Deer hunting

[sgbolton]

....I. too have a nice, & hearty rubberized green grip Schrade Hunter w/ gut Hook in my deer pack, Very Nice piece to wear on your belt or include in your deer pack, for sure, B.T.B.

Yeah, that beefy and comfortable handle is great. Knife gets nice and sharp too with a worksharp.

 

[Macchina]

If you can afford a Dozier they are incredible knives meant for the chores of deer hunting. The thin hollow ground blades with huge bellies are about as ideal for gutting, skinning, and meat prep as you can get. I really enjoy my Yukon Pro Skinner. Dozier's D2 is as super as any super steel will ever come, it's like a knife made from diamonds. I put Dozier's D2 in the same class as my ZDP-189 and CPM-M4.

 

[22-rimfire]

I agree. The Yukon Pro Skinner will be the next Dozier I purchase. More than likely, that will happen at next year's Blade Show where Bob always brings a lot of knives for sale (assuming I attend). I was eyeing up that one during this past show but opted for the K-6 Companion.

 

[Frisky]

To start off, a knife costing around $50 and one that is taylor made for deer hunting, is the rubber handled Buck Vanguard. You'll find the 4.25" blade is excellent for field dressing, and the brass finger guard will give you protection when you reach way inside to cut the windpipe. You'll maintain a good grip, even in cold temps. It will also work nicely for skinning and butchering. I like the nylon sheath due to the fact you can clean it up. A nice back-up knife is the sub $40 Victorinox Hunter XT. It has a great gutting blade, if you're worried about puncturing the guts, and the saw comes in handy to quietly clear shooting lanes. I carry and use, and easily maintain, both of these knives. In Bark River knives, I'd look at the Gunny Hunter.

Joe

 

[SFW]

These two Benchmade Hunt series knives have been doing a fine job for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AusLoX]

Lots of fixed blade options have been mentioned. Here's some folder options. I like using my clip points with lots of belly.

Benchmade Crooked River

Bottom knife in this pic. Emerson Appalachian with a big upswept blade profile.

And the classic Buck 110 Hunter

 

[metricmat]

These two Benchmade Hunt series knives have been doing a fine job for me.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow! looks like I will be buying my first Benchmade soon. Thanks SFW for posting these, I didn't know they existed.

 

[kda89508]

If you would go with a folder look at the Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter. It was designed to do the job. Kevin 👍

 

[Mr. Tettnanger]

For skinning deer, try a Buck 103.

If you want a general purpose deer hunting, gutting and skinning knife, try a Gossman Knives UNK. He has a YouTube video on it. I have one and it makes a great everyday carry as well.

 

[whp]

If you get interested in a folder, look at the Cold Steel Ultimare Hunter.

 

[PNWJimbo]

For your viewing pleasure, MetricMat:






The jimping is.... incredible. Especially on the hook. Always keeping my eye open for a Saddle mountain to complete my set... :thumbup:

 

[sgbolton]

And the classic Buck 110 Hunter

How do you like the 110 with 5160 steel? I picked up one of those except with oak scales, and have yet to really even use the knife. I just sharpened it on my worksharp, oiled it, and put it in a display case. Same thing with a 120 general. Got it in 5160 steel, aluminum pommel and guard, and cocobola handles.

 

[SALTY]

Though I've field dressed more deer with a Buck 110 than any other over the years, favorites I've used include a Buck 105, Sharpfinger, Becker BK11/14/24 (whichever I had with me at the time - forget which), Marbles (forget which particular model - but was FFG in 52100), CS Master Hunter Carbon V, Becker BK15 or 16 and a Chris Reeve's Sable.

I've never gotten to liking gut hooks and a point high grind or FFG. All of the above have served me well and I have used a bunch of others which, for one reason or another, do not qualify as favorites.

 

[Ironbut]

You don't need a lot of knife to gut deer. I've been hunting deer for almost 60 years & have gutted a couple deer with nothing more that an Uncle Henry stockman pocket knife. I guess my very old Buck 110 has dressed out more deer than any other knife I have, but I've come to prefer a drop point blade for deer dressing chores.

I have a Gerber, (not sure which model), with a rubberized grip & 4" blade that I've been using for the last 10-15 years & that's worked really well. I think it was $40-ish. I recently bought a Bark River Bravo 1. I love the knife, but I'm afraid the handle may get slippery with bloddy hands. I guess I'll find out this Fall.

 

[strong]

I've used my hoback perseverance in 3V with a 5" blade, for the better part of of a decade. it's a laser and holds an edge while shrugging off bone nicks

 

[AusLoX]

How do you like the 110 with 5160 steel? I picked up one of those except with oak scales, and have yet to really even use the knife. I just sharpened it on my worksharp, oiled it, and put it in a display case. Same thing with a 120 general. Got it in 5160 steel, aluminum pommel and guard, and cocobola handles.

I really like 5160. Great steel overall.

I have a oak 110 and a cocobolo 119 as well

I think I'll pick a 112 ranger next

 

[PNWJimbo]

Holy crap! Now that's a knife!

 

[mete]

There isn' t a problem in dressing out and skinning a deer .A simple 4" "hunting knife" does it all .Dressing out I like to also have a folding saw to split the breastbone and pelvis though I can wait till I get home for that . The meat to skin is just some easily cut membrane -pull , etc cut membrane .Or you could tie one end to your pickup and drive off ! Or you could use a air compressor to separate skin and meat as is sometimes done with sheep ! No "skinning knife" necessary. Reindeer, red deer, whitetail it's all the same

 

[storminnorman01]

I prefer my izula. Plenty of belly, gets super sharp, not to big or heavy for those days of cleaning multiple animals.

 

[MOCraig]

This comes up from time to time, and it's always interesting to see the various opinions and responses. No one is wrong, and much is preference. I personally have settled on a Becker 16 as my go-to, all-around hunting knife. Particularly to handle the field dressing chore, but I do like that it makes a great camp knife.

These days, for skinning, I like using a dedicated skinner. I've settled on using this Wilmont Pocket Skinner:

They're both 1095, easy to touch up, and handle themselves well.