The Benefits of Harvesting Wild Game

Hey y'all! If you are looking to source meat locally, and not raise and harvest it yourself, you have a few options; find a local meat market/butcher, buy direct from a farm, or hunt for your meat. Each option can have different pros and cons, and there isn't a right or wrong option, but this post will focus on the benefits of hunting, or "harvesting", wild game.

Any avid hunter can give you a ten-page dissertation on why you should hunt, or why they enjoy it so much - just ask my husband. As a hobby, there are many different avenues you can take but we're not going to focus so much on the hobby aspect and try to look at this as strictly a method for a food source. So - what are the benefits of choosing wild game for your food source?

1. FRESHNESS: Aside from raising animals for meat, you won't get anything fresher than harvesting wild game and eating it for dinner. For many, you can hunt wild game right in your community.

2. No added chemicals: When processing wild game you can choose to process it yourself, or take it to a local processor. Either way, there aren't going to be any added preservatives or mystery chemicals added to the meat. 3. Lean Meat: Deer meat, or venison, is a very lean source of red meat. This is our primary meat source, which substitutes any use of beef. We swap venison in our meatloaf, spaghetti, hamburgers - literally everything that you would normally use for beef. 4. Survival Skills: Not to sound like a doomsday prepper or anything, but there is a sense of satisfaction knowing that you can hunt for your food, and are responsible for providing for the meat on your family's table. Should the world go topsy-turvy, at least we have that going for us. 5. Taste: I know many people say that certain wild game, tastes, well - gamey; but I have found it's because they are just used to the taste of meat from animals that have been fed a primary diet of corn or other high-calorie grain. Meat that has had a wild diet based on its surroundings really does taste so much better. It's sorta of the same idea as grass-fed cows, and free-range chickens.

6. Variety: The types of animals that you can harvest will vary depending on your location, and state/county rules and regulations. In our area, we can source white-tailed deer, wild hogs, and various fowl like quail.

7. Cost Saving: The cost can vary here from if you are choosing to process the deer yourself, or taking it to a business. Overall, the average cost is $40 to have a deer processed, and we get about 50 pounds of meat depending on the size of the deer. As a family, we have enjoyed this lifestyle for many years. We have also saved a TON of money by not having to buy meat at the grocery store every week. While I might occasionally supplement for specialty meats or cuts, we live off the game we harvest all year long. And this doesn't even include when we go fishing!!

Cody, Bryson, and Ruby before they set out for an afternoon hunt.