Hunting knife, what do u use??

As much as I like clip points for general use, the point tends to drag when opening an animal.
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Never had that problem, Natman..... I slice a small hole just forward of theither the penis or udder and put 2 fingers and the blade inside, edge up, tip between the tips of the fingers...... leading with the fingertips, slide the knife forward ..... cutting from the inside avoids cutting hair......

My opinion-

For skinning, opening the skin (around the legs- it is already open from the underside of the tail to at least the sternum from field dressing) is best done with a clip point blade, clipped part of the blade pressed to the leg, edge up. Let the edge do the cutting from the bottom side, so the hair does not dull the edge....... I use a home-made skinning knife with a lot of "belly" - it has a short, wide, curved blade- to do the actual skinning.

.....I think gut hooks are a marketing feature*, designed to get peple to buy a different knife. I have never seen them work well for the purported intended purpose...... and you'd need something round to sharpen them, I'd think....

....my dad had one of those Shrade Old Timer Sharpfingers (no guthook) ...... it worked really well, too. Just the right size and shape to fit in your hand to open the animal liken I explained above. Enough of a curve for skinning ,too.

*For that, they work, as when all the knives started coming out with them as a featrure, they sure sold a lot of them- hell, I even put one a couple of my home-made knives.
 
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Knowing how to keep your knife sharp is as important as what knife you choose.
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+1.... provided the steel is hard enough to hold an edge.

...... or you can just not bother to learn how and either use dispoable box-cutter blades (Wyoming Knife) or pay somebody at the county fair to sharpen your knife once a year (bad plan if you need it more than once a year:D ).
 
I have so many knives I can't keep track.
I use some custom made and homemade skinners.
I had a Western Cutlery skinner with blaze orange handle so it would't get lost. It got lost.
Probably the most used is the reliable Old Timer Sharp Finger.
BTW, someone suggest not using folders. Many who ride horses will not use a fixed blade because falls can jam a blade right through the sheath into the rider. Same with ATV riding. Folders are safer.
 
The kershaw you have listed has an awful short blade...2"...small for a whitetail I would think..

Get a Buck 119 fixed blade...Excellent quality...years of proof. I have several...tho I use a Buck 120(no longer made).

I use a Buck General. Purchaced in 1964.
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Thats what I use... but since I wasnt born until 1966 mine isnt as old as yours.:eek:

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2"...small for a whitetail I would think..
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Not at all too small. There are 3 separate functions to cleaning an animal. First is gutting (if you even bother to do that - I generally skip this step). Nothing in the gutting step requires a big knife.

Second is skinning. This is where a very short blade really shines. If you ever watch a taxidermist skin an animal for a mount, you'll notice he uses a short rounded scapel.

Third is the actual butchering. This is where the longer blade comes in handy. Since the butchering process is done either at camp or at home, why bother taking a long bladed knife into the field? That's just more weight to carry without any added benefit.
 
There are 3 separate functions to cleaning an animal
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Thats where I just combine one knife for all three functions...and use one big enough to butcher deer/meat from kill to freezer with one knife...

... I havent gotten good enough to use a 2inch blade knife for deboning a roast.
 
In the field a Buck 110. For butchering at home, various butcher knives and a meat saw. However in my old age I’m getting lazy, I usually just drop the whole carcass off at my butcher.
 
Many who ride horses will not use a fixed blade because falls can jam a blade right through the sheath into the rider. Same with ATV riding.
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Not an issue for me - I use my LPC's*.

First is gutting (if you even bother to do that - I generally skip this step).
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:confused:

So you take the whole thing, guts and all back home with you? Eww. Just EWWWW.:barf:

One of the principles of taking good care of meat is to get it cooled quickly. Another is to keep it clean. Separating a big steaming pile of vegetable matter in various states of digestion (from once-chewed to poop), damaged internal organs and a lot of blood from your meat ASAP is going to help do both. I see these youtube videos of guys gutting deer over a bucket in their garage- that can't be good. It' after dark, the animal is stiff, these guys are speaking in a southern drawl (air temp has to be above 40 in the south during deer season) ...... I'd no sooner eat that deer than I would stiffened, swollen road kill.

Second is skinning. This is where a very short blade really shines. If you ever watch a taxidermist skin an animal for a mount, you'll notice he uses a short rounded scapel.
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+1 ..... My skinner is 3" of curved blade and has a thin 6" handle.

Third is the actual butchering. This is where the longer blade comes in handy. Since the butchering process is done either at camp or at home, why bother taking a long bladed knife into the field?
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Butchering is a family activity at our house: There's knives from 3 different sets (Chicago Cutlery and Wusthoff) in operation, in addidtion to a 24" cleaver and a Sawzall......

*Leather Personell Carriers
 
So you take the whole thing, guts and all back home with you?
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JimBob, I agree with you about needing to keep the guts separate from the good meat. However, there is absolutely no need to even gut an animal if you know what you are doing (and you can get it to the skinning pole in a reasonable time).

You simply skin the deer/pig without ever cutting open the gut sack. Cut the head off and let it drop into the bucket (or just let it hang- it isn't going to get in the way). Cut out the backstaps, then remove the shoulders. If you REALLY want those tiny tenderloins, you can make a little slice below the ribs and reach in with your hand and cut them off. With the small deer we kill here (and the small hogs that I prefer), they usually aren't big enough to fool with. Now, you can either cut the hams off at the ball joint and let the rib carcass drop into the bucket or you can debone the meat right off the hams without ever separating the socket.

What you now have in the cooler is 2 shoulders, 2 backstraps, and either two hams or the cut-off meat from the hams. That represents about 90% of the usable meat. If you really want to take a small knife and pick off some of the remaining bits to go into hamburger, then you can. All this and you never had to even see the guts.
 
A couple years ago I retired my old Bowie knife and and Wyoming saw and got the Kershaw blade trader. I really like it other than the saw blade is a little to be desired, but works.
I use a Lansky sharpener on it and can literally shave with it. It holds an edge a long time.

I dont like smooth handles or a high polish. They get very slippery when covered with blood and I cant hang on to them.
 
My favorite hunting knife has been for years the Helle Odel with 3.5" drop point. This year I carried a Kodi Pak that was a gift. Like the caper, not too fond of the rest of the stuff in it. My Wyoming saw is much better for splitting bone than the saw in that pack.
 
With the small deer we kill here (and the small hogs that I prefer), they usually aren't big enough to fool with.
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I keep forgetting that not everybody is blessed with deer that eat as much corn and alf-alfa as they care to..... I have seen "deer" in Maryland and Virginia ...... the largest could not have been over 70 lbs.....
 
What Geaux Tide said... I took apart an Elk's ribcage, cut through the sternum and H bone with a serrated one. Now I use a handy Gerber that really stays sharp.
 
I bought a Buck 112 Ranger the first year I went hunting, approximately 20 years ago. I like the 3-inch blade better than the 110's 4-inch. Yes, any folding knife can be difficult to clean. But I have a stiff bristled nylon brush (looks like an oversized fingernail brush) that I use that makes cleaning a snap.
 
i think some good choices are a puma hunters pal a old schrade golden spike holds a edge very well and my go to is a hen and rooster skinner with dall sheep horns handles of it will rust it will sharpen im not a fan of stainless
 
I use a hand-made, 4" hollowground carbon steel blade, mesquite panel clip point. I have had it for 30+ years. It holds an edge you can shave with for a looooong time.

For a hunting blade, I prefer a fixed blade with no longer than 5" blade, hilt or finger groove at the base of the blade, carbon steel, slip resistant handle. Clip point, drop point, or trailing edge makes no difference to me, I have used all.

Folders are OK, but just OK. They accumulate gunk in the hinge and spring. If they are not locking-blade, there is the hazard of it closing on your fingers. If they do not have a guard or a finger groove your hand can slip down the blade when the handle gets bloody (that may not be an issue for many, but my blades are razor sharp). And the blades are generally very slender and hard to touch up as you are working (I have a Remington Big Game folding knife that was given to me, and even that is too narrow).
 
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