Live weight to meat ratio on a whitetail?

[Marblesonac]

Anybody know what the ratio of meat to live weight is on a whitetail?

Thanks

[pseman]

Based on my observation, a deer will lose approx. 25% of his weight after field-dressing, and you will yield 50-60% of the field-dressed weight in meat. I think that equals about 35-40% of live weight in meat. I base this on deer that I have shot in Alabama over the past 17 years. Don't know if bigger mid-west deer yield anymore or not.

Mark

[Marblesonac]

Thank you.

[John Scifres]

pseman is right on, even for corn fed Indiana deer.  That's boneless, trimmed, packaged weight.

[BobCo 1965]

Most of the deer I have weighed have already been field dressed. That said, we usually expect 50% of that weight in meat. So I'd also agree that PSEman's explaination.

[ChristopherO]

The 50% meat in the freezer is exactly the percentage I expect, also, on field dressed deer we process.  That means the 135# dressed doe my son shot the other morning would weigh 180# on the hoof.  She was a big girl.

[olderndirt]

Handy calculator here:
 www.askthemeatman.com/estimate_deer_weight.htm