My dad always had a neighbor two house away that was a butcher do his deer for years ($15-$25 a deer if I recall right). One year he decided he was done, but offered to come over to the house and walk us through butchering a deer. I believe I was 16 years old at this time and have butchered all of our game animals ever since. On some given years this could be as many as 10 or more animals (deer, elk and antelope) for our extended family. At that number that is a huge saving $$$ on butchering expenses. I have done butchering for numerous hunting friends and shown them how to butcher their own animals with great success. Fun to watch peoples eye pop out of their head when you remove the front legs in about 5 seconds with just a knife.
I have always had a hand crank grinder that works awesome, but is time consuming and some what physical, but used it for 40 plus years (always try to put the boys to work cranking it).
My wife and son's bought me a Cabela's Carnivore 1 HP grinder for Christmas a few years ago and that thing will grind meat as fast as you can feed it. We go through a lot of deer burger on years we have several animals. Can butcher a whole deer in no time if you make steaks and roasts out of back straps, tenderloins and the large sections of hind quarters and then just remove all the remaining meat off the remaining bones, ribs and neck to grind.
For the past several years I have cut all my steaks into solid chunks and wrap in plastic wrap and then butcher paper. If I want a roast I use a couple of these and if I want steaks I thaw and cut into desired cuts at that time. This really keeps the meat from any freezer burn and saves time when butchering.
On several warm weather hunts I will take my knife, cutting board, plastic wrap, freezer paper and tape and just butcher the animal during the middle of the day on down time. Legs, bones and hide are all left on the mountain for the coyotes and the meat is good to go into the freezer when you arrive home. On our general season deer hunt this works well, due to my friend living at the base of the mountain about 25 minutes from camp and has a chest freezer set aside just for our processed animals. Meat butchered and in freezer that day and picked up frozen after the hunt and on way home. Placed in empty cooler and in freezer once home - Done. I have also seen numerous people with small chest freezers in their trailers with a small generator to freeze their meat and keep it on the long trips home!!! No grinder needed on these hunts, just cut into small pieces and wrap as stew meat (great stew and fajita meat).
Butchering your own animals can be very gratifying and can be very inexpensive or expensive. To get started you just need a knife (fillet knife work great and are very easy to re-sharpen quickly), plastic wrap, freezer wrap and a roll of tape.
Hand grinders can be bought for $25 or found on classified for little of nothing. Can always just cut into stew meat and not grind anything. Start with a knife and build your butchering assessories as you go.
My opinion is that boned out meat taste much better then bone in, takes less freezer room and you have no bone or bone marrow throughout your meat from just band sawing the meat into cuts and wrapping.
Once you learn to butcher your own animals. It sure helps you quarter an animal in the field and get the hide off on warm hunts which will get that animal cooled down very quickly to preserve your hard earned meat at it's best. You can keep it very clean and in game bags on the mountain much longer than a full animal. We have even hung the quarters at night and then placed them in a shaded tent under a tarp and piled our sleeping bags on top, which insulates them and keeps them cool all day until you hang them again at night.
Don't be afraid to try butchering your own animal. You cannot ruin it. Even a wrong cut is usually big enough to make a steak and there is always stew meat or the grinder. After one or two animals you will have it down. Plus there is numerous videos on butchering that are very good and will help. Enjoy your hard earned meat knowing you did it all on your own from planning the hunt to the meat in the freezer!!!