Woods Wanderer said:
first advice dont take it to a butchers it will get hached to pieces
I'll agree with that. Main thing is - butchers know how to do beef - and most butchers treat deer the same way, sawing the loin into chops leaving bone in the cut of meat, etc.
Deer need to be boned out. Woods wanderer gave a pretty good description of removing the backstraps (or loins). I like to do them when they are half frozen (not too tough to do in our area this time of year). Then you can do most of the work without a knife, just using your hands.
For haunches and shoulders, just cut them at the joint, and cut off the forelegs. To make the haunches and shoulders into steaks - just make sure you are cutting the meat cross-grain. It's not rocket science.
Be sure to remove any tallow or sinew you can. They are what makes the meat taste gamey.
For the flank meat, and rib meat (if it is a large deer), just cut it into stew chunks, or strips for jerk. Again, get rid of all tallow and sinew possible.
For venison steaks, I cut them thin. I usually use a high heat for short duration (about three minutes). You never want to overcook venison. Best served hot.
If I want to cook a whole shoulder or haunch, I always do it over a fire. I wouldn't know how to do it any other way.
It takes most of a day. Meat should always hang to the side of the fire - not directly over it, and the outside should be thouroughly burnt at the outset, and set off a bit for slow cooking for the rest of the day (or two days - if you can manage to wait that long). It is soooo good!
PG