take me the better part of a day to get completely cut, ground, wrapped & packed in the freezer. But less is wasted and it cost me next to nothing.
Some things are generational as well. Around here, most of the older generations (boomers) take their field dressed deer to the butcher for processing. The younger crowd (X & millennials) do it all themselves, including making their own sausage.
I did a guided pig hunt several years ago where the guide did all the skinning & quartering. That pig was the only thing I've ever taken to a butcher. They did a good job but the waste was higher and it cost me over $300. I told myself, never again. A deer can take me the better part of a day to get completely cut, ground, wrapped & packed in the freezer. But less is wasted and it cost me next to nothing.