looking for a new hunting knife...UPDATE: WHAT I GOT-PICTURES ADDED!!!!

I don't like a fixed blades strapped to my hip. It gets in the way in the woods. I hunt with folders. Last year I gutted and skinned a deer with my ZT 350, worked great and I am not dragging it through brush on my belt, or have it catching bow or tree stand when I'm climbing.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

Ericvar101, I hardly ever wear a knife on my belt. I carry an izula in my pack while hunting and have a couple more in the truck or back at camp.
 
The knives I use for field dressing, and for general work with dead animals, are smaller, very sharp, and ride in my day pack, not on my belt. I don't use these knives as a camp knife, or a 'bushcraft' knife.
This one by Larry Rosi is a good example. 154 CM steel, Bocote wood handle.
 
Check out Dan Eastland's work Dogwood Custom Knives. I've been using one of his skinners in S35VN and loving it. Depends on how you hunt too. I usually bring a few different blade profiles with me, for deer a drop point, a skinner, a small paring, and a bone saw of any kind or leatherman with a saw. I use them to field dress/butcher and pack out.
 
emtyhopper said:
I'm looking for a new hunting knife (mostly deer) and wanted to see if I could get a few suggestions. A local shop has a benchmade bushcrafter for $143 new and it has me very interested. For you guys who own one, what do you think of it as a hunting knife? How would it compare to other options? I want something in the 3.75 to 5 inch range with edge retention being one of the more important things. I will be using it to "clean" deer, everything other than field dressing, and maybe some other light chores around camp. So what would you get for around $150?


thanks in advance
emtyhopper
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The answer is yes! That design is great for hunting and bushcrafting. I love mine!
 
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Just seeing if my picture shows up
 
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The Benchmade would be fine if you prefer a pointy hunting knife. Many prefer the drop point design that most of the pictures show in this thread. For hunting chores, I like a smaller knife for detailed work (4" or less). I seldom actually process meat with my "hunting knife". As far as staying sharp, any of the better steels VG-10 or better should work for you. It is just a matter of how much cutting you actually do. I like my Dozier knives quite a lot (D2) and am quite comfortable with The Spyderco Moran (drop point) in VG-10. Take a look at some of the smaller Bark River knives in A2 or S30V. That might stretch your budget a bit, but they are sound hunting knives.
 
I used a Benchmade Nimravous cub for a few years, it held a very nice edge for a very long time and it wasn't too big for the job.
After that I used an ESEE/RAT 3 for a couple of years, it worked VERY well and again wasn't too big for the job.
Next up was an ESEE 4. It did very well around camp but was just a touch too big to use comfortably while field dressing my deer. It's a great knife but with it I found my "size limit" for a hunting knife.
Now I'm using a CRK Nyala. Unlike the ESEE's the handle is more than long enough, it's stainless and hold a great edge for a long time, the blade shape is perfect for how I use a knife, and even though I don't much care for the leather sheath it's very well made- I picked up kydex for 2 of the 3 that I have.

Unless I use a much smaller one piece blade without handle scales for ease of cleaning I don't see ever needing a different knife in the deer woods. It also performs very well as a camp knife and remains the only knife that I've ever split the rib cage from the bottom to the neck in one pull with, it was like I unzipped that buck's chest-amazing cutter.

I almost forgot, I tried two different CRK one piece knives on deer, a Shadow III and an Aviator. Both did the job but I'd take every knife mentioned above and many others before I ever used either of them again.
I freely admit that I'm a CRK fan but it's performance driven not brand bragging rights. The Nyala is a bit above your budget but they show up often in the $185 range on the exchange.
 
When im doing research looking through these "what should i get" threads, i always wonder what the person decided to buy. So i thought i would update the thread and tell what i ended up with. I may have went a little overboard.

I got 4 Bark Rivers (for some reason i couldnt stop at one), a bravo edc, fox river, bravo 1, and a montana guide. They all came from the exchange here or the other forum.
The bravo edc has replaced the Izula II and i will have to decide which of the other three i like most, but i doubt i will be able to get rid of any of them.

Bow season is open here in Missouri, and good lord willing, i will hopefully get to try them all out on deer this year.

I will get pictures of them, and the the knife i have been using, all together and try to have them posted by tomorrow night.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I really enjoy reading these types of threads, even if there are "too many" of them.
 
Great choice! Let us know how they hold up and which one winds up doing the bulk of the work.
 









The knife on the bottom is the one i have been using the last 5-6 years. it is a kissing crane (not sure what model).
 
The one at the top would be my choice. Straight tip, nice belly, and small enough to easily control during fine cutting tasks. I spent all day at the hunting camp getting ready for this season and it got me in the mood to get my hunting knife sharpened up this afternoon. Its a Mora Companion. Cheap knife but sharpens up easy and has always done well. Good luck this season.
 
I hope to use them all. I have only been hunting twice so far this season, and I took the montana guide. The edc will probably be with me every time I go out.
 
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emtyhopper said:
That is the bravo edc. I throw it in my pack every time I go out. I would normally just take one small knife with me, but now I have all these new ones...
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Haha - I hear that! I carry my new ones hoping to get to use em. Sometimes I do, sometimes not... But it's great to have the option.

The bravo looks like it would be a great hunting knife. It's A2 correct? That's a great steel. One of my favorites... Actually I think A2 tool steel may be my absolute favorite knife steel. The A2 knives I own zip right through meat like it's not even there.
 
I was going to suggest one of these for hunting duty...... No more lost knife!

Bark Rivers are very nice! Good choice.
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