LEM Big Bite #12 vs #22: When a Heavy Season Justifies the Bigger Head

Stay with the #12 through five deer. The #22 earns its bench space at six or more deer a season, or when a half beef lands on top of your venison. On LEM's own figures the gap is smaller than the size numbers suggest: about 11 lb a minute for the 0.75 HP #12 and up to 13 for the 1 HP #22. LEM sells the #12 direct; the #22 is on Amazon.

Head to head

Sources: LEM #12 page, LEM #22 page, MEAT! #12 page, MEAT! warranty.

Heavy-season math

At the Ohio DNR average of 52.19 lb of venison per deer, here's the feeding time per pass at LEM's ratings:

It also helps to remember where a Heavy-season day actually goes. Trimming, cubing and chilling the meat, changing plates between passes, and cleaning up take far longer than the feeding itself, and none of that gets faster with a bigger head. A #22 pays off most when you have helpers prepping meat faster than a #12 can take it.

Where the #22 actually earns its place

Headroom. A full horsepower against three-quarters. At six-plus deer you're running the grinder for hours across a season, and often in long single sessions. A motor working further from its limit is the one we'd rather lean on through a pile of neck and shank trim. LEM doesn't publish a duty cycle for either model, so this is judgment from the motor rating, not a published run limit.

Plate area. A #22 plate is about 3-1/4 inches across (Food Service Knives lists its #22 plate at that size); a #12 plate is about 2-5/8 to 2-3/4 inches (STX and Smokehouse Chef). Area goes with the square of the diameter, so the #22 has roughly 40-53% more plate face for meat to pass through. More holes, less pressure per hole.

The #22 ecosystem. A 2-inch #22 stuffing tube, sold for bagging ground meat straight off the grinder, is the kind of accessory that makes a big session smoother. LEM's listing also says the #22 handles raw chicken bones, which the #8 listing rules out. That isn't a license for deer bones: Weston's #22 manual, for one, says to avoid large, dense bones like those in large game.

A half beef on top of the venison

This is the other trigger. We don't put a beef yield number on this page without a source to back it; our how much meat from a half cow guide covers that with cited figures. The logic holds either way: if a half beef's worth of trim goes through the grinder in the same season as your deer, you're in Heavy territory even on a two-deer year, and the #22 is the one we'd buy. The setup for 6+ deer builds the rest of a Heavy-season kit around it.

Size, weight and where it lives

This is the difference you'll notice every time. LEM lists the #12 at 20.24 x 9.13 x 15.98 inches and 33.07 lb, and the #22 at 22.83 x 12.08 x 18.90 inches and 49.6 lb. The #22 is about 3 inches wider and 3 inches taller, and 16.5 lb heavier. A #12 can come out of a cabinet for grinding day. A #22 wants a permanent spot on a bench or a cart, within 6 feet of an outlet, since LEM says not to run either on an extension cord.

What doesn't change between them

Stepping up buys motor, plate area and speed. It doesn't buy a better warranty or better gearing, because LEM already gives the #12 the same things: all metal gears with roller bearings, a stainless head, auger and knife, 4.5 mm and 10 mm plates plus a stuffing plate, three stuffing tubes, a built-in circuit breaker, and a 5-year warranty with lifetime customer support. Neither spec page lists reverse or a duty cycle. If durability is the worry, the #12 isn't the lesser machine; it's the smaller one.

What about the #32?

LEM's #32 is the next rung: 1.5 HP, up to 17 lb a minute, a 3-inch head opening and 57.32 lb. On a 10-deer season of about 522 lb it feeds a pass in about 31 minutes, against about 40 for the #22. That's processor-scale capacity. For one household's deer, even a lot of them, the #22 already covers it; the #32 makes sense only when bulk beef and a Heavy deer season share the same grinder.

Other #22s worth a look

• Weston Pro Series #22: 1.5 HP, rated 14 lb a minute, and a forward-reverse switch Weston pitches for connective tissue. It's the #22 we'd pick for sinewy trim.
• MEAT! #22: 1 HP, 11-14 lb a minute, and MEAT!'s lifetime warranty for the original owner.
• LEM BigBite DualGrind #22: two grinds in one pass, which LEM's listing rates at about 13 lb a minute. Worth it if you double-grind everything.

Choose the #12 if... choose the #22 if...

Choose the #12 if

• You process three to five deer a season.
• The grinder has to live in a kitchen or come off a shelf; 33 lb is manageable, 50 lb is a project.
• You want the most output per pound of machine in LEM's lineup.

Choose the #22 if

• You process six or more deer, or a half beef lands on top of your venison.
• You grind in long single sessions with helpers feeding the tray.
• The grinder has a permanent bench in a garage or shop.

Still deciding between smaller sizes? See LEM Big Bite #8 vs #12, or the full size ladder in our meat grinder sizes guide. For grinders beyond LEM, see best meat grinders for deer.