How do I find a wild game or deer processing business for sale?

A wild game or deer processing shop is a seasonal business. Hunters bring animals in over a few busy weeks, and the shop may do something else for the rest of the year. That is why these businesses are seldom listed on their own. The owner may run a farm, a butcher shop or an abattoir, and the game work is one part of it. Finding one means asking in the right places.

Where they are advertised

Check business-for-sale sites under meat processing, butcher shop, custom cutting and farm with processing. Some sales are listed by brokers who handle rural and food businesses. Many more are passed along through hunting clubs, outfitters, feed and farm-supply stores and the owner’s regular customers. Let people know what you are looking for, and in which area, so they think of you when an owner mentions retiring.

Season, side lines and the building

Ask how much of the year is game work and how much is custom livestock, retail or something else. A shop that depends on a few weeks needs a plan for the rest. Ask whether the cooler, hanging space and processing room are owned or leased, and how long the lease runs. Ask which saws, grinders and smokers are included and what condition they are in.

The hunter customer list

Hunters return to a shop they trust, year after year. Ask whether the customer list, the drop-off routine and the shop’s name come with the sale, and whether the owner will help you through the first season. Ask your lawyer and the relevant inspection authority which approvals, if any, the shop holds and whether they pass to a buyer. Our sports bar checklist shows how a seasonal, rent-heavy trade is reviewed.

• Ask which months are busy and what the shop does in the others.
• Ask whether the owner does the cutting or employs trained staff.
• Ask how animals are tracked from drop-off to pickup.