First of all, I highly recommend investing in a slicer if you are going to make jerky. I have a cheap nesco ($70-$80) and it works awesome (as long as the meat is partly frozen). I take the roasts right of the deer, freeze them a little, slice it, and then vacuum seal them in 2-3 pound packages. When I am ready to make jerky I just open up a package, dump in my recipe, let it marinade overnight, and then you are ready to throw it in the dehydrator. My favorite recipe (Teriyaki):
1 1/2 cups of Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup of Soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup or so of water
1 Tablespoon of black pepper
1 Tablespoon of meat tenderizer
1 Tablespoon of garlic powder
1 Tablespoon of liquid smoke
I always seem to deviate from this every time I make it, but this is kind of the base I work off of. I also usually throw in some red pepper flakes. For a more hickory tasting jerky, I take out the teriyaki sauce, and replace it with 1 cup worchestire sauce and make the soy sauce 1 cup. I then usually add a couple tablespoons of liquid smoke.
I have a cheap nesco food dehydrator and it usually takes about 6 hours (pretty thinly sliced)