A game scale can be a good thing to have in camp for several reasons starting with a way to settle friendly debates. I picked one up after one of my buddies took two different deer to the processor (at two different times) and was told both deer had the same exact amount of meat on them after deboning. The same guy cleaned both deer and swears one was significantly larger than the other.

Anyway, my question is, do you leave your scale in place while cleaning your deer or remove it? It takes a few more minutes to lower the deer to remove the scale but it would seem you might damage the scale otherwise.

Thanks in advance.

We don't clean them hanging from the scales.

We weight the deer whole as they fell to get a on the hoof weight and then take them down gut them on the ground how we were taught to and weigh them dressed (just gutted with hide head and feet still on). After the dressed weight we take the scale off and process the rest of the way.

We weight every deer, buck, does, spike etc. that we shoot and record in our book. Some friends of mine shoot a buck every year that "dresses" 120 lbs. I hunted the same property he does for the preceding 20 years I can guarantee you one thing none of his dress 120 lbs and I know he hasn't weighted them.

Clean off of the scale.

I would always remove the scale.

We leave on scale, we don’t gut.

I weigh and then remove scale to skin and quarter.

Weigh and then remove the scale.

Thanks again for all the replies.

I just started weighing, but the several I have done I gutted and processed with the scale on.

We weigh then take off scale.

Scale stays on to weigh "gross" weight and field dressed weight. Into the cooler until time to take to processor.

I gut in the field and weigh for dressed weight at the barn. I then lower deer and take the scale off to skin(if I am skinning the deer to process for myself or have mounted)

We weigh whole, then remove scale before gutting, etc