Huntin' knives?

RAZORBLADES

RAZORBLADES

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Aug 14, 2006
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Whats your favorite hunting knives for those of you that hunt?Mine are the classic 110,the gen 5 skinner,the 103 skinner,the alaskan guider 110/rubber vanguard,and my absolute do all buck hunting knife is my d2 steel charcoal handled personal/.:thumbup:
 
This will be an interesting thread.. :D

I do hunt, and the ones I will list, I have used a lot with excellent results. Won't list the ones right now that just haven't worked for me.

110 - 440C
110 - 420HC
110 - S30V AG (stays sharper longer than 420 and 440)
110 - CPM154 Bass Pro (Same as S30V)
These I have used extensively for initial field dressing and quartering.
121 Excellent for reaching in with the longer blade for peeling out backstrap and does great quartering, but goes dull after two or three deer.
118 - D2 About the same as the 121, just shorter, and stays sharper longer.
118 and 121 for final processing into the freezer.

Remember,,,my preferences from years of trials. Others will have different results. All is good when the meat is on the table.
 
I'm pretty much in agreement with Packrat, except that I don't care for the S30V.

I'd substitute BG42 for that.

I'm mostly done hunting (or at least done killing) but based on my experience Packrat has made great choices.

Seems like the 105 should come in there somewhere, but in real life it probably wouldn't be on the list for me (although it certainly could do as well as any of the others).

A 118 in D2 would probably come up at the very top of my list, but the rest would be close behind.
 
Most of my hunting anymore is with a Nikon or Canon, but for deer and elk a 110 or 102 is fine for me. I probably shouldn't say this here, but I'd guess I've field-dressed more deer or elk with a Gerber Shorty than with anything else; and I know I shouldn't admit this, but almost 50 years ago, due to a slight oversight, a Kabar stockman with a 3" blade got the job done on a calf elk. Sometimes you use what you have with you. I still have that knife, but the blade is somewhat shorter than 3" now. - Bert
 
bertl said:
Most of my hunting anymore is with a Nikon or Canon, but for deer and elk a 110 or 102 is fine for me. I probably shouldn't say this here, but I'd guess I've field-dressed more deer or elk with a Gerber Shorty than with anything else; and I know I shouldn't admit this, but almost 50 years ago, due to a slight oversight, a Kabar stockman with a 3" blade got the job done on a calf elk. Sometimes you use what you have with you. I still have that knife, but the blade is somewhat shorter than 3" now. - Bert
Click to expand...

Wow,,somewhere buried, I have an old Gerber Shorty. I never used it and no clue where it came from. Interesting.. Never heard anyone talk about those..
Sorry for the drift..
 
Well let me see in 32 years of hunting:
110.105,119, 124 actually love it for hunting,Vanguard and the big sky hunter. When I was 12 I used my first real hunting knife it was a Buck 120 general.Lets just say it was not the best job,but I got it done had no adults around to help me.I had to learn everything from my grandpa verbally as he had terminal cancer and could not go into the woods.almost forgot my Buck Goliath I still have that one it is awesome for field dressing deer.
 
For a skinner, I really like the Selector skinner blade or a 103 with the edge 2K grind.
For a quartering knife in the field, the 121 works nice and I'll have a 120 at camp. I only carry 2 knives in my pack when Elk hunting. When hunting deer or birds only one, a skinner. DM
 
bertl said:
Most of my hunting anymore is with a Nikon or Canon, but for deer and elk a 110 or 102 is fine for me. I probably shouldn't say this here, but I'd guess I've field-dressed more deer or elk with a Gerber Shorty than with anything else; and I know I shouldn't admit this, but almost 50 years ago, due to a slight oversight, a Kabar stockman with a 3" blade got the job done on a calf elk. Sometimes you use what you have with you. I still have that knife, but the blade is somewhat shorter than 3" now. - Bert
Click to expand...

If you want to get rid of the Shorty,let me know. - Bert
 
Buck 110,or 112 ,For the skinning and Buck 121 for the Backstrap and cutting up.Tried the vanguard , but did not like the drop point.Just me.
Have used the 118.119 and 120 for the skinning and backstrap and cutting up .I like the 103 for most of the skinning chores. But after much testing I like the 110 and 121 the best.
 
I like the 119 for backstrap and roast cutting also,I hsave used a lot of aBuck knives over the years and really haven't found one i disliked,except for thre mentor knife,I didn't like that one a bit.I never used a 121 for anything,but i wouldn't mind getting my hands on one for sure!
 
Interesting that you don't like the Mentor 470, unless you are talking about the smaller one.
I bought a few of those when they first hit for around $20. Like the grippy handle and are easy to get sharp quickly, but the edge doesn't last all that long. After I shifted more to the 121, those mentors ended up in Mothers kitchen drawer. She loves them as a Kitchen utility knife. She thinks they stay really sharp all the time. Don't think she has ever figured out that I have several of them and just swap out some sharp ones for the dull ones :D .

They come in handy when several of us have taken deer and all doing a lot of processing at the same time. Naturally I am the one sitting there sharpening all their knives. :rolleyes::)
 
I love the Ecolite 110 since 1st time I carried it hunting I got 2 deer. Hopefully the 113 will be my new favorite as I have 4 tags to fill this year.
 
When i hunt elk, wieght in my pack is a big issue. I carried a 105 and a 499bk Paklite this year during the bowhunt which probably wieghed about the same as my peanut butter and jelly sandwhich. That 499 gut hook ring made skinning much faster for me and since flies/bees were swarming, faster was better.
Once home, I used the longest knife from the Empress Trio set of kitchen knives that I had rehandled in multi colored micarta. I love the flex of that knife and the fact that the blade itself is about 9" long. It made boning much easier for me.
 
Joe Houser said:
Once home, I used the longest knife from the Empress Trio set of kitchen knives that I had rehandled in multi colored micarta. I love the flex of that knife and the fact that the blade itself is about 9" long. It made boning much easier for me.
Click to expand...

Yup,,,sitting here fondling the long blade out of the trio... I can sure see it in use on an Elk, maybe kinda sorta, since I have never seen a live (or dead) elk :D
I am pretty sure it may be the longest blade that Buck made in regular production, up till the Hoodlum beat it out by an inch. *sticking my tongue out at Joe for his rainbow*

Oh yeah,,,, a paper plate, out 50 yards or so, pour cola on it and the Bees go to it. Our bees like Dr Pepper best. None of that diet stuff tho...

Sorry for the drift :rolleyes:
 
I agree with you Razor, except, I don't have a vanguard!!! I guess I have to work on that. :D
That, and I also really like the alpha folder models, oh and the newer Ergo folder too.... ;)
 
Ok you droppies! Let me toss this out. The knives I have tried over the years, that didn't work for me, were all droppies. Some alpha folders, to include that one in S30V as well as ATS34 and 420HC. S30V Vanguards, and seems like one other one that I can't recall right now.

So fwiw, here is my little spiel about me and droppies. The skinners and hunters are nearly all clip blades. If they aren't, someone may be trying to capitalize on a name. Not to say that they might be a modified clip.

So what happened with me, and I did try all of those different droppies, is that the tip of the blade would hit the meat or skin before I wanted it to. Cut numerous holes in the hides, and punctured a few intestines.

In order for me to not do all of that, I found that I had to cock my wrist up in the air some to keep the tip up off the meat till I was ready to cut. About wore out my wrist till I laid them down. Another problem with the alpha folders was their weight. So those didn't get used all that long. It was just too much effort for me to try and learn how to use a drop point. Maybe it was after so many years of using a clip. I think I got caught up in them being S30V or ATS34 and excited about stay sharp longer steel.

Just tossing this out. What didn't work for me, or the son in law either as I had him trying out those knives as well, may work for others.

If you are looking at buying hunting knives, look at the blades of hunters and skinners. Compare them to drop point blades.

I dropped a bunch on several Vanguards and that gold alpha folder, but sold them all for what I gave, maybe minus some shipping, so not totally in the hole on them.

So just sayin,,,, study up on the blades and maybe borrow some droppie blades to try before you buy.

Heck, I still have two Alpha folders laying here that maybe a pass around on one for those that haven't tried to use one for deer doins.

Don't get me wrong here, one of my EDC's is a droppie and I love it. But it would only be used on a deer as some mental thing on my part in not taking the knife bag.

Ok,,,just my two centavos worth,,,
 
Joe Houser said:
When i hunt elk, wieght in my pack is a big issue. I carried a 105 and a 499bk Paklite this year during the bowhunt which probably wieghed about the same as my peanut butter and jelly sandwhich. That 499 gut hook ring made skinning much faster for me and since flies/bees were swarming, faster was better.
Once home, I used the longest knife from the Empress Trio set of kitchen knives that I had rehandled in multi colored micarta. I love the flex of that knife and the fact that the blade itself is about 9" long. It made boning much easier for me.
Click to expand...
I had wanted to get into what knife I used to process 'at home' but the OP said hunting knives. So, I didn't go there. Now that you opened the door I will. Once the meat is home I use the two longer knives in the Empress Trio set to process the cuts. The 6" I use mostly for deer but have used the 9". For Elk or large animals I use the 9". The set is just really good for home processing large pieces of meat.
Plus, they have micarta handles and are full tang. A home boning knife need not have a lanyard hole. DM
 
Hey Jim,I didn't get on the moose hun t this seasonas we are getting a new fishing boat built,and its sucking away all our fun time.Interesting knife choices so far,I like it!
 
RAZORBLADES said:
Hey Jim,I didn't get on the moose hun t this seasonas we are getting a new fishing boat built,and its sucking away all our fun time.Interesting knife choices so far,I like it!
Click to expand...

:eek:

Don, I hope you get something to test that D2 118 on!! Its awesome!! ;)

(Thank you Dave! :D)
 
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