What knife do you carry when out trad hunting for deer? Does it have a gut hook and a saw? I'm thinking I'd like to get one that has 3 blades, one drop point, one saw blade and one gut hook.
I'd welcome any thoughts, experiences and suggestions.
Buck 110 folder. It has always done everything I have asked of it without complaints.
I have a Gerber my dad gave me back in the early 90's I believe. It is exactly what you are talking about...switches between the three blades. I have never attempted to use the saw on an animal before as we always haul them back to camp to clean them where we have hangers, running water, and cordless reciprocating saws but I have used the drop point and the gut hook blade quite a bit. I am not in love with the handle/grip on that knife and it is not winning a beauty pageant BUT it gets the job done ever time and doesn't take much touching up to get through a second deer if need be.
A LaClair Skinner of coarse. :goldtooth:
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hO1oJ09NvqY/TacGfSrriyI/AAAAAAAAA1o/W4TFW9fQuqY/s1600/MA11+La+Clair+Skinner.jpg)
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No gut hook for me. And for a saw I have a folding model that takes a Sawzall style wood pruining blade for working on ground blinds, etc.
This year I used a CRKT Hunt n'Fisch and give it high marks. Though I put it in a "regular" style sheath.
I also like my Benchmade 201 Activator VERY much (if you have the patience to sharpen D2 it holds an edge long-time).
And about my favorite and most used is an ESEE Izula II with micarta scales I wear as a neck knife. Small 2-3/4" blade but easy to get hair-popping sharp and small enough I can lay the spine along my index finger and "unzip" the belly and work inside easily. Price is right as well.
I also carry a regular Izula with the sheath attached to the inside of my day pack as a never-fail/never-misplaced knife of last resort.
The latest is this little custom drop point from a maker in NC.
(https://i.imgur.com/kEPfR0Z.jpg)
My pack always has a razor sharp fixed blade knife with a 3" blade. I also carry a Kershaw pocket knife with a 2.5" blade. I have a pair of pruners in my pack as well.
Case copperlock my wife gave me for Christmas 15 years ago. Never needed a bigger knife.
I have a Gerber straight knife and a folding Browning. Both have a blade about 3" long. I have never seen any special need for a gut hook. I have a saw, but it is not part of a knife combination.
In my pack I have a Becker BK-14, Havalon Piranta, Opinel #8, and a knife I made myself. I also have a a Becker BK-11 on my belt. Yes, I am a knife nut.
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(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8617/15696867246_f3ab34e089.jpg)
Jeremy
Buck woodsman. Best knife there is for deer. Folding knives are great too but a little extra to clean.
So much depends on what I'm doing & where I'm going. I usually have my daily carry pocket knife clipped to my pocket. It's handy & always where I need it. It does 95% of all my knife work.
I prefer fixed blades when doing anything other than a simple cut or two. So I carry a fixed blade in my pack. I recently picked up a small 2-2.5" fixed blade that I really like at a 3D shoot. Haven't had a chance to work with it yet. But I have a 3-4" cheap fixed blade (just a paracord-wrapped handle & nylon sheath) that worked well enough to pack out a deer. It needed to be sharpened about halfway through. It's light weight & gets the job done. Only cost me about $10. If I'm travelling light, I may only take this one & have it on my belt.
But if I'm going to be out a few days & off trail a ways, I've sometimes opted for the beefy old AF survival knife I've had since I my early teens. It's a chunk as far as knives go & about 10" overall. But it's sturdy enough to take a beating. I haven't been in any multi-day survival situations since I was 17 or 18 (I have better judgement and a better sense of direction than I did back then). But if I were, I'd want that one with me. It's thick & long enough to chop small branches (whacking the back of it with a stick) but not so big that it's impossible to gut a fish or something small.
I keep a fixed blade in my bag, mainly for the tougher hide on pigs. It'a a Mora companion. I normally just skin deer with my Case pocketknife.
QuoteOriginally posted by Ron LaClair:
A LaClair Skinner of coarse. :goldtooth:
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hO1oJ09NvqY/TacGfSrriyI/AAAAAAAAA1o/W4TFW9fQuqY/s1600/MA11+La+Clair+Skinner.jpg)
(http://www.shrewbows.com/Canoecarry.JPG)
My LaClair Skinner is my favorite knife of all time. It's my go to hunting knife, buy one and you can thank me later!!!
Light My Fire Fireknife in stainless. Mora's great stainless and a firesteel in a nice, light, sharp handy package.
Have gutted, skinned and quartered around 50 hogs this year, plus a couple deer using a CRKT minimalist Bowie. Very inexpensive, sharpens quickly on a RADA wheelie sharpener, weighs less than 2 oz. Doesn't hold it's edge as well as some knives, but plenty good enough for the gutting, then touch up at home for skinning, and usually a touch up before quartering. Touch up takes around 5-10 seconds. I paid less than $30 for mine, and can either wear it as a neck knife or tie it on my pack. Very compact.
(https://i.imgur.com/NbUmeRQ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/wbyOl5x.jpg)
Saw blades on knife handles are usually too small to be of much use. I carry a separate small saw in my pack for brushing, cutting firewood, etc. I like about a 4-inch drop point blade, no gut hook. I really don't like gut hooks. :)
I currently have a ML Kephart on my belt and a LaClair Lil' Shaver in my pack, sometimes on my neck. That LaClair is an absolute great knife and has skinned a couple deer, can't count the number of coons, bunch of muskrats, and finally a coyote. Touch it up with a steel and it's scary sharp.
I recently purchased a Medford Elk Skinner. Great knife!
My pack knife is very basic and it stays in my pack not on my belt...actually it was just donated & sold at the PBS auction. So I need to forge another one for myself...tippit
(https://i.imgur.com/ZlZBiBq.jpg?2)
Sometimes they are a little prettier but still very basic...
(https://i.imgur.com/ycGyG18.jpg?1)
My blade looks a lot like the 1 Tippit is showing
dirtguy, I have a Buck Crosslock and it has exactly what you're looking for. Only two blades. One is a drop point. The other is a saw/gut hook combo. Very nice and useful tool.
You can't go wrong with a Buck. :)
Joey Ward - I looked it up and that is exactly what I want!
I love Buck knives. I have a model 102 that I got as a teenager and it has served me well.
Thanks!
My two favorite are a case trapper and a Ray Kirk medicine blade. The case gets 95% of the work.
(http://i.imgur.com/Fl2rfk1.jpg)
I have folding Chicago Cutlery lock-blade on my belt for 40 years, and I like the Buck Pathfinder for skinning and cutting up big animals that need to be boned in the field, like moose. I keep that in my day pack. To bone out meat I like a knife with a tang or finger stop. Handles get very slippery when cutting huge slabs of meat and grip gets fatigued. Keep blade sharp to reduce resistance during boning. Mike
I like my buck 119, have used it on everything from squirrels to hogs. Then again I prefer a fixed blade knife over a folder.
I like the Outdoor Edge Flip and Zip. If I'm very far off the road or down hill, I Bone them out. I'm not into dragging dear. I've done around 25 animals with mine and it's my go to. I also have a nice Buck knife I was given as a gift and if I'm able too get it out whole, I use the Buck for skinning.
A fixed blade Buck 105. Larger than I need, but got it as a gift in the seventies, and it's been on every hunt with me since.
For a production knife, I prefer my Buck Vanguard. Heckuva good knife.
Love that LaClair skinner. Might have to get me one of those. I have a bunch of great knives, including a Randall I carry sometimes, but on my Catquiver is a Gerber Magnum Hunter (folder) that I've been carrying for nearly 30 years now. It has dressed a bunch of deer.
My self made small game hunter pattern is most typical of what I carry. This particular one is the first knife I ever made. It's in Elmax steel and is still my go-to hunting blade, despite me having made several knives of higher levels of fit/finish since I got started.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CCagFBv8fLpXfpTOnOdwglrdMmCIOwLXmWD0MiB4w6S87_pLLZT3P7eiOV_TURSEMZtYnlSzAvgGMRfU5giqmHPWB2_8ytobotxs233eAPy8vwP4vpfBqcyNsNnOQW4hwU7ZE-Zt8v_tFb2R0q-xYZ-IDa3H3VZ5YFrQAjwf69IFthls2xXxpP6OA9RmsBCCx8KR4mOIPtvWEFXmlfUWBSOVpLdfhdUXzqseRWuXYqFMBTsMJ432jv8HGqR1E6qFzl8vlE8YFyoMPFChv-CdWHZHP87W94GS38vMW9rqiwRBy3EX8DRXI-0Vl2L0BSHspXpEUBnZQadBu2xze84H3fS5IkbpyViAF94PG2qVq_XHCWB7BhfbpvPpYfHGopmriBJPreMkw04VU4xV7uP3ZG1YVFOen72sKjrJZVNu9h17MNIPNlrWNH68cEAERCxVa2SSCPUQcHzyluzGXgqUZmWDEoaPxpiqz784LvG-y7cEVY_abELwXiBpUKGQvwb4cSYaM6CDzVE40wzehWywMK8vlBQtfl6FQAYqoRn5l-_5RnrwOlDE6hfzDV6E1joo4PLuf_5KkXAaQJldx_VeuuAFaV-y6ldo66TQiw=w919-h435-no)
My EDC knife, and I mean if I have my pants on I have this knife, is a Zero Tolerance ZT-0303 assisted opening, 3.75" Tiger Stripe blade, sharp as a razor and holds an edge, cuts, guts, skins, smears mayo, cuts cheese for my sandwich and definitely the one you want in your hand if things turn ugly. Other than that I carry a boning knife in my pack, no need to over complicate.
My edc is a zt0630 with the Emerson wave
Hunting might be a knives of Alaska alpha wolf, cold steel master hunter or bark river mini Kalahari hunter depending on which one I grab, all great knives, all take a crazy sharp edge
I have a Buck Crosslock knife for several years. It has a 3" drop point blade and a 3" saw/gut hook that works remarkably well. I have gutted several deer, a bear, and deboned 2 elk with it.
I once did something stupid trying to remove a stuck broad head from a tree and broke the gut hook. Buck replaced the blade and sharpen the knife, no charge, no questions asked. Great customer service. This is my go to knife.