Deer Hunting Knife

If you can go with a fixed blade and a little over your budget, get anything by Bob Dozier
 
A Cold Steel 'Ultimate Hunter' is a terrific hunting knife that will get the job done.

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As someone who has cleaned, skinned, and processed his fair share of deer and other game I would never never never use a folding knife to do so unless it was the only knife I owned. That being said if you would preffer a folding knife its understandable but I would suggest that you steer away from lock back knives. In my experiance these knives get gunked up and full of dried blood and hair and are very difficult to maintain. I think that a knife with a pillared constructoin that allows for easy cleaning and blood to flow through it would be a much better choice. You mentioned the Bradley Alias, I have owned one of these and personaly belive that the ti-scales would become very slick. If you realy like the idea of a folder then I would say check out the Esse Hest folder that is still for pre-order in a few places. Minus that bottle opener i think it would be a decent option.

For fixed blades lots of good recomendations already but I like the looks of the Bark River Gunny, I ordered one to give to my dad for christmas this year so it hasnt seen a deer yet but I belive it will preform like a dream
 
Bark River Bravo-1, Gunny, Aurora, Northstar and mini- (a little pointy, but will work well), Highland Special, Canadian Special, etc., etc.

Dozier is good too, most all are D2 steel (which turns me sour - personal preference bias) and a standard V-grind. But! Once you work with a convex edge like a Bark River, it's hard to go back to a v-grind. Hard, I say......hard.

But now, speaking of edges, another option is a handful of Mora blades. For your budget, you could get him a nice Barkie and a couple of Moras (my personal favorite, the 510, is no longer made :( . Now that would cover his every need!
 
I have backed away from my requirement of it being a folder, that's my preference and obviously not necessarily applicable nor preferred. I will defer to folks who deer hunt. While I fly fish, back pack, hike, etc., deer hunting is not in my area of expertise. I should have stated: "Best gift deer hunting knife recommendations under $175.00?"
 
Dorn, for 175$ you can easily get both a great folder and a great fixed blade!

From collectorknives.net you could get a Queen fixed blade (go for the amber bone skinner!) in d2 for only 50$
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And that would leave you 120$ to find him a good folder. I like this Boker Copperliner:
BK-4611.jpg

from knivesplus.com for 60$
This one I like cause its very pocket friendly, wont scare people, can be used with one hand (just so much more convenient when you're working), is a GOOD stainless knife that will hold an edge well and is easy to sharpen. But there are MANY good folding knives to choose from.
 
Guys,

I don't want to gift a CRKT, BM, Spyderco, Kersahw, etc. No offense, but I want to gift something that is likely to be unique and treasured.

- David
 
Dornblaser said:
Guys,

I don't want to gift a CRKT, BM, Spyderco, Kersahw, etc. No offense, but I want to gift something that is likely to be unique and treasured.

- David
Click to expand...

You need to check out the custom knives for sale forum. I see some sweet customs in there in your price range.
 
I consider both Bark River and Dozier knives semi-custom. "Semi" because they are handmade, even though they are made in large quantities....to some degree. The Bark Rivers are unique in that they offer the super slicing ability of the convex grind and their handle scale material selection is almost endless.

http://www.knivesshipfree.com/Bark-River-Knives-Fox-River-Knife-California-Buckeye-Burl

I'm making some EnZo blades right now out of buckeye burl. You might even think of getting an EnZo blade and scaling it yourself, if you have any woodworking ability.
 
Dornblaser said:
Guys,

I don't want to gift a CRKT, BM, Spyderco, Kersahw, etc. No offense, but I want to gift something that is likely to be unique and treasured.

- David
Click to expand...

You just ruled out the 3 of the top production knife makers in the world that offer blades in your price range, whether fixed or folder.

You want something that "unique" you better get deeper pockets.

Look at the A.G. Russell website. There's usually a good selection of blades there that you can't get at any of the big stores like Wal-Mart, Bass Pro, Cabela's, etc.
 
http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=BU140BKS

I know you have a $175 budget but honestly I really like this knife and its only $20. It has a skeletal frame so its very easy to clean which is a big thing for me. Plus its made in the USA. I would just get a new sheath made but the original isnt too bad.

That plus a larger fixed blade is usually the only blades I carry into the woods with me.
 
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