Good skinning/Gutting knife for whitetail

Bromme, I could go with you on the Bark River Games Keeper. Looks a lot like a Dozier except for the choil. DM
 
David Martin said:
Better count again because I counted more than 10 points on that buck. Plus, he's got good mass and spread to go with it. A fine buck. DM
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BigRob said:
"Little" 10 point!!??!?!? lol that's bigger than anything I've seen in the woods.. I've shot one 8 that's about a 20" inside spread but big bucks in Michigan are mostly nocturnal and hard to find..
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Ha - thanks to both of you. I hope the OP doesn't mind my "high-jacking" his thread just a bit. If so, I apologize. I said it was a little 10-point because it was smaller than what I try to shoot, particularly on the farm this one came from. This buck fooled me. I am a bowhunter, but wanted to try hunting with a pistol, because I thought it would be fun.

Turns out, I was right. Really enjoyed it, and it won't be the last time I carry a pistol in the woods. Reminded me of bowhunting in a lot of ways. Anyway, the buck is a good one, but is also smaller than what I thought he was, and smaller than the minimum I try and set for myself. And David, you have sharp eyes. The deer had to be checked in as an 11-point, due to a 1.5" sticker off one of the bases. Otherwise, there were very little side-to-side variances, or deductions.



Sorry, OP!! Back on track.......
 
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I'm trying to save up me and a buddy were thinking we might try and do an out of state hunt next season, Michigan has so much pressure and my private I hunt is surrounded by state land aka yahoo's blasting every spike and fork horn that walks by so the big bucks are few and far between. If you ever get room on that farm shoot me a pm I would absolutely kill for a chance to have a chance at one like that! Back on track OP, get that saddle mountain hunter and love it :D
 
BigRob said:
I'm trying to save up me and a buddy were thinking we might try and do an out of state hunt next season, Michigan has so much pressure and my private I hunt is surrounded by state land aka yahoo's blasting every spike and fork horn that walks by so the big bucks are few and far between. If you ever get room on that farm shoot me a pm I would absolutely kill for a chance to have a chance at one like that! Back on track OP, get that saddle mountain hunter and love it :D
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I tell you what - nothing wrong with outfitter hunts, but before you go that route, you might think about a DIY hunt. Missouri has a ton of public ground, and you can buy over-the-counter non-resident tags. You'd need to do your homework, but it can be done. Kansas is a draw, but there are tons of available public grounds. Check out their "walk-in"'areas, also. I bowhunt turkeys on public ground there, and if you're willing to research and walk, there's a lot of opportunity.

Back on track, I've also used a little Buck Alaskan Guide-series Mini Alpha in S30V. I've had it for years and its a great tool. It really shines as a caper.
 
Thanks again and don't worry about the deer picture pose always love to see any deer pictures. Sounds like most are steering me away from custom. Any reason for it?
 
jusclaires said:
Thanks again and don't worry about the deer picture pose always love to see any deer pictures. Sounds like most are steering me away from custom. Any reason for it?
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Probably cost more than anything, or general lack of familiarity with custom knives.
 
Customs are great. Scott Davidson and John Shore both did one for me and I love them. They are a different del all together though. You really have to know exactly what you want.

For me, it is easier to suggest a production in a specific pattern that try to suggest how someone customize a knife to fit their specific needs and likes without recalling knowing that person and seeing how they use a knife.

I have buddies that swear by everything from a "white man's Ulu" to clip point style buck hunters. After seeing them use theirs, I see why they like it, but the ulu in a clip point man's hands would be like a monkey with a football. I think the clip point in a ulu man's hands might be worse.

I have a muella that was given to me that I would like to design a larger custom version around when the money is there. It is one of the ulu with a handle and gut hook styles. It is not for everyone, but with a few tweaks, it would be fabulous for what I do.

Anyway, the two makers above are fabulous guys with nice knives.
 
Benchmade Saddle Mountain Skinner - Around $130 bucks with S-30V and your choice of stabilized wood or micarta scales.

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jusclaires said:
Sounds like most are steering me away from custom. Any reason for it?
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I can only speak from my own personal experiences - you (and others) might have (or have had) very different outcomes.

Having said that, I've owned a bunch of handmade/custom knives over the years (from a variety of makers) and more often than not, they come with very poor edge geometry and polished edges so slick that while they shave hair, they have no "bite" and slide off of most materials that I've tried to cut with them. My knives from Robert Hankins and Bob Dozier are the most noted exceptions. They all have cut extremely well.

My experiences have boiled down to this: If I want a knife that really cuts, I buy either a Bark River/Blackjack or a Battlehorse. I've spent thousands of dollars over the years on high end customs that cut like letter openers. I'm just not willing to do that any more.
 
Bob Doziers would be very high on my list for your price range, as well as Bark Rivers.
 
You could go really traditional and look at early-mid 2000, USA made Marbles hunting knives.

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Your choice of knife depends really on whether you intend to use it for field dressing, or also for skinning out and/or processing the deer. I hunt at camp that harvests a large number of deer every year, so have separate knives for each purpose. It is not uncommon to help field dress 4-6 deer in a day between sharpening, so my field dressing knife needs to be up to the task. I have tried many (but not all of them) and opt to carry a Bark River or Dozier. Dozier makes fantastic hunting knives, but most of the time I opt for the Bark River for a simple reason - it is much easier to sharpen for me at camp than Dozier's D2. I avoid S30V, and 3V hunting knives for the same reason as they are (for me at least) difficult to get as sharp as I would like them in the field. The A2 Fox River from Bark River is hard to beat for a hunting knife, and it is still going strong after I have cleaned dozens of deer with mine over the years.

If you want a good knife that can dress and skin, the Marbles style shown above is a good choice. A semi-skinner such as the Bark River Kalahari drop point variant would also be a great all purpose processing knife. I would buy one to find out, but I really need another hunting knife in this size range like a I need an extra hole in the head.
 
BRKT Gunny (top pic) and Nomad (bottom pic) are both great choices; the convex-ground A-2 takes AND holds a wicked edge:





And I recommend you check out "virtuovice" on YouTube - he has done tons of knife reviews specifically targeted toward deer hunters - really informative and entertaining!
 
I have been looking for my perfect hunting knife this year and have been through a few.
These are what I have right now.
CRK nyala
Bark River Canadian Special
Bark River Bravo 1
Bark River Montana Guide
Survive gso 4.1

As of right now, if I could only keep one it would be the nyala.

Make sure you let us know what you decide on.

 
These have all been more than helpful. I've been in contact with a guy that is going to get something made up for me and my buddy. But I have used all the input and positives from the knives you guys recommended. And I think this knife will be perfect. And a one of a kind set of two.

On a side note what do you guys think of S35V? The thought of D2 and a A2 crossed my mind. But the rust scares me. I'm not going to lie I'm one of those guys that will gut a deer semi clean my knife. And forget about it in my pack for a week or more. So I want something that won't rust to easy. And will hold an edge well. The need to resharpen in the field isn't going to be a huge deal breaker. I do most of my hunting in metro bow hunting situations and so does my buddy. So my full sharpening set up is very close. And I haven't seemed to have to much trouble with most of the knives I've sharpened with S30V but have no experience with S35V. But it sounds like a good choice to me.

The different steals the guy I'm going to order through was just a few different steels I'll try to look back and see what my options were
 
link2derek said:
BRKT Gunny (top pic) and Nomad (bottom pic) are both great choices; the convex-ground A-2 takes AND holds a wicked edge:






And I recommend you check out "virtuovice" on YouTube - he has done tons of knife reviews specifically targeted toward deer hunters - really informative and entertaining!
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That Bark River Nomad is a really nice knife for field chores for both small and larger game. Beautiful handles. It was one of my more expensive factory knife purchases in 2014.
 
emtyhopper said:
I have been looking for my perfect hunting knife this year and have been through a few.
These are what I have right now.
CRK nyala
Bark River Canadian Special
Bark River Bravo 1
Bark River Montana Guide
Survive gso 4.1

As of right now, if I could only keep one it would be the nyala.

Make sure you let us know what you decide on.
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Nice rack.
 
this 30+ year old Randall #11 still does a fine job with dead animal processing. :) O1 steel, stacked leather handle.
 
Lots of great knives here by folks with much more experience than I do. However, I have used the Spyderco Moran fixed blade (comes both drop point or curved skinner). It has a great grip, good steel that stays sharp, and isn't too large. It is very basic.

Here is Youtube video about it if you are not familiar with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epfFTYq3t3E
 
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