Author Topic: Big Knife? Little Knife? What's your pick? (Read 3527 times)

m-g Willy · « **on:** August 25, 2004, 04:31:25 AM »

I know a 4" blade will handle almost any knife chore I encounter while hunting. BUT! I carry a 7" blade strapped to my boot when hunting because (I LIKE IT) It did come in handy on my last deer . I didn't want to let a wounded animal lay there waiting for me to reload. So it was a lot easier to pull it's head back and finish it with a 7" blade than it would have been with a 3 1/2" folder. How many of you like the bigger blades for hunting? I'm talking about hunting (field dressing ,skinning ,and maybe even butchering) --Willy

Graybeard · « **Reply #1 on:** August 25, 2004, 05:39:17 AM »

No big blades here.

I carry a pocket folder with 4" or so blade for general cutting while in the stand should a need arise. In my pack I carry a large folder with exchangeable blades and a fixed blade with 5" or less blade. Even those blades are longer than I feel are really needed.

rickyp · « **Reply #2 on:** August 25, 2004, 08:05:07 AM »

Quote

I didn't want to let a wounded animal lay there waiting for me to reload. So it was a lot easier to pull it's head back and finish it with a 7" blade than it would have been with a 3 1/2" folder

You approached a down deer with an unloaded weapon? The very first things I was taught in hunting safety school was to always reload your weapon before walking up on any downed animal. I have seen way to many deer jump up and run just as the hunters got to them to not do this. When I am hunting from a stand I wait until i am on the ground then reload if I am already on the ground I will reload as fast as I can.
That out of the way.

When I am deer hunting I ways have several knives with me
1) is a swiss army knife this is the same one I always have in my pocket.
2) is a wyoming knife
3) Is a junk knife I keep in my back pack with in easy reach. I use this for clearing brush and general cutting chopping use.
4) I always have a large fixed blade knice that I kep in my truck on on the ATV ( when I am on one)

Rmouleart · « **Reply #3 on:** August 25, 2004, 08:36:29 AM »

My regular carry is a buck 4 inch, I sometimes carry a combo hatchet & knife setup S&W, I use it for clearing brush, making shooting alleys from my stand,The knife for notching ect... then use the brush to camo out my blind;) I also carry a skinner as well, better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it

many times I have used my skinner or even knife on other hunters game, most know where I hunt, I have cut meat for years, and if I'm around, I skin them out for them, most people can't get over how quick you can skin a animal when you know what your doing. It is a art, very important when you are going to make a rug or a three quarter cape etc.., even a eye lid needs to be there, no holes in the pelt other than the bullet hole that killed it;) I also use a large 12 inch knife to break free the joints of the animal. When hunting I always carry a backup knife as well.
Aim small hit small. RAMbo.

DeerMeadowFarm · « **Reply #4 on:** August 25, 2004, 10:30:56 AM »

I carry a hand made (German) fixed blade, skinning design, 4" blade (approx.) with a stag handle. Anything more than that just gets in the way. Approach a wounded animal without a loaded weapon? Please make me the benefactor in your will!

Lawdog · « **Reply #5 on:** August 25, 2004, 11:36:14 AM »

I carry a multi-tool(Gerber), a folding 4.5" lock-blade and a Buck General instead of a hatchet for small chopping chores. The Buck General is a old friend that went with me to Viet Nam and I still pack it today. Lawdog

longwinters · « **Reply #6 on:** August 25, 2004, 12:07:10 PM »

I carry one a buddy made me. 4" fixed blade made out of part of a chopping blade deal from the paper mill. Has a walnut handle. This knife is a little crude but the edge will hold to gut, skin and quarter 3 deer before it needs touchup. All my other knives hang on the wall in my reloading room. I usually also carry a Leatherman.

Long

Rick Teal · « **Reply #7 on:** August 25, 2004, 01:48:52 PM »

The biggest knife I carry is a 3 1/2 inch buck-type knife for doing the bungs on moose and other large animals. Otherwise I do the job with one of three jack knives I carry with 2' blades.

jhm · « **Reply #8 on:** August 25, 2004, 02:23:49 PM »

I have found a 4 in. to be my favorites, I have some larger aand smaller but you will normally find a 4in. on me and some other in the day pack.

JIM

willis5 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 26, 2004, 09:48:03 AM »

My pocket folder is usually 3-4

skinning knife is 4" drop point fixed

7mm MAGNUM · « **Reply #10 on:** August 29, 2004, 06:40:15 AM »

I carry a 4" fixed gut hook blade, and a Gerber 3 3/4" standard with a additional fold out saw blade.

Those larger blades just seem to get in the way when you need to get down to some work. :roll:

I guess if you needed it for chopping some kindling or something :-D

marylandeer · « **Reply #11 on:** August 29, 2004, 09:21:30 AM »

I carry a folding knife with about a 4" blade, either my gerber gator or my buck whichever one is sharpest at that given time. I also carry a gerber folding saw in my ruck sack for the brush or whatever else I run into.

rickyp · « **Reply #12 on:** August 29, 2004, 10:13:42 AM »

I too have the Gerber foldign saw. I normally only carry it late summer early fall when squirrel hunting. When I am squirrel hunting I am normally looking for deer sings and good trees for my stand. when I find the right spot I will clear some shooting lanes and trails in and out.

Glanceblamm · « **Reply #13 on:** August 29, 2004, 05:14:50 PM »

Have found 3-1/2" to work just fine.
I do carry a large knife to cut through the pelvic bone & start the separation of the rib cage upon field dress.

cattleskinner · « **Reply #14 on:** September 25, 2005, 08:52:49 AM »

I've worked in a meat plant for the better part of 8 years now, and have come to a few conclusions as to what works and doesn't work for cutting up animals. While boning/skinning knives are of a bit different design than most hunting knives, I prefer to use a knife that has a bit thinner blade (one about the thickness of a dart tip). Also to use a knife that is short. One's that have about a 4" blade or a bit less are perfect. When you start getting into the long blades, they become a bit unwieldy, and just tend to get in the way. With the short ones, you can put your pointer finger or thumb on the back of the blade and use it as an extension of you finger. When at work, I use a Forschner Victorinox beef skinner on everything from sheep to beef. The key is to find a knife with a handle that fits you. I've been thinking lately that most people would do very well using a razor blade for hunting(cheap throw away kind). Granted, it wouldn't work for breaking down an animal, but for what the majority use a knife for is gutting and that's it. Always sharp, LIGHT, and you don't even have to clean it up when you're done...just throw it out. The only problem I see with one is that if you lose you grip on it inside of an animal, you might have a little trouble finding it. It's all kind of a moot point for me, as I hunt in farm country, and can just drive a truck, or tractor right up to the animal, and not worry so much about dropping the 30 or 40lb. or extra weight. I haven't gutted a deer in the field in the last 2 or 3 years, I try to get it home as fast as I can, and gut it there...much cleaner!! I used to sicken me when I would field dress in the field, drag the deer out, and then have to cut up to 5 lb. of meat out because all the leaves/dirt/ and other crap that got inside of the animal. Sorry about being so longwinded, but if it were me, I would use a thin 3-4 inch drop point fixed blade.

~~~Amos

Savage .250 · « **Reply #15 on:** September 26, 2005, 02:26:10 AM »

Buck Knife. 5 1/4" fixed blade. Had this one for about 40 years.
Nothing like a good knife hanging from your belt. IMO.

" The best part of the hunt is not the harvest but in the experience."

RCL · « **Reply #16 on:** September 26, 2005, 03:26:08 AM »

I carry two knives when I go deer hunting, large (4") and small lock blade folders, both Buck.

Special Ed · « **Reply #17 on:** September 26, 2005, 06:23:38 AM »

I carry 2 Buck fixed blades, a 102 & 105. My trusty old beat up Leatherman is always on my belt also.
I used to carry a Buck Titanium, but it was just to time consuming to clean after field dressing a Whitetail.

Ed

PEPAW · « **Reply #18 on:** September 28, 2005, 01:56:06 AM »

I carry a Leatherman, an old Western folder that also has a saw blade for field dressing and another one handed folder for everything else when hunting. The one handed opener is convenient when you are working on a project.
In S. Texas we always field dress 'cause it is usually hot.

pepaw

Steelbanger · « **Reply #19 on:** September 28, 2005, 02:20:18 AM »

Always a shorter blade, sometimes fixed & other times a folder. I think my favorite is the Gerber folder that Leupold sold a few years ago with a blade of about 3".
I picked up a commemorative "100 Years of Flight" knife while in NC and so I had to try it once. Orville & Wilbur have been inside a deer. The knife is back in its tin and looks like new.

Buckskin · « **Reply #20 on:** October 04, 2005, 06:12:50 AM »

If I am hunting on our land and just intend to gut the animal, I carry a small 3" Gerber. Plenty of knife for the task. Anything longer just makes it more likely that you will cut yourself. If boning or quartering I have a couple longer knives in the range of 5".

By the way, I wll never walk up to an animal with out a loaded weapon that I don't know is dead, again. The biggest buck I ever shot, knocked him down cold with one shot. Layed my gun down and walked over to him. Grabbed its rack and was in awe. Just then he came to. Then he got up on 2 legs, then 4 and before I could grab my slug gun he was 40 yards and heading into brush. 2 hail mary shots and he was gone.
after 2 miles, 3 hours and several jumps without a shot I knocked him down for good. Unfortunately I shot off about 3" of his left G2 on the hail mary. The right G2 is forked and for the life of me I can't remember if the left one was also, even though I held it when it was intact.

dakotashooter2 · « **Reply #21 on:** October 05, 2005, 11:07:52 AM »

What do I need with a knife when I have a full quiver of sharp broadheads??? I'm only 1/2 kidding. I do carry a 4" folder but my brother on occassion has field dressed deer with a fixed blade broadhead.

Jimi · « **Reply #22 on:** October 05, 2005, 02:16:17 PM »

For deer and pig I carry what I think is called a Whitetail Skinner. It has a rubberized handle that is somewhat opposed to the blade, somewhat of a T shape so I can do my work from the strongest position. The blade isn't long... Probably 3 1/2" and pretty broad for caping the interior. It also has a gut hook to zipper those suckers open. And then I also carry a Gerber saw to cut the pelvic bone and the sternum. The saw is also good for quartering, if necessary.

I've been looking at some of these folding hunters with a straight blade, a gut hook, and a saw... but I'm too happy with my current cutlery collection to make a move.

dougk · « **Reply #23 on:** January 15, 2006, 09:19:38 AM »

For field cleaning I like the 3.5 inch blade. Anything bigger is difficult to use for field dressing deer. Also the merkita (sp) handle is great it never slips.
Doug

dcnewyork · « **Reply #24 on:** February 13, 2006, 02:14:33 PM »

Yup 3.5 inch buck, seems to work great for me.

dukkillr · « **Reply #25 on:** February 13, 2006, 02:20:01 PM »

I've cleaned deer, ducks, elk, carbou, turkeys, etc... with my Old Timer 77OT. It's got 2 thin carbon steel blades about 3-4 inches long...

I use a buck fixed blade knife to split ribs.

Atlas · « **Reply #26 on:** February 14, 2006, 02:13:20 PM »

I typically hunt with two knives with me:

Knives of Alaska bushcamp fixed blade:large blade w/ good weight and excellent no slip handle and will do most jobs very nicely in my hands despite its large blade - my favorite

Buck Alpha hunter folding blade: handy, good quality, for everything else.

Atlas

kyote · « **Reply #27 on:** March 31, 2006, 02:01:40 PM »

All the responses or interesting.and it seems to me that the 4"and under blades are the favorite.we are lucky to be aforded so many choices in blades to take to the field.
and it seems that most answers pretained to med size game animals "Deer"I reckon that is a med size animal here in the U.S..and most hunters seem to not be far from their homes, out in a farmers field are a ranch.
I have watched in amazement many times as an indian in the jungles of central america gutted and carved up a deer are pig with a machette even fillet a fish.they just do it a little differntly then we would do with a smaller tool.But the end product is the same and I can not say either is faster.
I have a small craftsman folder single blade that will do a tx white tail pretty quick.and is all I need for them.reckon the blade is bout 2 and 3/4"and kinda on the thin side.and sharpens up real fine.but then I have a couple others that I take when I go to the mts.the weather can go from nice to terrible in a couple hours and never can tell when they might come in handy.and the animals are a lot larger and it is easier to have a larger knife to work em.

corbanzo · « **Reply #28 on:** April 04, 2006, 02:40:48 PM »

I carry three knives with me pretty much always when hunting, I have a 2.5" buckin my safety kit, a kershaw carabiner knife I clip to my pack, and a kershaw alaskan blade trader. I was weary about the blade trader at first, but when I first used it on an elk, it was great. the blades held really tight, no problems at all, kershaw makes some good knives....

drdougrx · « **Reply #29 on:** April 04, 2006, 04:27:37 PM »

It's either a buck personal or pathfinder for me in fixed blades, or mostly, a gerber LST in my pocket and a buck XGT or some such designation (it's the titanium folder with the finger grooves and the 110 hunter blade). Oh and I carry a 4" sharpening steel in my pack. I must admit, I like the narrow swept point blades.