Carcase Fees.

The Stalking Show - 11th to 12th April 2026 - Staffordshire County Showground
K

Kalahari

Well-Known Member
This is probably a comment that might need a flak jacket and a steel helmet! Why do people advertising stalking claim prices per kilo for shot deer so much in excess of what everybody claims they get paid by the game dealer? Seems particularly iniquitous when people charge for muntjac when most dea;ers won't touch muntjac!

David.
 
Kalahari said:
This is probably a comment that might need a flak jacket and a steel helmet! Why do people advertising stalking claim prices per kilo for shot deer so much in excess of what everybody claims they get paid by the game dealer? Seems particularly iniquitous when people charge for muntjac when most dea;ers won't touch muntjac!

David.
Click to expand...

Agree, with muntjac it's common to get given the carcass, as it's not worth the trouble, but £5.00-£10.00 is not unreasonable either.
 
A lot of people may process the carcass themselves therefore its worth more then what a gamedealer will pay..or they supply butchers who may pay a higher rate.

If you went to a gamedealer and wanted to buy a carcass they will certainly charge you more then they pay. If your not happy with the price done pay it 👍
 
As long as it's up front I see no issue.

But the "dealer rate" is often very different to what the stalker may be getting. I recall seeing on hear a couple of weeks back that one of the big dealers was paying pence per kilo for reds (either 20p or 50p, I don't recall but it was peanuts). That's the number everyone gets in their heads and figures the stalker is somehow ripping them off. I was still getting £2.50/kg for reds last week and have a couple with a butcher at the minute which I'll sell on as venison boxes that'll make a lot more than that (even after paying the butcher).
 
Kalahari said:
This is probably a comment that might need a flak jacket and a steel helmet! Why do people advertising stalking claim prices per kilo for shot deer so much in excess of what everybody claims they get paid by the game dealer? Seems particularly iniquitous when people charge for muntjac when most dea;ers won't touch muntjac!

David.
Click to expand...
The price that a game dealer is prepared to pay is totally irrelevant if it's not a game dealer who's buying it.
 
It's up to the individual guide what he charges, it's his business, who knows their personal circumstances.
I try and keep it simple, roe deer, they take it away, no additional charge.

Fallow/red, they have the option, doe/ £60/hind/. £120 or I take to the dealer.
Stag/buck, I usually negotiate a carcass sales prior to going out

But, I insist on copper rounds, anything other than copper they must purchase the carcass as my game dealer doesn't accept lead shot deer.

Never had a complaint yet, honesty and up front before a booking is taken works for me
 
devon deer stalker said:
It's up to the individual guide what he charges, it's his business, who knows their personal circumstances.
I try and keep it simple, roe deer, they take it away, no additional charge.

Fallow/red, they have the option, doe/ £60/hind/. £120 or I take to the dealer.
Stag/buck, I usually negotiate a carcass sales prior to going out

But, I insist on copper rounds, anything other than copper they must purchase the carcass as my game dealer doesn't accept lead shot deer.

Never had a complaint yet, honesty and up front before a booking is taken works for me
Click to expand...
Can I ask where you take your carcasses? PM me if its a trade secret (or tell me to chuff off :) 👍)
 
75 said:
As long as it's up front I see no issue.

But the "dealer rate" is often very different to what the stalker may be getting. I recall seeing on hear a couple of weeks back that one of the big dealers was paying pence per kilo for reds (either 20p or 50p, I don't recall but it was peanuts). That's the number everyone gets in their heads and figures the stalker is somehow ripping them off. I was still getting £2.50/kg for reds last week and have a couple with a butcher at the minute which I'll sell on as venison boxes that'll make a lot more than that (even after paying the butcher).
Click to expand...
Indeed. Usual rare for a guide is &2.50/kg so for a 50kg fallow, for instance, you pay £125. But if that same carcass goes to the game dealer then it’s probably half that (my last fallow carcass I sold was £35 and it was a big pricket) so that rate was <£1/kg.

Then you have fuel to add on, so even if the dealer offers £2/kg, if you then burn 2 gallons of diesel in dropping it off then that’s another £15 in costs leaving a net of £85 before you deduct the cost of time.

So it is in their interests of the guide to have the guest take the carcass, so just play a bit fair.

As it stands, I haven’t paid for a carcass for a long time!!
 
People might assume I sell my carcasses for £1.50/kg or whatever the going dealer rate is, but I normally don't. I sell to other outlets for anything upwards of £3/kg. If I process them (or have them processed) I add value, making the /kg rate significantly higher.

So, if I offer a carcass to the guest stalker, why should I charge the dealer rate? That makes no business sense.

That said, shoot a trophy animal and we won't be arguing about the value of the carcass.
 
I’m not sure why most stalkers accept game dealer prices. The price they offer is a starting point not where anyone wants to be. Haven’t used one in many many years.
 
There might be some psychology involved on the client side. They get drawn to base price that seems cheap, and then get upset when there's a carcass fee (especially if it's high).

Personally I prefer transparent price structure (including tipping, coming from a culture where customary tipping is seen as strange). All the better if price structure is also optional and built to mirror the success rate. I.e. low base price, shot fee, trophy fee, carcass fee. That said, the whole structure should present good value, and build upon itself. And enable true option for choice, if you don't want trophy it should be fine, if you can only afford "presentative" trophy (instead of medal) it should be fine, if you don't want multiple cull animals with price tag it should be fine and so on.

One extra note, if client takes the carcass it could be more work or at least time spent for the stalker. Need to skin, break the carcass, more cleaning on the premises, or just spend time when client is faffing about. So that should be factored in to be fair to the stalker.
 
jthyttin said:
There might be some psychology involved on the client side. They get drawn to base price that seems cheap, and then get upset when there's a carcass fee (especially if it's high).

Personally I prefer transparent price structure (including tipping, coming from a culture where customary tipping is seen as strange). All the better if price structure is also optional and built to mirror the success rate. I.e. low base price, shot fee, trophy fee, carcass fee. That said, the whole structure should present good value, and build upon itself. And enable true option for choice, if you don't want trophy it should be fine, if you can only afford "presentative" trophy (instead of medal) it should be fine, if you don't want multiple cull animals with price tag it should be fine and so on.

One extra note, if client takes the carcass it could be more work or at least time spent for the stalker. Need to skin, break the carcass, more cleaning on the premises, or just spend time when client is faffing about. So that should be factored in to be fair to the stalker.
Click to expand...
Don’t forget the impact 🤔 on the carcass value of the guest’s shot placement… you can’t make honey from hen sh1t, just sayin’….
 
I have to agree with the original post, one minute people are saying they can,t give deer away, then low and behold you want top price for it from customers, I always struggled with the way stalkers get robbed in the uk, with charges for going stalking then, shot charges ( as if you were paying for a walk ) then trophy added, and top price for carcasses.
When I took people out, the price was set at the stalking rate, that was it, if you shot a medal, good on you, if we managed more than deer all the better, I can say I never had a day when we did not have a shot, and if that meant you were there longer than you wanted to be tough, if they required a carcass that was at game dealer rates.
 
Mike1979 said:
Cheers. I thought that would be the case 👍

Might be taking a shared bit of stalking on with a very good friend bottom side of Exeter (nice and local to me...not) so just looking at options :)
Click to expand...
Taking a wild guess where you mean (and I don't blame you for not sharing the location) I would say it's a 30 mile trip to Kellys at Copplestone
Good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
R. Macleod & Son - The Best Hunting Companion
Back
Top