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So all the hard work is done. You've managed to wake up on time, the truck started, made it to your UNOCCUPIED stand, shot, tracked, dressed, dragged, hung, and butchered. And then it dawns on you. Where did all the meat go? For those who prefer the services of a butcher, this is about the point where you start to bad mouth him/her. ( Honest my butcher's a her ). There are about 2 million different formulas out there for estimating the amount of meat that an average New York deer will yield. Interesting enough, that equates to 2 formulas for EACH New York deer currently on the hoof. Well, get ready for 2 million and one as I meld various sources into my own take on venison yields. However, the sarcasm and smart ass remarks belong to me exclusively. Let's start off with a 158 pound deer that's been killed with a clean neck shot. One thing that I've found is that all of the formulas and ratios I've seen seem to be absent of a bullet wound somewhere on the deer! Assuming that you didn't take a head shot or sneak up behind the deer and smother it with your emergency toilette paper, we're going to go with the neck shot. First, let's get to the dressed weight. An average whitetail deer will yield a dressed weight of approximately 82% percent of the live weight which in turn will yield a carcass weight ( skinned/ no head ) of somewhere between 72% and 82% of the dressed weight. Note the huge fluctuation in the percentages. I don't need people beating up their butcher when they yield on the low side. Man! Half my deer is gone already. The following list is the TOTAL weight of each cut of meat that one could expect including burger/sausage meat. Hind Shank - 3 pounds of burger Rounds - 12 pounds total with 3 pounds being burger Sirloin Tips - 6 1/2 pounds about 1/2 pound burger Rumps - 3 1/2 pounds about 1/2 pound burger Sirloins - 4 1/4 pounds No burger Flanks - 1 pound burger Loin half - 4 3/4 pounds butterfly steaks Tenderloins - None these are extremely poisonous and should be removed and sent to our poison control center here at Huntingnuts in care of Huntingnut Chief. Okay fine how about 3 pounds of the best meat on the planet! Plates and Spareribs - 9 pounds with 3 pounds being burger Backstraps - 13 pounds of bone-in chops Brisket - pound of burger on a good day Shoulder - 14 pounds with 6 pounds being burger Front shanks - 2 pounds burger Neck - 11 pounds total, but wait.....didn't we agree way up top that we shot the deer in the neck? I thought so. No neck for you!! This totals somewhere in the neighborhood of 52 pounds of steaks and roasts and another 21 in burger and sausage meat. Less than half!?!?! I did some further research that puts a retail value of your neck shot, dead deer at about $575 if it we're farm raised venison of the same cuts. The price per pound ranged anywhere from $5.50 for burger to $22.00 for tenderloin. This is not my data. I have to admit that I probably wouldn't pay $5.50 for burger, nor would I be stupid enough to part with my tenderloins for $22. So I guess in the long run that may be an accurate figure. Grand total for the value of your deer on the pound average is ................Ta Da $8 a pound. Now let's take the $2,000 dollars you've spent on all of your hunting cloths, equipment, and guns and subtract it from our $575 for a grand "In The Red" total of ($1,425 ). Don't be too depressed we can make it easier to swallow. Your average COST per pound of 158 pound neck shot white tail is only $19.79. All of this being said, I'm sure we all agree that there are much more important reasons that we love to hunt so much. For instance the adrenaline rush alone is well worth $19.79 a pound. Not to mention the tranquility. Enjoy your hunts like they were your last and the cost will never bother you. One side note: One might think that by killing multiple deer in a season that the price per pound will drop. Not true! Other than the occasional rifle doe permit, each coveted deer tag requires entirely different equipment and clothing. Well, maybe not entirely, but that's what I'm going with.