Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Favorite Hunting Knife

Living in Colorado, Western Knives was to knives what Redfield was to rifle scopes. As soon as I came of big game hunting age I saved my pennies and bought a Western Skinner. Which of course is a mistake for taking apart a critter or deboning. I struggled with that for years until I bought a more reasonable Western.

In the late 80's I received a Bucklite folder as part of a tip. The handle was blaze orange. I didn't think much of it and tossed it into my box of knives. The following year my daypack was getting heavy and I dumped everything out and began to evaluate weight of items I deemed essential. I decided to try the Bucklite. A few days later I killed a bull in 15+ inches of powder snow from the day before. The dang bull died in a snowdrift that has to be two feet deep. I accidently dropped that blaze orange knife in the snow and it went right to the ground in the powder. Right then I realized the advantage of a bright handle.

In the late 90's I received as a tip from a Gulf War I vet a brand new Bucklite in a plain white box except for serial/model numbers that had been issued to troops by Buck leaving for the Middle East. Supposedly it has an exclusive camo on the handle, and I have never seen that camo style on a Buck since.

Not only are the Bucklites exceedingly light but I can sharpen it well and it holds an edge for me. I like that it's a folder and takes less room. I now own five Bucklites from the late 80's to the mid 90's, and have been using them for ~35 years. I have three custom fixed blades knives that I paid good money for, but just can't justify the extra weight.