How do you keep from losing your knife when hunting?

M

mikescooling

Joined
Oct 17, 2012
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Hey guys, the time has come again, deer hunting opens on the 23rd. The farmer/land owner asks the hunters to take all doe's to drop the numbers, you can see herds of 50 or 60. I don't have to tell you that a day hunting involves, going under barb wire fences, climbing trees, and gutting deer just to name a few. It's too easy to lose a knife. How do you keep from losing your knife?
 
If its that bad, take a piece of 550 cord approx. 3ft long and tie it to the knife, the attach it to your belt or belt loop.
 
I keep it sheathed in my daypack along with my other game processing gear. It's harder to lose a daypack.......;).

It also helps to protect the knife/sheath more when you take a spill, which while hunting, isn't unheard of. And IMHO......keeping it in a daypack or another type of pack might also offer a bit more self protection from being impaled during a fall, especially when your knife isn't sheathed in either a very secure sheath or a rather cheaply made/thinner/less 'bulletproof' made sheath.

Some might hate to have their trusty knife less available to them as when in a daypack of some sort, but in reality, it should take only seconds to secure if necessary. If seconds might seem too long for your needs, such as in an instance of a 2 or 4-legged attack, the firearm you're hunting deer with will likely suffice much more effectively than a knife.

When preseason scouting or when out hiking, I always carry a sidearm and a woods knife is always with me, as well. But, as above, the knife is secured in my daypack. If either my hunting rifle or handgun were to be damaged enough in a fall to render either useless, I would then wear my knife on my belt where it would then become my primary source of protection.

Knives are so very useful in so many ways and seem to be a great source of 'comfort' for many, as well, but IMHO, unless in the hands of a well trained person, they can unsafely boost one's level of confidence.

Good luck this season and I hope you get to use that knife, no matter where or how you choose to carry it.......:).
 
A good sheath, a lanyard loop, a bright orange or yellow handled knife, tape wrap the handle in the color of choice.
 
I usually keep my knife in a sheath on my belt loop, but if the sheet is leather many times I will just put it in my pack and take it out when necessary. Kydex sheaths usually hold retention well enough to just keep on all day or at least that is what I have found. I also carry a folder in my pocket, but usually just leave it clipped to the pocket. I SAK or multitool in the pocket helps to.
 
Thanks for the input guys, keep it coming. as some of you know, doing things like cutting out the anus of a deer (coring the apple); you have to put the knife down tie off the bung, then from the inside pull it all. Gutting seems to be cutting things free, then pulling the rest of the way, until you have to cut again. i don't see a way around putting the knife down on the ground that is covered in leaves, snow or both. I don't think I could tie the knife to me, I need more movement/freedom.
 
A good fitting sheath is all you need. Get a leather with a snap or kydex, and you won't loose it.
I assume you're using a fixed blade.
 
I may or may not have had to dig through a gut pile once or twice to find a missing knife :) I guess I'm traditional but I keep it on my belt and my coat covers most of it from branches and pricker bushes. Sheath also has a snap button on it which is good enough for me. If by some reason I loose it, I have a folding knife in my pack for back up.
 
Well.... I haven't lost a knife in almost 50 years of hunting. I think a good fitting sheath helps the best. Also be careful where you lay your knife down if you need to use both hands.;)
 
A good sheath like others have said. Also, being a little ocd about it helps. Whether in the woods, house or town, I make sure it's still there often.
 
Pick up one of these really cheap, blaze orange, plastic hunting vests, cut out the back, store it with your knives, saw, skinning tool (whatever you use to process your deer afield) in a large enough ziplok bag, then when you get your deer down, lay all of your tools on that approx. 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 ft. blaze orange plastic.......no more lost 'tools' at a cost of $1.99.

I don't use lanyards and I'm not sure why most insist on having them. If I were to design a knife that would intentionally catch on limbs and such while I bushwacked, I'd intentionally design a knife with a lanyard loop.

All of my custom orders specifically ask that no lanyard loop/hole be a part of my custom knife. It's something that can also just get in the way of processing my deer and another bloody piece of the knife that I have to deal with later.....IMHO.
 
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Keep it in your pack or make sure the sheath has a flap or button-down feature. I'm entirely with you about knife worries and sometimes think attaching a helium balloon or painting the handle fluorescent orange is not a bad idea. Losses I'm familiar with involve forgetting where the darn thing is/was once the duck/goose/deer/moose/caribou is finally processed and all attention is then focused on the meat and the carcass and not on 'where is' my good old knife. I see within the construction industry that makers are finally making their goods brightly coloured instead of earth tones. How many times have I lost a tape, square, utility knife, chalk line or some other thing only because it is coloured just like the background.
 
A loop of bright paracord can hold the knife (hanging) while the hand is busy with something else. It could be hung from a nearby limb, etc.
 
For the cheap but effective solution, just cut off a short length of orange survey marker tape and loop it through the lanyard hole.
 
I stick mine in my pocket. I started hunting with my dad 40 years ago when I was 6. Neither he nor I have ever used anything but small folders for cleaning game. I find a 3" blade to be about perfect for most skinning jobs. Hard to have real control with a large blade IMO.
 
Paracord thru the lanyard hole with a clip on it and clip it to my belt loop. Or keep it in my pack.
 
Did archery season not start in September for you? Deer season traditionally opens with archery, closes with archery as well, guns are usually restricted to s short time in the middle...

But to answer the question, to keep from losing my knife while climbing trees, hiking the landscape, crawling and cutting through the buck-brush, etc., I usually keep my knife in a sheath. If your sheath doesn't hold your knife and keep it from getting lost, get a new sheath.

When processing a carcass in the field, if I find the need to put my knife away, I put the knife away in its sheath.
"What?? With all that gross blood and hair and tissue?!" No, I briefly wipe it off on the animal itself or a leaf or a rag - it takes only a second - then slip it back in the sheath. Any remaining blood/tissue/hair is easy to clean out of the sheath later or simply adds character.

The sheath is designed to hold your knife. Why not use it???
 
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