Given the head, hide, feet, and a few lbs of snow are still attached, I think one came out about right on yield.
Where are those troops with the tractor, trailer, and lift when I drop one? No pack frames in that pic. Envious.
Just a word: Most cutters bill $$/lb for delivered hanging weight. Strip off the head, hide, and feet, and one will save substantially. One paid for those pounds, and within seconds they were in the bone barrel.
Yep, he charged $416.50. No specialty cuts or anything added. We should have thought of that, but she was frozen like a brick. Would've needed a chainsaw to get through it.
The "troops" are Michigan Department of Natural Resources biologists and wildlife techs. It's a pretty heavily regulated hunt. We have to mark the gut pile so they can inspect it and take samples later. They weigh it and age it - although they couldn't get the mouth pried open because it was frozen too. Believe me, those "troops" were nowhere to be found when we had to get her off the side hill ravine. Not sure I've ever had a harder job in my 42 years of hunting. She was shot at 4pm. We didn't get back until 10. Those 3 fingers of Basil Hayden tasted awfully damn good.
