Ontario SK5 for Hunting?

[justin.buchowski]

I've been looking for a good knife I can use for bushcraft and hunting. I really like the Ontario SK5. Is the blade shape decent to gut a deer with?

 

[collim1]

Nothing wrong with the blade, that drop/spear point is great for making the initial cuts to open the gut without puncturing the stomach if you don't have a gut hook.

My only issue with it is its larger than you need or want for that task.

I have field dressed dozens of deer in my lifetime. Most of them were done with very small but very sharp knives. Before I got into knives I just carried a traditional slip joint knife into the woods with me.

I have field dressed quite a few deer with a Victorinox Tinker or a Case Trapper. Now that I am into knives I prefer something fixed blade to aid in cleaning afterwards and something with a little more grip when your hands are bloody and covered in deer fat. Small, thin blade geometry, and super sharp are still the priorities.

If you do it long enough you will eventually puncture the stomach or guts, or atleast gut shoot a deer. Its gross and unpleasant, and turns what is normally a satisfying end to the hunt into a really gross and smelly job. A large heavy knife is just harder to get up into the body cavity and make the small precise cuts you need to make when field dressing without nicking anything you don't want to open up.

I normally use a Mora Companion for field dressing now. Super sharp and easy to maintain the blade with stropping afterwards. Its also small enough to get inside and make cuts and really grippy. Its 4" blade it at the maximum I find useful for this task.

I am really not a fan of many knives in the 5-7" range. I find them too small to chop and too large for precision. Just my opinion.

 

[TravisH]

While fine for bushcraft, it's too long for deer.

Most deer hunter/skinner blades are in the 3" range. For deer, something like the Ontario RAT3 at 3.75" would be more efficient.

And it gives you another excu ... reason to get another blade!

A good rule of thumb is 3 blades - small, medium, large - to cover all camping/bushcraft/hiking/hunting tasks.

 

[justin.buchowski]

Thanks for your responses. Looks like I will end up with something smaller and larger and still get the SK5.