Texas Hunting Forum

live weight?

Posted By: bw-n-alvin

live weight? - 12/03/14 02:36 AM

My son killed a nature buck this weekend, and after field dressing and hanging overnight, he weighed 125 lbs. I'm guessing live weight was about 175 - 180.. sound about right???
Posted By: passthru

Re: live weight? - 12/03/14 02:56 AM

Probably closer to 155 to 160.
Posted By: kmon11

Re: live weight? - 12/03/14 06:09 AM

160 +/- 5 lbs
Posted By: EastTexasHag

Re: live weight? - 12/03/14 06:46 AM

Close enough. What goes in the freezer is what counts. elmer
Posted By: nsmike

Re: live weight? - 12/03/14 08:46 PM

A rule of thumb is 30% of live weight in boneless meat.
Posted By: TxAg

Re: live weight? - 12/03/14 10:02 PM

If he was 125 dressed he will be around 165 live weight +/- a few lbs.
Posted By: DanPhifer

Re: live weight? - 12/04/14 03:02 AM

We weighed one two weeks ago. Live 165, dressed 135
Posted By: Yellowhammer

Re: live weight? - 12/04/14 05:05 AM

http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?...products_id=331

The Equation for Venison Yield

Hunters can learn more about their deer and how much venison it will yield by first obtaining an accurate field-dressed weight. This figure helps determine the deer's carcass weight - the deer's body weight minus its head, hide and innards. From there, it's easy to calculate how much venison is on the carcass.

It's important to note that this equation assumes that no part of the deer is lost to waste from tissue damage. Obviously, a deer suffering bullet - or to a lesser extent, arrow - damage to its back, hams, shoulders or neck will yield substantially less venison. Therefore, it includes calculations for "ideal" meat yield - the maximum amount of meat on a deer with nothing being lost to waste, and a "realistic" meat yield - the amount of meat a hunter can expect to receive after subtracting the pounds of meat lost to bullet/broadhead damage.

The equation does not account for meat that must be removed after being ruined by stomach contents or overexposure to warm weather.

Remember, to use the equation, first obtain an accurate field-dressed weight.

How Much Does it Weigh?

Mature white-tailed deer can be heavy, but much of their weight is distributed in non-meat areas. Here are some examples of how weight is distributed in Northern deer. (live weights in parenthesis)

Hide Factor
•Fawn: (100 pounds) 6.7 percent
•Adult doe: (140 pounds) 7.9 percent
•Adult buck (160 pounds) 8.7 percent
•Bucks: more than 160 pounds 9 percent

Bone Factor
•Fawn: (100 pounds) 13.8 percent
•Adult doe: (140 pounds) 13 percent
•Adult buck (160 pounds) 12.4 percent
•Bucks: more than 160 pounds 11.7 percent

Blood Factor
•Fawn: (100 pounds) 6 percent
•Adult doe: (140 pounds) 5 percent
•Adult buck (160 pounds) 5 percent
•Bucks: more than 160 pounds 5 percent

Using this guide as an example, a 180-pound buck would have 16.2 pounds of hide, 21.06 pounds of bones and 9 pounds of blood. Unfortunately, it's difficult to estimate the live weight of a deer if it has been field-dressed because the weight of a deer's innards varies depending on its health and diet
Posted By: hjc

Re: live weight? - 12/04/14 10:16 AM

we were on an mld III place and the manager asked us to weigh our deer "live weight" and then "field dressed" for the 4 years we were on this place in the hill country and what we found; bucks usualy lost 30-40 pounds. Depended on age and pre-post rut and range quality. Does would loose 20-30 depending. the heaviest buck shot on the place was pre-rut and weighed 175# on the hoof and dressed weighed 140. This was western hill country Sutton county.
Posted By: Mr. T.

Re: live weight? - 12/04/14 08:44 PM

A good rule of thumb for low fenced deer is a field dressed deer weights 1/3 less than when alive. That would make your deer 166 when alive.
Posted By: Navasot

Re: live weight? - 12/04/14 08:51 PM

was this with the head and hyde on?
Posted By: QuitShootinYoungBucks

Re: live weight? - 12/04/14 09:02 PM

I'd heard factor 28-30% for guts, so if you're deer weighed 125 gutted then 125/.72 = 173. That may be a bit high but you get the picture.
Posted By: redchevy

Re: live weight? - 12/04/14 09:12 PM

Low fence property in south texas. We have kept records Since 2007 of every deer shot. Ours usually loose about 25 lbs on the smaller animals and 30 on the bigger ones. Last two bucks we shot in that weight class weighted 170 and 168 lbs live weight and dressed 140 each.

Im betting deer would be around 150-155 lbs live
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