Bruce’s Meat Processing
★ 5.0 on Google (7 reviews) · 966 Hullett Road, Athens, PA 18810
✓Hunters Sharing the Harvest–PGC CWD cooperating processor–After-hours drop-off–Website or Facebook
PRICINGCall for rates
Best Deer Processors in Athens, PA
The 6 best-rated deer processors in and around Athens, Bradford County: 2 in Athens itself and the rest within about 20 miles. Shops in town come first, then each group is ranked by Google rating weighted by review count, state program participation and distance.
How we rank: a Google rating with fewer reviews counts for less than one with many; shops on the 2026 state program lists, HSH partners and CWD cooperators get a small boost; farther shops get a small penalty per mile. Shops in town are listed ahead of nearby ones. Nobody pays for placement. Details
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Burns Butchering & Deer Processing
No Google reviews yet · 1472 Weaver Rd., Athens, PA 18810
✓Hunters Sharing the Harvest–PGC CWD cooperating processor–After-hours drop-off–Website or Facebook
PRICINGCall for rates
Bryan's Meat Cutting & Ctry Butcher Shop
★ 4.9 on Google (94 reviews) · 8861 Springfield Road, Milan, PA 18831
✓Hunters Sharing the Harvest–PGC CWD cooperating processor–After-hours drop-off✓Website or Facebook
SkinningBoneless cutsCustom cuts / cut & wrapGround venison / burgerVacuum sealing
BASE PROCESSING$150.00
Harvey's Processing
★ 5.0 on Google (4 reviews) · 200 Center St., Rome, PA 18837
✓Hunters Sharing the Harvest–PGC CWD cooperating processor–After-hours drop-off✓Website or Facebook
PRICINGCall for rates
Gower & Sons Custom Cuts (formerly Baranyk’s DP)
No Google reviews yet · 36097 State Route 14, Gillett, PA 16925
✓Hunters Sharing the Harvest–PGC CWD cooperating processor–After-hours drop-off–Website or Facebook
PRICINGCall for rates
Reaper's Custom Processing
★ 2.3 on Google (3 reviews) · 1661 Gulf Rd, Rome, PA 18837
–Hunters Sharing the Harvest✓PGC CWD cooperating processor–After-hours drop-off✓Website or Facebook
PRICINGCall for rates
What to know about Athens deer processors
There are 2 processors in Athens itself, plus 4 shops a short drive away. The nearby shops are in Milan (8 mi), Rome (10 mi) and Gillett (14 mi). The top-ranked shop is Bruce’s Meat Processing, rated 5.0 across 7 reviews. Bryan's Meat Cutting & Ctry Butcher Shop has the most reviews (94, averaging 4.9).
Bruce’s Meat Processing, Burns Butchering & Deer Processing, Bryan's Meat Cutting & Ctry Butcher Shop and 2 more take Hunters Sharing the Harvest donations. Reaper's Custom Processing is on the Game Commission's CWD cooperating processor list, approved for proper disposal of high-risk parts. None of these processors list a 24/7 drop-off. If you hunt until dark, call ahead about late intake or keep the deer iced.
If you want more than steaks and burger, the shops here list snack sticks, bologna, fresh sausage and smoked products. Bear and elk aren't mentioned in these listings; call ahead to confirm a shop will take one. Bryan's Meat Cutting & Ctry Butcher Shop publishes a base processing price of $150.00; the rest quote by phone.
Athens is in Bradford County, in the PGC Northeast Region. Region at a glance: The Poconos and Endless Mountains, from the Lehigh Valley north to the New York line. Other Bradford County towns with listed processors: Canton, Gillett, Milan, Rome and Stevensville. Rifle season fills coolers fast on opening weekend, so call before you head out.
Drop-off checklist
- Tag it right away. Tag the deer immediately after harvest and before you move it. The tag goes on the ear and stays there until the deer is processed.
- Field dress and cool fast. Remove entrails, drain the cavity and get the deer cold. In warm weather, pack the cavity with bagged ice.
- High-risk parts go in the trash. New for 2026-27: you can move a deer anywhere, but once it leaves the kill site the head, backbone and spleen must go out with commercial trash. A processor handles that for you.
- Report within 10 days. Online, by phone at 1-800-838-4431, or with the digest report card.
Donate venison
Hunters Sharing the Harvest
Drop a legally harvested deer at a participating processor and the venison goes to Pennsylvania food banks. Program sponsors usually cover the processing; confirm with the shop.
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