I am looking to process my own deer and hogs (not do it commercially). On a good year I will have 4 deer and a few hogs to process. My problem is that the only butcher in town that will process wild game really isn't that great. The product is ok but the customer service is terrible. I would much rather process my own game at home and possibly get into grinding custom cuts for sausage (but game processing is the priority)
Sounds like you definitely need to learn the process out of necessity which is not a bad thing.
Its like the old sayin-Nothing ventured nothing gained.
To me it adds to the pleasant feeling you get knowing how the end product got onto your, your family's & your friends plates.
When I consume a piece of any game meat I've taken the whole process of how it came to be there comes back to me.
I got some reloading components, put them together in a press, did the load development to get a sub moa group, sighted in the rifle, did the hard yards to find an animal, shot the animal humanely, butchered the animal taking as much as possible, broke it down to make an array of cuts, joints, jerky, sausages that I can enjoy for up to a year.
Probably 1stly is you do need to have the cold storage capacity to look after the meat.
Hanging whole for up to 7 days is preferred but as in my case I cannot do that so break it down into smaller workable pieces in the field.
The other piece of equipment as I previously mentioned being irreplaceable is a food vacuum sealing machine.
Getting all the air out before freezing will reduce freezer burn & will also prolong the freezing life.
I have eaten venison 12 months later than the day I processed it without issue.
Good luck with it 308
