Calling deer hunters

If you are willing to search the secondary markets a little, both of these two USA Schrade Uncle Henrys can be had for within your price range. Excellent stainless steel, two sizes and different geometries to cover all eventualities, and nice grippy handles. I've cleaned and butchered more game with a Sharpfinger (the smaller 152UH) than all others combined, but having a larger, stouter blade like the 165UH is nice insurance.

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I could be wrong, but I feel whoever designed the Sharpfinger was a whitetail deer hunter. The name itself speaks to its ease of use.
 
Field dressing yes, but we get the deer back to camp whole (so we can record live weight) and use a gambrel and pulley. With a gambrel the head is down and there is no way to clear out the chest cavity if you don't open the rib cage.
There is away, but your hands get really messy.
If you really want to open the ribs you can do it with a 110 or similar.
 
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If you are willing to search the secondary markets a little, both of these two USA Schrade Uncle Henrys can be had for within your price range. Excellent stainless steel, two sizes and different geometries to cover all eventualities, and nice grippy handles. I've cleaned and butchered more game with a Sharpfinger (the smaller 152UH) than all others combined, but having a larger, stouter blade like the 165UH is nice insurance.

IOGUqwe.jpg

Jeff, very cool indeed - until your post I never knew that Schrade USA made those two knives in stainless steel. I have both in carbon steel (Old Timer) and didn’t think about the Uncle Henry versions coming in Schrade+ SS on those two knife models. OH
Ps. I see a Bear & Son, USA made stainless steel version of the Sharpfinger for sale in hardware stores - just under $30. Not sure what type or grade of stainless they use in the blade.
 
Most folks where I've hunted don't bother splitting any bones. They don't even gut them. They just take the backstraps and quarters which can all be done without gutting (most even sacrifice the small tenderloins). We're not dealing with 200# deer though.
 
Thanks for all the feedback , getting impression small fixed is the way to go . I'd like to hear more about blade shape / thickness.

As many have noted, you need a bit of belly to the cutting edge to do the initial field dressing. And a drop point can help you avoid getting the intestines opened up. A good many knives get this part right.

Field dressing a deer is pretty easy. In a pinch I did it once with a Case congress. Give me a flat rock to sharpen it and I could dress one with a nail file. Likewise skinning isn't that tough. A good many knives will do an ok job there.

Here's the problem: Once you get past the field dressing and the skinning, the qualities you need in a knife change radically. Sectioning and slicing the meat for storage requires a really thin blade. Using most hunting knives to do this is akin to trying to slice a melon with a splitting maul.

It makes sense to have two knives. Especially considering the wise advice mentioned earlier that a sharp knife is really important but skinning and dressing a deer exposes the edge to dirt and sand that will dull it in a hurry. But if you want one knife, compromise on skinning and field dressing. Processing is the majority of the effort.

Good luck,
Will
 
As many have suggested, I fixed blade would be preferable. Anything that can keep an edge through skin cutting (not skinning) and sinew will suffice. Don't go bone splitting unless you know how to split the pelvis of a small deer/doe driving the knife through the right place. Get a saw or hatchet. A 110 Buck folder is hard to beat IF it has to be a folder. Just be sure to clean it well, soak it in hot water and use a toothbrush to get all the crevices. Move the blade to different angles while scrubbing to get every possible spot. Skinning is a whole different thing and using something made for it is much better. It can be done with a cutting blade with mixed results at best. This persons experience with dressing a deer should be taken into consideration - don't give a novice subpar tools to learn with, it will just frustrate them and may discourage them as well as making learning less than optimal. Forty five years dressing 100's of deer with anything from a penknife to a Bowie. Good luck with your search.

EDIT: I swear I did not read @DrHenley post before posting, was reading afterwards.
 
As many have noted, you need a bit of belly to the cutting edge to do the initial field dressing. And a drop point can help you avoid getting the intestines opened up. A good many knives get this part right.

Field dressing a deer is pretty easy. In a pinch I did it once with a Case congress. Give me a flat rock to sharpen it and I could dress one with a nail file. Likewise skinning isn't that tough. A good many knives will do an ok job there.

Here's the problem: Once you get past the field dressing and the skinning, the qualities you need in a knife change radically. Sectioning and slicing the meat for storage requires a really thin blade. Using most hunting knives to do this is akin to trying to slice a melon with a splitting maul.

It makes sense to have two knives. Especially considering the wise advice mentioned earlier that a sharp knife is really important but skinning and dressing a deer exposes the edge to dirt and sand that will dull it in a hurry. But if you want one knife, compromise on skinning and field dressing. Processing is the majority of the effort.
I like pointy hunting knives and not necessarily a drop point for hunting field chores. You just have to be careful when doing the initial field dressing relative to the internal organs and spilling material onto the meat. Sharp is the most important attribute and yes I go with a two or three knife approach for the entire field dressing > cutting and processing. Going with one knife will be a compromise relative to the design attributes of the knife and the task at hand. Essentially you want a smaller knife for field dressing and skinning, and a larger knife for the processing.
 
Darn you 315 right as I thought I didn’t need another fixed blade hunting knife I see this and love it especially their Burl handle versions and for under $100 I’m gonna have to buy one
Well....ironically this Hess Whitetail arrived yesterday. It has some vintage appeal and I think will age well. But it’d be hard to beat one of the various Buck fixed blades or folders. Maybe a customized one to have some more sentimental value to her.

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One thing is for sure, start a thread here with the words knife and deer in it, you'll get loads of help. Seems we're living in a golden age of cutlery where we have lots of choices.
 
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Cal, I agree with you on proper size skinning/cleaning knife for a whitetail (ours are smallish here, about 90-120 lbs. is a good size doe, bucks seldom get over 225 lbs.) For deer of that size I primarily use the Buck 118, however others I can think of using in the last five or six years are the Western Black Beauty 66, Buck 113, Buck 117, Buck 110, Buck 121 Guide (thicker blade than the old 121 Fisherman), Case Hammerhead, Case fixed blade 5" (forgot model number), Schrade 160OT, Schrade 165OT, Schrade 15OT (too big for whitetail - gets in the way when working inside the cavity and deboning around the hip/pelvic area). Except for the 15OT all were in the same medium size range. Haven't had the pleasure of cleaning a Moose or an Elk (I field dressed one with a buddy that shot it, but didn't butcher it) - I would go to a Buck 119 or equal size knife for that task. Working inside the deer (blind work by feel) I want a small enough blade to be maneuverable inside and short enough to leave my other hand uncut when working by feel. I tend toward a narrow blade as it turns well in narrow areas - a Buck 102 blade is perfect but the handle to small for my hands, thus I settled on the Buck 118. OH
Bruce, we do like hunting, and we do like our knives, don't we? I couldn't use up all my hunting knives if I lived to the end of the next ice age (if we have one).
 
Here's my Schrade Sharpfinger from back in the 70's that I got with an order of Guns and Ammo.It even has the words,Guns and Ammo on the shield. I have used this knife every year for field dressing game since then, up until this year. Don't mind the black magic marker on the edge. Sometimes I still use the sharpie trick.I bought a new hunting knife but I'll probably regret giving up this old friend.
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1095, O1, VG10, all about 3” blade. Small enough for scalpel-like control, large enough for deer. Top two have seen field use.
full

I second a sharp finger or small buck or case. Maybe a Hess whitetail for style points. Folders will gunk up, though it’s only an issue if you don’t clean the knife out. I’m too tired to clean a knife after a long day so I go fixed and just do a simple wipe down.
The real serious hunters I know all use havalons and they are a small blade at 2.75”. It’s not about the blade size but how it’s used.
 
Another nice knife is the Buck Vanguard,though at 4 inch blade,it is just a little longer then I, myself , prefer. I favor blades around 3 and usually 3-1/2" at most. 4 inches is doable though.
 
ddavis ddavis the GEC H73 you pictured is a very nice knife. I am going on a trip for some Whitetail in New Zealand this summer, and that is the pattern I intend to use.
 
If fixed blade is a option a Grohman Canadian belt knife is a great option and reasonable in price. Come in stainless and carbon too.
 
I'm in a 4000 acre deer lease in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. There is a cap on only having 30 members. This is a pretty backwoods deercamp, no clubhouses or anything. The county road to get there is straight up and down 1 lane dirt and low water bridges and your in first gear most of the time. Everyone has old antique campers that they leave there. It's pretty nice because several of the members have moved off to work, but keep up membership so when they move back in the future they will still be in. So several of the members, you never see. Alot of times, alot of the guys are tagged out before the rifle season starts and last year during part of the rut, my son and I had the whole camp to ourselves. We go up there at least 1 weekend a month year around and squirrel hunt and small mouth bass fish. Its really rough and some of the land is so rough it probably hasn't seen a human in years, you can go in some bluffs and still find arrowheads. Anyway about the knives, I use a Buck 110 for everything. When camp was full during muzzeloading season, 99.9% of the guys used a Case trapper. Never saw a single fixed blade carried or used.
 
What did you use on the deer you dressed?
Probably 50 different knives with blades from 2.5-inches long to 6-inches. I'm a knife guy! Seldom use the same knife two years in a row. :) I had to think about it a while but I used a custom Steve Goddard (son of the late Wayne) with a 4-inch S30V clip point blade last year. Worked great. The ESSE is on line for this year.
 
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Sounds like you might be wanting a model 73.My preference would be a fixed blade however I've also dressed many deer with the Buck110.
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