Well Saddlesore makes a good point, and the 41% rule may be for beef only. I don't honestly know. Maybe the % will be a lot less on elk or deer then it will be on beef. Cows sure are chunker than deer so that probably is the case.
I always do my own butchering, but I don't weigh the meat. I cut and wrap for size not weight. (so it fits as I want it to in my freezers)
The last beef we butchered weighed 1250 pounds. Scale weight live. Three of us split it and each got 165 pounds. + or- a bit. That is 445 pounds total. That was 35% or so of the live weight, bone in.
