Real deer hunting knives

The top blade mostly, middle blade occasionally. All 3 blades made by the late great Bob Engnath and finished by myself.

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For skinning and butchering, I use a BRKT Wolf River. It's nice and thin, with lots of belly, and is ground fully convex.
For field dressing, I use whatever I have on me, whether it's the folder in my pocket or the general purpose fixed blade on my belt. These knives vary from day to day. I find that it's not as important (for me, anyway) to have a specific knife for field dressing.
Splitting a pelvis requires either a saw, a hatchet, or a large enough fixed blade that's thick enough to chop bone without damaging the edge. My BRKT Settler and my traditional Ka-Bar USMC knife have both done this duty well.

Hope this helps.
Alex
 
Field dressing and skinning can be done adequately with most anything one may have handy. I've done it with everything from a Case canoe, single-bladed Trapper to a Seahorse whittler. Since butchering/boning is rarely done in the field, this is usually not a problem. If this is expected a few butchers knives can be carried in your vehicle. A field-expedient sharpening kit is (IMO) more important than the knife design. Try not to over-think/complicate the process.
 
i carried an uncle henry 885 uh that i used on anything from quail to deer. i used the spey blade to gut my deer
 
I have used many many knives over the years to fieldress whitetails. With having bagged 41 to date, I have had the chance to use many knives. When I was a kid, I used the schrade guthook skinner and LB7. Then a few years after that, a Buck 119 Special was my go to knife. I then made knives when I was in my late teens, early 20's and used them for a few years. I always wanted a Buck Kalinga and was able to get one off the ebay. I used that for about 6-7 years. The last few years, being a CRK nut, I used the Sable IV and last year the Ubejane. Out of all these, I think the Ubejane did the nicest job. Last year, My dad, brother and I got 3 whitetails between us ( my dad a monster 10 point ), and we gutted and skinned all 3 before the Ubejane needed to finally be sharpened. The design is unique in that you can used it to gut, then skin also. So its a nice all in one package. I am definately taking it again this year. I got an Xm-18 with an orange handle that I may use this year. All the areas I hunt, there are streams nearby, so I can rince it thoroughly in the field. Should I decide not to use it, the Ubejane will be with me for sure........!

Chris Reeve One Piece Ubejane Skinner

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I have been using a Nieto hunter in 440C since I was 12 and its seen many an animal. Oh I have dozens of other hunters along with customs but that one has sat at the bottom of my bag everytime I go out. Chalk it up to nostalgia or supersition. The only one that see's just as much field time is my Gossman hunter in D2. Since I first recieved it many years ago its field dressed many of my and my familys animals. I believe its one of the very few knives Scott made with a Hollow grind if I remember....cuts very well and holds a great edge.
 
I grew up in the sticks of south east Texas and everything seemed to revolve around hunting and fishing.
A teeny tiny SAK was all I ever needed for any sized game.
Worked a charm.
 
For field dressing and caping an Outdoor Edge "Swing Blaze" and for butchering a Benchmade "Onslaught" and a Ka-Bar "Warthog".
 
Doug S said:
I haven't hunted for a long time now, but all the years that I did hunt, I used a Buck 110 for squirrel, pheasant, deer. Never felt "under-knived".;) My son and I are thinking about hunting this year, as he turned 12, and if we do, we will both be carrying a Buck 110.
Click to expand...

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darrin sanders custom
this baby just came in from one of the forum custom guys & i decided to give it the 1st shot this season. wo'nt get out till after thanksgiving . 1095 with a deer bone handle made for cutting & skinning not chopping wood. darrin knows how to sharpen a blade---i did'nt need to put an edge on it.
dennis
 
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I liked this Case quite a bit. I used the main clip blade for general work, and saved the other one for "the moment of truth".
 
I killed a fat spikehorn with my T/C pistol this morning and ended up field dressing him with my Spyderco Native. I have a brand new Busse CABS and was dying to try it out. I also have a couple of other knives I was wanting to use on a whitetail this season, including a shiny new Randall Model 8. Sometimes I end up not wearing a sheath knife because I'm up in a tree stand or wearing a backpack or waders. Today I had waders on.

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The Native is really perfect for the job. The S30V blade gets sharp and stays sharp and is thin but sturdy enough to easily cut up through the breastbone. The handle is plenty grippy for bloody hands. I've always thought it was one of the "best buys" in knives.

So far this season I've killed two, and both times, the Native was the knife I had with me.

Maybe it always ends up being in my pocket because I've come to trust it and rely on it....

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
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