I've used skinning knives with blades from 3" to 5", from old Western's to modern Randall's - I like 3-1/2" to 4" the best and prefer a Buck 118 over all others.
Good call. ^^^^
I got by with this old Estwing and a little Buck 102 for over forty years before someone told me I needed a custom knife. (Estwing on the outside, Buck on the inside.)
But I also did one a couple of weeks ago with an old carbon steel B&T knife so what do I know?